I taught for 8 hours in 6 different places on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, I let my students know that we could have an online lesson if I was unable to get in to work. When I woke up on Wednesday, it was snowing heavily with 70cm already on the ground, and heavy winds. I checked the app, and whaddya know, the buses were running as normal. Well, I went out in it and the signs and sensors on the bus stops had frozen, there were no buses, and it was hell to walk. The app lied to me!
Local buses do not have heavy duty studded tyres which makes it unsafe in heavy snow (they have all-weather tyres which are good in milder conditions), plus the ploughs often cannot get through the traffic to plough the roads. This means that people who live in the Arctic Circle find Stockholmers a bit wimpy when it comes to dealing with huge amounts of the white stuff.
Welp, as regards Wednesday, I was already out in it, and had told my students I was coming, so I walked in it. All day. For more than ten hours. By the time I got home I was almost tearful because I was so cold, wet, hungry and tired. I went to bed at 9pm…
The white stuff causes disruptions everywhere people don’t have the correct equipment to deal with it.
You are a true warrior, Janet. I live in Prague and it rained for maybe an hour today, which at one point culminated into a (very brief) HAILSTORM. So I felt a bit sorry for myself, even though the sun came up again not too long after that and we had temperatures over 10 C for most of the afternoon. Your post puts this all into perspective, and I am truly humbled. I also found some crocus plants blooming today, so there’s that.
I stumbled upon your blog several months ago and have been coming back ever since. Thank you for many lovely posts (I too am a big fan of handbags, cosmetics, jewellery and the English language, plus I love learning about Sweden and South Africa from you!), and I do hope you have a nice relaxing weekend.
Aw thank you! I am so happy that you like my blog and I am sorry about your day. For me, rain is way worse than snow. I am way more miserable walking all day in rain than in snow so I understand your pain!