Life in Sweden – In the depth of winter, I learned within me there lay an invincible summer

Albert Camus once said: “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer”. Trudging through the snow alongside the frozen canal this morning in sub-zero temperatures, I think I understood what he meant.

The different seasons are undoubtedly one of the benefits of living in Sweden. Changes throughout the year in the weather are normal of course in the Northern hemisphere, but the further north you go, the more significant the contrasting seasons are.

These changes make a great deal of difference from winter to summer, especially in Sweden.  Another significant difference in Scandinavia is the duration of daylight in Stockholm, the shortest day is about six hours and the longest nineteen hours.

And while I was taking photographs this morning of the fiery sun rise over Åkers canal, just outside my house, I thought about the Camus quote and that was right, inside you even on the darkest days, are the brightest memories of summer. So here are some seasonal shots of the canal, throughout the Swedish year.

Winter

Winter sunrise along Åkers Canal

A Snowy walk across the bridge to the local shop

Spring

Wood Anemones carpeting woodland floors

View of our house in Slussbrovägen, from across Åkers Canal

Summer

Cycling across the bridge over Åkers Canal on a summer morning

The banks of the canal in summer full of yellow iris plants

Autumn

Jogging along the canal on an autumnal day

Long Shadows on a sunny autumnal afternoon in Stockholm

I will finish this blog post with a quote from the amazing Finnish writer Tove Jansson, who constantly makes references to the seasons in her literature.

Tove Jansson in 1956