Winter is coming

A few days ago it was still cloudy, it was raining a lot and the temperatures were slightly above zero. We were even lucky with clear skies a few evenings. Or as we tell our customers – in order to see the Northern Lights, several conditions must be met. First: a dark place with as little light pollution as possible; second: clear sky (preferably without clouds); third: Kp-index (activity of the Earth's geomagnetic field, a scale 0-9, the higher the number, the greater the probability of the Northern Lights) and fourth: luck! And we really were lucky a few times. For us too, it was a kind of reward after all those rainy nights when nothing could be seen. And the customers were satisfied and happy, which makes us happy as well. Sometimes, paradoxically, it happens that as soon as we return home, we see the Northern Lights from the window better than during the entire tour...

And we got our first proper snow! It's been snowing for two days straight, the roads and sidewalks are hidden underneath it it's a little slippery, but so far it's going pretty well. The sidewalk and road workers are not idle here! As soon as the snow appeared, the sidewalks were immediately sprinkled with sand and gravel, the roads were plowed (as far as possible). But still, when I drive, I pay a lot of attention, especially on the bends, where it's super slippery. The interesting thing is that the roads in the city are much worse than outside it. I guess it's because thanks to the number of cars it melts, then freezes again and the slippery situation is created! Anyway, after this winter season, I'll almost be a professional driver!

The first real snow, the girls and I, couldn't just pass it by! We saw it all from the window, got excited, dressed properly and headed outside. It could have been 10-15 centimeters. I was really excited, couldn't resist and threw myself on the ground to make the first snow angel. This was followed by building a snowman, of course. Wherever there is snow, there must be a snowman! And although the snow didn't hold very well, we managed to create one.

I also got stuck in the snow for the first time today – with a car. I was driving with clients to a reindeer farm, where they forgot to plowed the parking lot. I drove into the snow, got stuck a little, but still managed to back out. Then I parked and it was immediately clear to me that I would probably have a hard time getting out. A young man from the farm offered me help, which I used after the program ended. He got behind the wheel, with the help of another Czech, we pushed him a little and the car was out. On the way back, we met about 7 reindeer on the road. It was a beautiful morning. After a long time, it was clear again, we saw the sun rising between the trees and the snowy landscape was beautiful in that morning light.

As I probably mentioned, we share a washing machine with the other apartment. We have one drying rack, and although our apartment is heated, it takes a while for everything to dry. That's why I decided to try a local laundromat. I've only had good experiences with them from New Zealand. With the washed laundry, I walked to the laundromat, which is about 5 minutes away. I actually just wanted to try the dryer so I wouldn't have to worry about drying everything in our room. The dryer was not occupied and the whole process took about 30 minutes. But this laundromat is not just any ordinary laundromat! This laundromat has free wi-fi, also free coffee, tea, and hot chocolate with marshmallows! And caramel candies! And if you want to know if you can taste all of that in 30 minutes, then yes, you can!

Otherwise, during the days, a classic life goes on here – shopping, cooking, fixing the washing machine, grilling with new guides, a Christmas tree in the shower… That’s actually a very interesting finding! When the first signs of Christmas decorations start to appear in the Czech Republic at the beginning of November, I always think it is too early. In Finland, Christmas has been around since at least October! Christmas songs are already playing everywhere – mainly in Finnish, there are trees in the city center, the lights in the windows are increasing, the decorations too, there are a million Christmas-themed magazines in the stores, just Joulu here and Joulu there! It’s actually quite nice. The Christmas mood somehow goes well with the snow. This year it will definitely be a white Christmas!