Snow!

Before I post about the main event this week (the cruise to Stockholm), I want to talk about something important...snow!

Timpurinkuja...My home in Finland

One of the reasons I came to Finland was to see some real snow! It very rarely snows in London, and when it does it stays for a couple of days at most, so I was quite excited when it suddenly started snowing for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

Me in the snow

A few days after the heavy snow started I went exploring and discovered a tall hill very close to my apartment. I knew it was there but didn't know it was so high, so I climbed to the top which was quite difficult as there are no paths and it has some very rocky edges.

The view from the top of the hill

I was rewarded with a stunning view over the entire town, with the sun just setting in the distance. Nobody I asked knew about the hill even though it's practically next door to us! It's amazing that such a spot could remain so unknown.

Poor grass...drowning in snow

I was impressed with how prepared Finland is for snow. Even though this first snow of the year apparently came as a surprise, by the end of the first day all the major roads and paths across the town were gritted, with snow ploughs patrolling up and down clearing the way.

Tyre tracks in the snow

The snow seems to come in waves, snowing heavily then turning to ice as it melts away, then snowing again. The worst point is when it's icy as it's very slippery and makes it quite difficult to walk. No more running for the train at the last minute like in the summer, I'd end up flat on my face if I did that.

Icy rock face by the harbour in central Helsinki

Everywhere looks really different when covered in snow. Helsinki is like a completely different city compared with summer. It's nice to go out and look at familiar places again in this weather just to see how they've changed.

Full moon in the evening

The weather isn't actually too cold yet, and as I will probably be leaving in December I should miss the worst of it. But I will be visiting Lapland in a few weeks, so I will hopefully get a good taste of the Finnish winter.

Sunset over Leppavaara

Ok so that's enough about snow for now. Stay tuned to hear about the cruise to Stockholm and the greatest party of the year!