It’s a few degrees above freezing, a milky grey mist hangs low over the hills and there is a fine drizzle in the air. The trees are bare and lifeless, bland pop music is blaring from a subpar speaker system and the snow is beige rather than white. It is possible to ski but it feels all wrong; the snow is either too hard or too soft and sticky, it’s not cold enough to give the air that crisp feeling and the dreary weather is just depressing. I can not muster up the enthusiasm to say that it is fun … Read the rest
The sky overhead is dark with clouds, a thin veil of ragged grey covering pale summer night blue. A heavy cloud cover hangs over the strip of land on the other side of the bay as well, but in the middle is a band of clear sky. The big orange ball of the setting sun hangs over the western horizon, casting its rays beneath the clouds; like God shining his flashlight on a world clad in shadow. It illuminates the tree tops and laces the tall grass and bushes with color. The streaks of vivid color in the midst of … Read the rest
Swedish summer nights are very nearly endless, the light usually not fading until about eleven, but tonight is different. It is still light enough to see by but there is a darkness to the sky that makes it feel as if light is fading from the world altogether. Dark, brooding rain clouds mingle with a thick, light grey soup that blocks out the sun, tinged purple by nonexistent sunset and orange from pointless street lights below. Rain falls heavily on the ground, creating streams and pools on the paths beneath my window. The world is lifeless and empty except for … Read the rest
The bus is far less crowded than expected, only one or two people are standing up, despite this being one of the smaller busses on this line. Outside the air is crisp, bordering on chilly with a cold sun illuminating the world – what most would consider fresh spring weather. In the bus though, it’s hot and stuffy. There is a definite stale note to the air, an almost tangible, sickly sweet smell, and a feeling of second-hand body heat and recycled oxygen that engulfs you as you step inside. Strangely, almost everyone is sitting there calmly clad in jackets, … Read the rest
We are driving our snowmobiles across a large, windswept plateau in between the rounded, forest-clad mountain tops. It’s hard to tell with all the snow, but our guide informs us that it is actually a frozen lake. That explains why it is so flat and lacks trees. The snow is has been packed by the wind and is hard and bumpy but the area is open so it is possible to drive at speed, the soft seat cushioning the bumps. The sensation of speed is strange, there is surprisingly little wind yet anything over 40 kilometers an hour feels like … Read the rest
I glance out the car window as we are going along and spot a band of color floating in the sky, pale green with a tinge of purple at the bottom. It takes a moment for my brain to realize what it is but when I do, I blurt it out in the middle of a conversation: The Northern Lights! We quickly find a place where we can stop by the side of the road and step out of the car to take pictures. Too bad I don’t have a proper camera with me because the one on the phone … Read the rest
Here I go with the sunset images again, but it seems to be the only beauty in an otherwise grey existence. As I cross the river it is not a conventionally beautiful naturescape that serves as a background for the multicoloured sky, but the industrial outline of an old harbour city. A few old-time ships, permanently docked along the riverbank serve as a spice to the area’s main ingredients of old factories, warehouses and newly built office complexes. Above it all rises the big cranes of the wharfs and dry docks as black silhouetts against the blazing orange of the … Read the rest
The lateness of the winter sunrise means that even I am able to witness its glory. Where the valley opens up in the east, the dawn has broken through the ash grey clouds overhead with gusto and vibrance. Left is only pale blue sky tinted yellow at the edges of the mountains and a few torn cloud rags, lit from below in a vibrant orange. All this against a backdrop of old, forrest clad mountains sprinkled in snow. Once again i find myself, phone in hand, my fingers tapping out a description, for no other reason then my mind putting … Read the rest
The orange globe of the sun hangs low in the december sky, barely reaching above the mountain range in the east. It spreads its amber rays over the white snow causing everything to sparkle with joy. The air feels crisp and cool against my skin as I speed down the slope in long, sweeping turns, cutting a smooth, clear path through the corduroy surface. This is one of those moments when everything just comes together and it is, in a word, perfect. I live for moments like this!… Read the rest
There is a piercing pain below my knee and a numbing pain in my elbow every time I move my right arm. The weather is generally overcast and a bit windy and it’s hard to see clearly. All of that is of no consequence: it is my first day in the snow since april and it feels good to be back.… Read the rest
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