Thursday 7 January 2016

Arctic winds

After a record mild November and December, winter arrived with fiercely cold weather. We still have practically no snow although the temperature has now dropped to a freezing -20°C (-4°F), not to mention how cold it feels with the wind chill effect.




The other day, as we had some errands to run and were taking the car out anyway we drove to the Ruissalo island to have a look at the sea off the park there. That is the waterway on which the ferries between Turku and Stockholm sail daily throughout the year.




There wasn’t much ice yet but the sea sure was ice-cold. We walked only a few minutes around the park as our fingers tucked in winter gloves were soon frostbitten.


We didn’t notice it at first and could have sworn it began while we were there: the tails of the Siberian winds blowing over the open sea started to form some sea smoke hovering over the water surface.


Looking at a sight like that made us wonder how on earth we ever managed to engage ourselves in ice swimming once. It must have been ages ago, in another life probably.


10 comments:

  1. Tunnistinkin jo heti parista ensimmäisestä kuvasta Ruissalon. Kaunista, kaunista. Vähän tulee ikävä vanhaan kotikaupunkiin!
    Hyvää vuoden alkua sinulle!

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    1. Kiitos samoin sinne Ahvenanmaalle! Sormet olivat kyllä jäässä niin nopeasti, että kuvaaminen jäi pieneen kohmeessa näpsimiseen.

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  2. That does look very cold, but also very beautiful too

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    1. I would have liked to take more photos but it was far too freezing for anything else than a few quick shots.

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  3. My goodness I cannot imagine how cold that must be! I hope that you will stay safe and as warm as you can! xx

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    1. When I was younger this kind of weather was a piece of care, more or less, but as years have gone by and I no longer absolutely have to go anywhere I'm finding it increasingly hard to face the cold. Staying indoors is a great option as our homes are designed to stand the freeze.

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  4. What beautiful pictures. I particularly love the last one. It's hard for me to even contemplate temperatures as low as -20. Keep warm. Barbara X

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    1. It's just a matter of what you wear as they say... However, it seems we took most of the winter gear we would now need to thrift shops a year ago when we were preparing the move from the countryside to a town.

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  5. That does look so cold, but also so very beautiful. It's nice to view it from here without suffering the cold temperatures! Sarah x

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    1. Now the sea is really starting to look arctic. Just wait and see.

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