True winter

On our return to Finland, we were met with frigid temperatures and steady snows that have left over two feet of snow on the ground that I bet are here to stay until spring. There hasn't been this much cold, snow, or ice in the sea in 7 to 10 years - I see a variety of figures bandied about in the press.

A passenger ferry to Tallinn got stuck yesterday and it took hours to free it since all the icebreakers were already busy with other ships. Another ferry shown here is the one we took with Chris & Jo this summer and it seems to be getting through to Tallinn each day. So I thought I would share a few pictures of our true Nordic winter in contrast to the previous two Southwest US posts, so you can also have a sense of the adaptation we've had to endure along with our jet lag. It was quite the challenge. It seems this has been a more intense winter throughout Europe, too. It is that time of year, after all, and (apart from the icy walkways) it is very beautiful, particularly the frosted forests that look straight out of a fairy tale. I'll try to catch some of pictures of those soon.