Today has been an amazing day. We woke up to a beautiful, white wonderland. The streets were hushed, as transportation was delayed across the city. Undeterred, droves of people tromped through the snow to work.

The boy and I had plans today to visit a thrift store to look for some used furniture for our up and coming apartment; but those plans were happily waylaid at 10:30am when I got an unexpected text from our new friends we met at the tram stop. Their daughter had a snow day from school and we were invited to meet up and go sledding—yay!

Drake was ecstatic. He exclaimed, “I love Hannah! Let’s Go!” So we went, and had an amazing time chatting and stumbling through inches of snow in a nearly deserted park. It was something I rarely experienced as a child of the Pacific Northwest. It brought back fond memories of sliding down “cardboard hill”; the hill near our apartments as a child. In the summer, we slid down on cardboard and in the winter, once, a friend’s truck hood. Fun times 😃

Göteborg covered in snow is amazing. It is a beautiful sight. While the park wasn’t occupied by many; all present had a great time. What truly struck me was the sheer number of people walking around outside in the snow, unperturbed by this sudden white wash. They went about their days, business as usual. Part of that is because the trams were fully restored by 11am, but also because the people here seem to be very at home with the elements. No matter the weather, they are out and about. In the city it is rare to have cars; making feet and public transport the norm.

This level of accessibility makes me happy. There were times in my life that I have felt crippled when without a car. This is not one of those times.

Yay for a snow day!

Until next time…