Wow, a real winter came like in a day. I don't know if nobody was ready. Check out those leaves on trees, they are yellow and still there. Like I said in previous post (here) that it was already snowing a bit during the weekend but when I woke up yesterday there was like a small snow wall on the other side of my window and it was snowing like crazy. Everything was just white and is still.
I wasn't surprised about snow coming, it comes every year. Okay, maybe not this early and not this much at a time but still. They said at news paper that yesterday was the snowiest day of November in 111 years here in Stockholm. Anyway, the thing I was surprised was Stockholm public transport. Like come on. I used to live in Brussels, Belgium, where I understood that snow can mess up the public transport and close schools but in Sweden. One of my classmates from my Swedish class (where we were just 7 yesterday) told that their seminars were cancelled because of the snow and lack of the public transport. Bus lines have been cancelled and those which are not run late, trains are running really randomly with over one hour gaps and even metros can be late. I also heard that some people were asked to go home from their office yesterday in the middle of the day. I understand, who wants to dig a car out of snow after a work day? I also understand that if it is the snowiest day in November in 111 years things get messed up but I thought those could be fixed by next day.
Today, when it was not snowing anymore, I was waiting for a buss about 15 mins at the bus stop before realizing that there is maybe no bus coming. I walked to the other street and waited there like 10 mins and saw that the bus line I waited at the first stop and one which I could have taken from the second were both totally cancelled with other bus lines. Really didn't want to stay and wait for a bus which was running cause who knows when it would have come. So in the end I took a metro, which I should have taken in the first place, and was 45 mins late from a meeting.
And why I was so surprised? Well I'm from Finland and I haven't seen the same kind of problem there. Of course snow surprises every year, but buses are still running, maybe late but still. Trains maybe cancel one or two shifts but that's it. Everyone are still going to work, still going to school. Digging their cars out of snow.
Hopefully trains are working tomorrow cause I need to travel with one.
Enjoy the winter!
xo, Viivi
