Cold and Dark

The weather here in Oslo has improved over the last few days and has been hovering around the freezing point.  It feels almost warm out after the last few weeks where the temperature was usually between negative 15 and 20 degrees Celsius (about 0 - 10 degrees Fahrenheit).  It has been so cold here that it broke several weather records and this past November was the coldest since 1919.

On top of the cold, there is the dark.  With the winter solstice right around the corner, days are about as short as they get.  Sunrise is sometime around 9:15am and sunset is just after 3pm.  The sun doesn't get too far above the horizon anymore and most of the city is bathed in shadow regardless of the time.  If this all sounds sort of miserable, well, it kind of is. However, only through the act of describing the weather am I realizing how awful it must sound.  You get used to it.

 It is amazing what a body can adjust to and how the mind readjusts your baseline for what's normal.  As mentioned earlier, now that the temperature is close to freezing it actually feels nice out.  You don't even need long underwear!  During the few hours of sun in the afternoon it feels good to go for a walk and, covered in a light coating of fresh snow, the city is beautiful.  The pedestrian mall is particularly pretty since many of the buildings have been strewn with decorations for the holidays.  At night the Christmas lights from the buildings reflect off the snow and the city feels a little like a winter wonderland.    

However if all else fails and trying to look on the bright side of things doesn't work you can always look North and feel sorry for the poor saps up where it's even colder and darker.