Mincing Steps

Winter has this uncanny ability at forcing me to relearn how to walk. For one, it never, NEVER gets above freezing anymore. We're always 4 or 5 degrees short of defrosting. What that effectively means is that salt doesn't work. Swedes just don't abide by salting the roads. Instead, they toss gravel everywhere - like farmer Joe slinging corn at the hens.
The problem here is that, periodically, it will snow again. Not a lot, just enough to remind you of the season. I really love the snow, to watch it fall. Walking at night is a favorite pastime; snow falling across the lamplight is just about the most romantic thing I can imagine. But this romantic powder covers the gravel and if you're the first sad soul to try and walk down the hill to the grocery store, you're in for a surprise! I've slipped so many times that I feel like I'm developing seizures: my arms spasm outwards, my legs slide askance, and suddenly I'm prostrate on a hill in a wild dance move (it looks stunning when I'm wearing the blue pom-pom hat that mom knitted me).
I love winter.

On that note, I have a few pictures to post. It has been ages and finally the other day I trekked to class early with my camera and snapped a few of town.
This first picture is of the canal from the bridge I cross to get to class every day. Further up on the right is the city swimming pool followed by the library where I spend many a gleeful hour.

This photo is from the other side of the bridge. Here you can see shops on the left and a parking area with more shops on the right. These trees are strung with white (or yellow) lights.

And lastly, here's a picture of my department's door. Enjoy seeing "Eurasian Studies" while you can, because this is the final year for our department - which is being thrown out in favor of a Russian Center. My classmates and I are now proctored through the department of Peace and Conflict.
I just noticed the lovely addition to "Uppsala University" on the bottom. I wonder if we're secretly catering to Jim Henson?