The last two weeks in Stockholm have been my most dreaded winter weather conditions: gray all day. It gets to be mind numbing. Not inspiring. In fact, it makes me rather stir crazy. I need the light. I crave the sunshine.
No matter the time of year, whatever the weather is, it tends to stay that way. That’s a lesson I’ve learned in my time here. I guess I have the Baltic to thank for that weather moderating. Thus when it’s sunny, you can usually count on it to stay that way as well. So that’s a good thing at least.
All that said, there is a beauty in the gray as well. My friend Tracy and I took a walk along the paths of Djurgården the other day. Not so many people were out and the day was very, very gray. But it was beautiful. In winter, you can see the bare bones beauty of the landscape: the shapes of the trees, for instance, become so lovely. And rocks and other things that are hidden by greenery in the summer are revealed.
There was a nice dusting of snow on the ground and ice covered the Baltic with chunky abandon in various spots. And along the canals, the water was so very calm that you could see the perfect mirror reflections of the trees. It was stunning. The gray lighting conditions had softened the hard edges of the landscape, adding a beautifully impressionistic look to the scene. I felt so lucky to get to enjoy the gray.
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