Writing a blog about Norway and our significant four seasons, it’s time to report about winter weather – at least a good taste of it: You see, this year’s first snow in Oslo came last week. It started late in the evening, so we were all warned for the next day, and in the morning we had the most wonderful White Christmas Post Card views out of our windows.
So finally snow and the Winter Wonder Land are back on track. Some might find it a bit cold, but to me it’s a sign of clean nature and freshness. It also brightens the otherwise dark mornings and evenings – especially on a clear full moon it fills the atmosphere with light. Of course white snowflakes create the Christmas spirit in this pre-Christmas period as well. So before I go on and tell about the strange weather we’ve had this fall, let me share some photos I shot with my Nokia N8 by sunset last week:
The neighbourhood cowered in a blanket of new snow
This year’s November earned a place in history books: Never before have temperatures been so high in the month leading up to Christmas – the warmest we have experienced since temperatures started being measured in the 1860. November last year was the coldest in living memory and the temperatures in Oslo were setting records at the other end of the scale, down to -24°C.
That’s a sharp contrast from November this year, to say the least: For the country as a whole, highest temperature was measured +10°C (49°F) which gives the average temperature 4.5°C above normal. So we are all glad that winter finally arrived and just in time for Christmas too!
Now, let’s go back to the scenery I tried to capture after this year’s first snow fall:
My fascination for snow of course goes back to my childhood: I remember it took some time to dress for the winter season, but then again the strong winter weather never stopped us from having fun. Snow was something we looked forward to: instead of closing our schools, we went to school on skis and the recess in the school yard was never more fun than at that time of the year.
Let me end this White Gold of Snow post with the last photo I shot – by sunset, around 2:30PM. We are into the darkest part of the year and in Oslo the duration of daylight is less than 6 hours. We are soon at Winter Solstice you know (the 21st of December) and in this pic you might get an idea of how the snow brightens up the atmosphere – at sunset:
As many of my Facebook followers and friends already know, I am currently at a rehabilitation center for Parkinson’s which is just outside of Lillehammer. Many of you may remember Norway’s winter Olympics in Lillehammer 1994 – so I assure you the magic of winter has touched us here too. My training includes outdoor exercise in the beautiful mountains surrounding the center, so I hope I will capture some more winter magic for my readers in the next days. Even when I am away taking care of my health, I always have my Nokia N8 handy you know – so stay tuned : -)