Born and raised in Hong Kong, even during winter, temperatures rarely dip below ten degrees. For those of us living in the far northwest New Territories, it might be another four degrees lower. This year, I went on an exchange internship to Sweden in Northern Europe and experienced a real winter. Walking to school in strong winds and heavy snow, trekking across icy roads, and buying groceries at minus sixteen degrees Celsius — all experiences I had never encountered before. Fortunately, last November saw the heaviest snowfall recorded in that month in the past hundred years. Back when I lived in England, it basically snowed just once or twice a year, and it never accumulated. This year in Northern Europe, I truly felt what winter is like — just like in the movies — and many things were beyond my imagination.
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Walking on frozen sea. Skating on frozen lakes is something you often see in TV anime, but here I found that even the sea had frozen over. Behind me, you can see people walking across the sea (the spot where I’m standing is very shallow, and the ice is fairly thick — don’t try this without experience).
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And there were also people skating.
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Snow started falling as early as November 2016, and there was a massive snowstorm that lasted for three full days, becoming the heaviest November snowfall in Stockholm in the past hundred years. The entire city's transportation system was severely affected — buses were mostly suspended, and commuter trains operated with limited service. Of course, everyone still had to go to school or work.
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Although I’ve experienced snow while living in the UK, it was always just light flurries that didn’t accumulate. It was only after coming to Sweden that I saw what a real blizzard looks like — now that’s winter.
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Even with heavy snow, people still have to go to work.
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It took over a week for the snow from this storm to melt.
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Cars were barely visible on the streets, and the scariest part was the subway station stairs — covered in both snow and ice, almost making the steps invisible. To avoid slipping, the best method was to crawl down using both hands and feet.
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Another unbearable thing was the extremely short daylight hours. From December to January, there were only about four hours of sunlight each day. Basically, the sun hadn’t risen by the time you went to work, and it was already snowing by the time you got off. In January, there was even one whole month when the sun didn’t show up at all (can’t help it — weekends were all cloudy too). The photo above was taken in February, finally seeing some sunshine.
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Minus sixteen degrees? Still had to go out to buy dinner ingredients. No matter how cold, you’ve got to keep living.
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The sea surface frozen, covered with another layer of snow.
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Djurgården Zoo Island
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The end of March is when daylight saving time kicks in again. Winter has just passed like that, and the daylight hours have significantly lengthened. There shouldn’t be any more snow, right? Back in November, every time it snowed, I wanted to go out and take photos, but I always held back because I was afraid of the cold and not yet used to the weather. I kept thinking there would be plenty of opportunities to shoot during the long winter. The result? Winter is over, and I never went out to shoot even once at the end.
That’s how people often are—constantly making excuses, and by the time they’re finally ready to act, the opportunity has already slipped away.
Goodbye, my winter in Northern Europe
Original text: 【Sweden】Winter in Stockholm | My first real encounter with winter—surviving the cold and darkness
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Text & photos: Travis To