It started snowing Wednesday night and hasn't stopped since. And just like that, winter was upon us.
On Thursday morning at 7am I slipped and slid my way down the street in the dark to my work just three blocks away. In just 2-4 inches of snow I was hesitant and nervous about falling and the walk which normally takes 10 minutes took double the time.
But this morning I stepped out my front door into two feet of snow, and realized that I had found my snow legs! Now I'm trekking through 2-4 FEET of snow like a pro again. I've collected some of the photos floating around my Facebook feed so you can see what's it like here on the ground! I hear they're calling this blizzard 'Antti'.
It's amazing how much snow changes the look and feel of the city. I remember when I was living in Russia last year I came to Helsinki from mid-April to mid-May, and when I returned to St. Petersburg all the snow had completely melted. I wouldn't have recognized my street except for the huge American flag hanging over the consulate building!
I'm a bit embarrassed about what happened today: I took the metro to Sörnäinen as I do every Friday afternoon to setup for catering events at one of our venues. There are multiple exits out of the metro which pop up on different corners of a Y-shape intersection. I always go out the same exit, which positions me to walk straight down the street a few blocks to the venue. For some reason, though, I came up out of the metro this afternoon and nothing looked familiar. I wondered if I had gotten off at the wrong stop. But no, the sign definitely read Sörnäinen. So I assumed I had just walked out the wrong exit, and crossed the street and started walking. It was snowing horizontally and the winds were really picking up. But I pushed on. Ten minutes later, I found myself on an overpass I had never seen before, my arms wrapped around a streetlight pole - holding on for dear life because the winds were so strong and threatening to push me over the railing into the snowy traffic abyss below. I was crying tears that were freezing immediately on my cheeks, and I was completely lost. I had no idea what to do. I was late for work by this time, and I was feeling like I better just sit down and wait for someone to find me, because I sure wasn't able to find anything. I couldn't fathom how the city had changed so much. No sidewalks. No tram rails. No lines on the street nor crosswalks. Just a blanket of white.
I stood there holding onto that pole for a few minutes, trying to gather myself together. I finally called my boss and said that I knew I was on the right street because I was staring up at the name on a street sign on a corner building, but somehow I couldn't find the restaurant. He started laughing and said he'd come out looking for me. I remembered that the restaurant is No. 13 on the street and finally found an address on the building that said No. 70. Apparently I had ended up on the wrong side of the street in the completely opposite direction from the metro. So I walked back to the metro, crossed the street and four blocks later finally stepped into the restaurant. My face red from embarrassment as much as the cold, I peeled off my many layers and got to work. Man, it was work just getting there!
Though all this white powder isn't always so convenient, there are up sides: The eight inches of snow I found on my windowsill this morning inspired me to turn on the Christmas music early this year and it makes all those classic songs feel so much more legitimate!
On Thursday morning at 7am I slipped and slid my way down the street in the dark to my work just three blocks away. In just 2-4 inches of snow I was hesitant and nervous about falling and the walk which normally takes 10 minutes took double the time.
But this morning I stepped out my front door into two feet of snow, and realized that I had found my snow legs! Now I'm trekking through 2-4 FEET of snow like a pro again. I've collected some of the photos floating around my Facebook feed so you can see what's it like here on the ground! I hear they're calling this blizzard 'Antti'.
It's amazing how much snow changes the look and feel of the city. I remember when I was living in Russia last year I came to Helsinki from mid-April to mid-May, and when I returned to St. Petersburg all the snow had completely melted. I wouldn't have recognized my street except for the huge American flag hanging over the consulate building!
I'm a bit embarrassed about what happened today: I took the metro to Sörnäinen as I do every Friday afternoon to setup for catering events at one of our venues. There are multiple exits out of the metro which pop up on different corners of a Y-shape intersection. I always go out the same exit, which positions me to walk straight down the street a few blocks to the venue. For some reason, though, I came up out of the metro this afternoon and nothing looked familiar. I wondered if I had gotten off at the wrong stop. But no, the sign definitely read Sörnäinen. So I assumed I had just walked out the wrong exit, and crossed the street and started walking. It was snowing horizontally and the winds were really picking up. But I pushed on. Ten minutes later, I found myself on an overpass I had never seen before, my arms wrapped around a streetlight pole - holding on for dear life because the winds were so strong and threatening to push me over the railing into the snowy traffic abyss below. I was crying tears that were freezing immediately on my cheeks, and I was completely lost. I had no idea what to do. I was late for work by this time, and I was feeling like I better just sit down and wait for someone to find me, because I sure wasn't able to find anything. I couldn't fathom how the city had changed so much. No sidewalks. No tram rails. No lines on the street nor crosswalks. Just a blanket of white.
I stood there holding onto that pole for a few minutes, trying to gather myself together. I finally called my boss and said that I knew I was on the right street because I was staring up at the name on a street sign on a corner building, but somehow I couldn't find the restaurant. He started laughing and said he'd come out looking for me. I remembered that the restaurant is No. 13 on the street and finally found an address on the building that said No. 70. Apparently I had ended up on the wrong side of the street in the completely opposite direction from the metro. So I walked back to the metro, crossed the street and four blocks later finally stepped into the restaurant. My face red from embarrassment as much as the cold, I peeled off my many layers and got to work. Man, it was work just getting there!
Though all this white powder isn't always so convenient, there are up sides: The eight inches of snow I found on my windowsill this morning inspired me to turn on the Christmas music early this year and it makes all those classic songs feel so much more legitimate!
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