30.12.10 – I’m surprised I don’t have more posts on Finnish snow removal. You can’t walk out the door before noticing dump trucks hauling snow, compact tractors scraping away at the sidewalks and streets or something as simple as a guy with a shovel trying to clear a path. You learn quickly in this city to notice when a sidewalk is marked off with yellow tape because it means there are crews on the roof of the building, rigged like mountain climbers, shoveling snow from the steeply pitched roofs.
The snow builds up so quickly on the sidewalks I’ve learned to walk differently, shorter steps, slower speed 😉 It’s not like walking on ice, although there are times you will be walking on ice, and it’s not quite like walking on snow… it’s almost like walking on some type of styrofoam.
Occasionally you’ll find a spot where they’ve managed to chip away to the hard Finnish granite which is often used to pave the sidewalks. Sometimes it makes me wonder, “why? It’s just going to get covered up again.” I guess what other options do you have? I guess you need to keep chipping away.
2010 is quickly drawing to a close and I find myself thinking about everything which has transpired over the year. At this time last year I had no idea I would be settling down in Helsinki and here I am. In some ways everything is totally different, yet at other times I see it’s the same. I’m still dealing with issues of work, friends and family. Some issues are satisfying, some are challenging, some are issues I would rather not deal with but… I still need to keep chipping away.
I bet the person who cleared the path in the pictures above must have felt good once he was done. I’m sure I will too 😉
I have one more post before the New Year but to all the other people out there “chipping away” at life, here’s to you and yours. I hope you have the luxury to look back on your past, like I have, so your path to the future is clearer.
Related Articles
- How large amounts of snow disappear overnight (boston.com)
- Q&A: Seven tips for surviving a New Jersey winter storm (nj.com)
- From Shovels To Plows: A History Of Snow Removal [Snowpocalypse] (jalopnik.com)
- Gerritsen Residents Dig Themselves Out Block by Block (gerritsenbeach.net)
Finland on 3 Pix a Day 