Despite the swift decent into darkness and an enthusiastic drop in temperatures, Fall in Sweden is about the same as Fall in Pennsylvania. The trees do, however, change color rather slowly. I noticed today, biking to school in temperatures just above freezing, that there are quite a few trees that are still stubbornly holding on to the green color. It’s baffling when current temperatures equate to those around Thanksgiving – when the trees have all abandoned their leaves – when my family instates a leaf-raking day. It’s rather foreboding: if the trees don’t think it’s cold yet…
Embracing the darkness is becoming a daily adventure. It’s 5:20pm and the sun is well into the horizon – as if it were running away from the chill wind blowing leaves and nonsense at my window like droplets of hail. Wherever it’s going, the sun, I want to follow because after a bit of the Swedish climate, you start to notice an alarming decrease in clothing reserves. Where’d all my long sleeved shirts go, you ask yourself while digging under the bed, through the laundry basket, and in the closet. After a bit of fruitless searching, you realize, Ah! You are wearing your entire wardrobe.
That’s about when you realize that the lack of sunlight is the least of your worries. Your fingers freezing to the handles of your bike IS.
I will end by saying that the darkness is romantic when viewed from the warm side of double plated glass. My favorite pastime is sitting in a cafe outside of the train station and watching the lights come alive as darkness falls. The only depressing bit is remembering that pretty soon I’ll be one of those sorry sods clutching the lapels of their jackets, desperately holding onto warmth, as they dash across the street. Maybe one more cup of coffee, I console myself.
On a side note, I’m nursing a vibrant coffee addiction!
