Nov 28, 2022

First snow (and lots of it)!

Netherlands, 2021

Moving to Sweden, I was really looking forward to the winters, as I hoped this would mean the regular appearance of snow when it came to wintertime. Coming from the UK via the Netherlands, snow was never guaranteed, and I think the longest period of snow I’ve experienced in my lifetime was about two weeks, and the lowest temperature I’ve experienced was last year in the Netherlands, when the canals, ditches and smaller lakes froze over enough for people to walk and skate on them. It was still only around -10-15°C, which is paltry when you compare this to a “proper” winter that you can get in other countries.

It was therefore with some excitement that I learned that snow was on the way a couple of weeks ago, after an unseasonably warm November (grrrr… climate change). The first flakes of snow started around 13:30, and by 15:30 we had a light dusting (left). By 23:00, it was getting thick (right).

Around 13:30

Around 23:00

It seems that Linköping was in somewhat of a sweet spot for snow this time, receiving less than Stockholm (where the heavy snow caused some problems) and more than the south (where it came and went very quickly).

Around Linköping:

Living close to the university, and though the main cycle paths had been cleared, it was wise to abandon my bike for a couple of days and walk to the university. This gave me a lot more time to enjoy the snow, and take some pictures! Particularly fun was the “avenue of logos” – my name for it – leading up to the university.

Unfortunately, the temperatures have now jumped back up a little, and with a couple of days of rain, the snow is, alas, now gone. But I’m assured that it will return in January/February!