True Fairy-tale
The beauty of Freezing Cold
The oxymoron is intended.
I’ll start this blog post as a story, because even if everything you’ll read is true and had happened over the last days of January, it feels as if it happened in a story so I’ll begin as all my childhood stories began. With…
Once upon a time … (all of it actually started about 10 days ago)
Over the seas and mountains, in a far, far-away land (depending on where you are reading this, but all happened in Helsinki) the nature started to change. From gloomy but snowy January days, to freezing cold until everywhere your eyes could see it was all white and frozen.
I was finding myself standing in front of this Greatness of Mother Nature marveling at its grandeur. Maybe I’m not using the proper words to describe everything at superlative, and for that I’m sorry, but I’m making it my point not to use AI for my writing, as long as I have a functional brain to think and describe what my eyes or heart is telling me.
As I was saying, everywhere you turn here nowadays there is something new to try out or to do, because there are things that you can only do when is this cold outside, like for example walking on the frozen Baltic Sea, witnessing how Pamukkale of Helsinki takes shape, how an ice-castle is being built or how the icebreaker is making its way to break the thick ice in order for the big ferries could sail away to Stockholm for example.
But let me start at the beginning, because every story deserves a beginning and an end at least.
It was Thursday afternoon and the Sun started to make itself known to us, after many days of thick gray clouds. I look out and I see some people walking on sea. I said to myself I must've seen blurry, that’s what your brain is trying to tell you when your eyes says it can’t be true.
What did I do?
I’ve headed out with my child to that direction to see what exactly is happening there. And what do we see?
There is ice everywhere, but we are walking only on the small part of the water, the one closer to shore, where the boats are docked over summer. So no, we didn't walk away on the Baltic Sea, yet.
Instead…
we made a wish because it was still the first time (in our 3 winters here) we walked on that part of the sea
we took plenty of beautiful photos (mostly her ideas, like this photo)
we strengthened our bond this winter, because when you’re out there (even if there’re other people, still, the first one you can count on is the next to you)
ended our first adventure this winter with a cup of hot cocoa observing the almost full moon on a clear dark blue-pink sky.
Because I loved this afternoon so much I thought of having another day, only this time by myself, because I also enjoy some me-time where I can listen my thoughts, and what better place to hear it all and shaking off everything that's not useful, but in the middle of a frozen sea?
Next day, I went by myself in another part of the city, the one where we normally go to the beach during summer.
What can happen when you (re)discover a familiar place under total different circumstances?
you finnally see the avanto from the sea, not from the ground
you walk on the same water you usually swim in
I could hear my thoughts, under that crunchy snow
you find a complete stranger talking to you in Finnish and not small is your awe when you figure it out, you actually understand more than half, and reply accordingly. Change a few pleasantries in the midlle of the frozen sea, as two old acquaintances and off on our ways.
not the Moon, the frozen Baltic Se
Because many good things come in three, I pushed my luck further and went on chasing the winter sunset for the third time on the frozen Baltic Sea, this time with the husband. Because he gives me strength and courage and because we’ve seen other people doing it, we thought of trying it ourselves too. What?
walking on the frozen Baltic Sea approx. 1 km away from the shore. We’ve reached the first big sign for ferries. That’s how frozen the sea was.
we’ve witnessed the icebreaker coming through the thick ice (no, we weren’t that close, one can see when the ice changes and don’t go past that point. It’s not rocket science, if you love your life)
another miracle of nature was what I called the “Pamukkale of Helsinki” because of the resemblance of the Turkish Pamukkale, the big difference being one it’s warm, one it’s freezing cold, but the same color white, the same texture, even the same look.
my Pamukkale of Helsinki being able to walk on the frozen sea and wander at the newly reshaped landscape, that is something I felt very lucky to feel included into this greater whatever it is we’re living in.
What else one might be doing if it happens to find herself in Helsinki during these freezing temperatures, besides the walk on the frozen Baltic Sea?
Inspired by my friend Mwila, from earlier last week, I went to check on one of the few waterfalls in Helsinki, near the Finnish museum of Technology, where, if you have your Museum Card, you can visit it for free. Then I’ve journeyed on the frozen water until Arabia beach, where I’ve marveled at the first colorful ice-castle.
This is actually a really creative way to spend our days outside in the cold, with the children.
How to make the bricks? Nothing simpler:
take empty milk cartons, fill them with water, add some coloring (either food or paintings), you can also add some plants, as you can see in this video, let it freeze and then start building. It’s actually a community project, so it’s good for socialization too.
The waterfall near the Finnish Museum of Technology
I’m not one to complain about cold weather, I accept it as a fact of life. It has its role to play on this planet, same as we have ours.
What more can I say?
being so far away on the frozen sea, was one of the few times in this life of mine, when I’ve felt the most vulnerable. When I gave birth, there was an entire crew in that room with me, that knew what they were doing. Now, I was surrounded by a frozen sea and other people fascinated by nature as myself.
these -20°C have gifted me with quality time with my two blue eyes. Nothing strengthens the bond better than a walk on the frozen sea. She is that moody teenager now, that changes her mind a million times a day. So being just us, she made sure once again that she has someone to count on. A different experience, the same belief (mom is there, if you need her)
that conversation with a Finn in the middle of the sea? I couldn’t have directed that one even if I tried. When I’ve replied and she saw I’m not Finn she corrected me making sure I understood her, but she didn’t just leave. I belonged, and that made my heart melt. Luckily, it was just the heart, not the ice under my feet.
trusting my husband when he said that that particular clear ice (you see it in the photo) is frozen and safe to walk on, once again proved his judgement is way better than mine, under pressure.
Cold in all its shapes and colors
So you see, dear readers (not Bridgerton ones), this was a story about how these -20°C can bring incommensurably joy and happiness, because it’s not every day or every winter for that matter that we can experience the deeper meaning of what winter might look like, even here, in the Nordics.
Of course we couldn’t have ended this freezing-cold saga, without preparing some mouth watering food for cold days, and the winner was the Romanian style potato moussaka, from Irina Georgescu.
I wrote this post-story now, because I thought of having these moments captured for eternity, so my daughter will always remember the Mother Nature’s grandiosity, from my point of view, and to remember to always be humble because in front of Nature we are indeed little creatures who definitely don’t own it, but they’re owned by this old Planet of ours. We are so little in front of it. It would do us good not to think of ourselves as those in control, because we are definitely out of it.
Always remember to be happy whenever you’re watching a sunset and May you always find happiness in the little experiences or things together with a most beloved person, and fill your soul with joy and gratitude for witnessing everything in your life! Here, it comes to mind Robin Williams’s song: “Love my life”
The End!