Thursday, December 8, 2011

Dreaming of Snow


Illustration by Ivan Bilibin

Summer is upon us here in Australia, and so I am dreaming of snow! As you may know, I am not a fan of summer. I find the heat confining and too restrictive on one's activities, especially when it gets to that point of really being too hot to leave the house. It is very warm today but the real warmth, when everything seems to be coated in an eerie simmering calm, will not (hopefully) be here until the new year.

So I am sifting through the Net for photos of Russia and Norway's snowy landscapes, that peculiar, almost iridescent blue-grey Northern light and a glorious clip from the film "Eugene Onegin" which captures just that light, the gorgeous interiors that reflect nature's winter colours and of course the chill of Ralph Fiennes' Onegin!

Russia from The Guardian

Image from nordiclandscapes.com


6 comments:

Pina said...

It is alright as far it is winter on the photos but I am sure that you wouldn't like the cold that stretches from October/November to March/April... ;)

We've been having a constant temperature around 0 degrees C for some time now but in spite of this it was really chilly in November when it was foggy for days. It felt like -20.

A hint: you should plan your next trip to Europe during winter months. :)

Bodecea said...

Pina is right - Winter looks SOMETIMES beautiful, maybe some weeks in the whole winter, but most of the time it is either dark (loooong nights) or grey. To go for a walk through the snow, you have sometimes to wear so much clothes you look like a marshmellow-man.In deep snow, every step is exhausting. Or walking is nearly impossible at all because of ice. Or you have some kind of ice-mud. Or just cold rain.

Our summers are cooler than yours as you know, but if i had the choice, I rather would like to move south, not north. Scandinavia - almost no light at all for month! Horror! They have enormous high suicide rates... better go to Turkey with its dry heat and mild winters at the coasts, and swim a bit in November ;-).

Bodecea

Diana Kennedy said...

I don't like it, either when it's too hot, nor when it is too cold. Beautiful pictures, yes Winter can be very poetic, but as Bodecea said, its mostly grey, wet mud.

Feronia said...

@ Pina, Bodecea & Diana -

You're quite right - I haven't experienced a European winter first-hand. I would love to plan a winter European holiday, actually, and everything would be cheaper too! It does look lovely in photos, though, and there's something about all those washed-out whites, greys and blues that appeal to the peculiarities of my soul :)

Max said...

Winter in the North is very drab after christmas I always found, but pre and at christmas time it is a joy, fresh and magical. But so then is a blue sky swim at the beach on christmas morning!

Feronia said...

Very well put, Max :))