First Snow in Umeå Photo Diary

Dec 4, 2012 | 2012, Instagram, Snow, Sweden, Umeå

Though it’s certainly been cold in Umeå for sometime now, with a few snow dustings as well, if you weren’t sure if winter had arrived, the past few days assured its presence. This past weekend it snowed around 8 inches, with an additional 8 falling last night, totaling around 40 cm in the past three days.

Some of my classmates have switched from biking to walking, but even despite my lack of snow tires I’ve been able to continue on two wheels thus far. Perhaps the helmet sent by my mom has made me a bit arrogant on the roads. An arrogant American? Nahhhh. The back roads are a bit tricky in the morning before they are plowed, but by the evening all roads and sidewalks are packed snow or ice, flat either way. Do I secretly want to gently land in a large pile of fresh fluffy snow? I think so, maybe.

The primary bike bridge in town is heated, resulting in crunchy ice if used in the morning, but quite nice in the afternoon. The city centrum walking roads and sidewalks are also heated, resulting in a similar hopscotch of icy and safety.

The days continue to get shorter. Or perhaps day isn’t the right word as sunrise bleeds into sunset, resulting in 4 hours of lovely colors over the river from the design school. Or am I trying to romanticize the sun rising after I arrive to school and setting at lunch time? Where do I buy Vitamin D?

And of course there is the cold. I’m trying to pretend 1°F (-17°C) isn’t so bad as -40°F temps will be reached later. Then again, if my snot is already freezing and a classmates contacts froze and fell out of her eyes this weekend, what’s next? Though, I welcome a bit of adventure in Umeå, even if it transpires in extreme temperatures.