In the space of a few short months, the snow has disappeared and somewhere between frozen and fecund, a veil of tentative greenness is covering the city. It is sunny today and Stockholmers are out in force. Never mind that the fact that it’s only a cool 13 degrees and you still need your scarf. This is it folk, it’s almost summer!
By contrast, the Age newspaper in Australia announced today that Melbourne has been hit by a cold snap, with overnight temperatures plummeting from 17 degrees at midnight to 7.6 degrees, making this the coldest day so far for 2010! Newsworthy stuff! Only a few months ago in Stockholm, my intrepid husband set off for work around 7.30am and it was minus 23 degrees. The bus didn’t come. I think it refused to leave the depot. For weeks the mercury didn’t get over zero.
Melbournians, it’s time to toughen up. It’s colder here today than you had it at midnight last night for goodness sake and the general mood here is that summer’s arrived. We’re going for an after-work drink at a bar on the water and whilst you huddle over your heaters, we'll drink mojitos or rosé because that’s what you do in the summer.
Toughen up? I don't think so - not if it involves subjecting oneself to temperatures 25 below zero in order to find 13 "warm"... I'd rather stick to finding 13 quite cold in contrast to the multiple days in a row over 35 that I face in summer - how many of those do Stockholmers get? Nonetheless, your description makes me want to be there. Now, please.
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