It’s springtime! At least for columnist Kate Monson, who is already celebrating the arrival of the buds, the birds and the bees.
Shhhhh. Don’t say it too loud. But I think spring might be here…
In the face of this new season I feel like one of the snowrops that have started sprouting up in sheltered corners of campus. Head bowed, still delicate; unsure if it’s safe to unshrug the shoulders, unfurl the feelings.
For that’s what winter does to you isn’t it? Buttons you up. Batters you down. Particularly in this part of the world where grey is the order of the day for so much of the time. I don’t have an exact – or even a confirmed – figure for the number of hours of sunshine we saw in January this year, but my housemate informs me it was four and I have no reason, nor inclination, to doubt him. And as if to add insult to injury, the nights often appeared clearer than the days. A starry sky is a delicious thing of course, but then so is a sunny one!
I can’t count how many times I have heard or read that Malmö is a summer city, or that Copenagen comes alive in the sunshine. It’s a different place, you’ll see, they say defiantly from behind their scarf and beneath their hat. And I do believe them. Skane is a land of long horizons and large skies. Repainting these with blues and greens, as the summer is wont to do, will have a spectacular effect. Marry that with a sparkling sea and shimmering sands and suddenly we’re a world away.
And there’s the birds too of course. I was away in Falsterbo this week, at a cottage by the sea with some classmates, and my ears delighted in the chattering tones of some of our new avian arrivals. Delicate things, darting, above our heads, discussing this year’s new nesting spots and sharing tales of their migration home. Sweet sweet relief from the cantankerous caw-cawing of the crows and rooks, which make up so much of winter’s soundtrack. I’ve found their call to feel particularly doom-laden when heard rolling across Skane’s vast barren fields. Bleak indeed.
But less of that. For as I have said, spring does appear to be…springing. That’s not to say there’ll be no more gloom, of course. But it does mean we can at least start thinking about enjoying all those things that the Swedes seem to do so well. Namely lake swimming, saunas, cabins in the woods and camping. I have to admit, in anticipation of this sweep from winter to spring, I have already spent more hours than I should browsing AirBnB and my are there some choice spots available. Cosy cabins for two, with private saunas and lake views. Stylish apartments on cobbled streets beside the sea. Large barns for large parties with large fridges for large amounts of liquid lubrication. And yes, if you look hard enough – and are creative with your sleeping arrangements – many of them can fit into a student budget. So, what are you waiting for?
