Snow

Despite the mental images conjured by places like "Helsinki" or "Nordic countries", to date there hasn't actually been much snow in Helsinki. Mostly just flurries that turn to rain, or which get quickly stomped into ice after landing on a sidewalk.

I took some pictures from my apartment window of one of the more significant snowfalls -- it was maybe 2 inches.



Lack of snow doesn't mean lack of preparation. Check out the serious snowplowing machinery they have just for the sidewalks!



The snowplow doesn't mean that all sidewalks are safe, unfortunately. I thought snow and ice would be cleared off walking areas much faster than they are back home in Chicago, but this isn't true. In order to be more environmentally responsible, they use gravel instead of salt on the sidewalks so walking around can still be quite dangerous.

However, on the main downtown streets it is quite safe because the sidewalks are heated. All the easier for hordes of Christmas shoppers to descend.