Coming to Europe in early January, I had a suitcase full of jackets, sweaters, scarves, hats, and gloves coz it was going to be the middle of winter and I was fully expecting temperatures of about 0 degrees or less. I was in Brussels during the winter of 2002-2003, it was a warm day there when the temperature hit 5 degrees, and Lund is closer to the North Pole than Brussels.
So imagine my surprise when I got here and realized that the temperatures were a 'moderate' 5-10 degrees. People at work have said that they've started to see spring flowers starting bloom. Looks like even the plant-life is confused!
Of course, the wind and occasional rain make things a bit more interesting (I was told that because Lund is quite close to the sea the wind here tends to be pretty strong at times). And considering my propensity for getting into "fun" circumstances, it shouldn't be news to anyone that I've gotten a first-hand account of how much colder it gets when you combine winter with wind and rain. (Not that I haven't experienced it before but I should've used my head a bit more.)
My "boss" Martin told me that on Friday nights, the Lund city center becomes a lot more lively as the the students get into a weekend-party mode deep into the night. As such, I thought that, while I wasn't into a social party-going mode especially since I don't really know anyone here yet, it would be nice to see how kids here kick back and unwind. So I head out the hotel with no hat, no gloves, no scarf. After all, I had walked around on the previous nights looking for places to eat and I never found it cold enough to warrant the hassle of putting on anything but a jacket and sweater. Once I step out the door, I see that it is raining, so I got back in to get an umbrella and nothing else. Yeah yeah I know, pretty stupid really.
So here I am, trying to soak in the atmosphere and culture of my 'hometown' for the next several months, when the rain starts getting heavier and wind starts blowing harder. So much harder in fact that on several occasions, I had to hang on to my umbrella with two hands to make sure I didn't lose it. I only noticed that I had to get some shelter when I realized my hands were starting to hurt. Despite that, I end up walking around for several more minutes because I realized I had ventured into an area of the city center where there weren't many restos (add to this the fact that I was craving pasta; maybe the weather was making me seek carbs and comfort food).
I finally managed to find a pasta place and when I got in, my face was quite wind-burned already (can you say 'rosy cheeks'? :-) ) and my fingertips felt like something heavy fell on them. There was a tiny candle at my table and I thought of using it to warm my hands. But then the flame was a bit too short and the only way for me to get any warmth from it was to put my hands really close to the flame. Which I thought was a stupid idea considering my hands were a bit numb and by placing them close to the flame I risked burning them without even realizing it. So I did the next best thing which was to just rub them together while waiting for my food to arrive.
After that experience, I always had with me my scarf, gloves, and hat, no matter how warm or cold it is. Better to look like an overdressed person not used to cold weather than risk getting sick. Of course I should've remembered to protect my feet as well when I walked around last Sunday in my running shoes that were designed to let air in (kinda like Adidas Climacool). Not really the best footwear to have on during the winter.
Ah well, you live, you learn.
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