Hey there folks!

There's been quite a gap between the last post and this one. I really wanted to write something this whole time, a lot of things actually, but I couldn't really get to it. Many of these things require some kind of research or at least a proper structure to express my thoughts well. And these things take time. Otherwise it would be a total mess. And also I was busy with all the exams and other school obligations. But now that I have some time, I think it would be appropriate to write something again, and I decided to go with what was my initial plan back in December, and that is winter.

Month by Month Rundown

DISCLAIMER: The following text about weather and climate is based on my personal experiences, so it applies mostly to central Europe and a few days in Norway. The weather during this period was very likely different to where you live.

November

Initially, the post was meant to be about how weird this winter had been so far. And I still stand by this opinion, because for the large part of it, this winter was quite unusual. But back then it was in the context of temperature. To get you in the picture, we got first snow in November. There is nothing unusual about it, it's a common occurrence every year. But the reason why this snowfall was so peculiar was it's scale. First snow is general mild. Just a small cover. I would also say it has a different consistency or... texture. The point is, first snowfall is usually not a big deal. But this one, it was different. It was big. It was like a proper winter snow that's common for January. Nobody was expecting it at all. I remember my grandma telling me that she couldn't even get out of the village for a day, because the road wasn't ploughed yet. She also claimed that there was so much snow that it will likely last the entire winter. It didn't, but it still lasted way longer than I thought it would.

a landscape photo of a field covered in fog, there are a few shrubs in the middle of it and blurry apartment buildings in the background

One day I decided to take a walk to these ponds that are at the outskirts of Trnava (city where I study). On my way I took this photo of a field. You can even see a very small brown-ish blob on the left, where the shrubs are. It's a pheasant! But it got spooked.

December

But let's move on. All the snow had eventually melted, December had started. And December was the weirdest of the bunch. The entire time I couldn't stop thinking about one thing: how warm it was. And it's true that December is not the best example of winter as a whole. It's literally just the beginning, especially depending on which division of seasons you go by. I think the reason why December is considered "the winter month" is largely because of Christmas. Which by any means isn't wrong to think, I personally am guilty of that as well. I'm mentioning it mostly because there might be a potential bias towards how I viewed this December. But the thing is, despite December generally not being a completely snowy month, it was still too warm for what it should be. I remember many people I talked to mentioning that this winter was predicted to be very cold and dry. I don't know where they got that information from (news maybe?), but it was apparently wide-spread enough, since I got it from multiple different sources. However, this statement was definitely not applicable for the beginning of winter. Quite the opposite. The temperatures were mostly in the range of 8°C up to 15°C (give or take).
And then, as December was coming to an end, I was on my way to Norway to spend a New Year's Eve there. I want to dedicate an entire article to my endeavors in Norway, as I was visiting the country for the past 3 years and I fell in love with it. Additionally I want to pay homage to Larvik, a place that I won't visit for a very long time it seems. But back to the weather. While we were in a bus, on our way towards Krakow, it started to snow. An occurrence I didn't think I would see any time soon at that time. I actually started the journey with very low expectations, as I was stalking yr.no for at least a month prior to our departure, and the temperatures were looking to be very disappointing. Thus seeing snowfall was very welcoming. As we arrived in Norway, the weather was as expected - warm. The New Year's Eve was still amazing though and i enjoyed it very much.

a landscape photo of the town of Larvik at sunset

A view of Larvik at sunset, or probably shortly after it. This was taken on the evening of New Year's Eve. You can see some snow, but not much of it.

January

So, I started my January in the best way possible - in Norway. And additionally to this, one morning, I don't know if it was directly on the 1st or the 2nd, but some day like that, Larvik was hit by a snowstorm, or, a blizzard, or whatever you call it. Oh man, I can't even properly explain how I felt. It was marvelous. I looked out the window, staring at a beautiful Norwegian street full of their cute wooden houses, as it snowed heavily. The visibility was very low. the entire landscape appeared very foggy from the thickness of the snowfall. And the snow was piling up more and more. In the end we got ~20cm of snow. Maybe more, maybe less. A friend told me they usually get 3x the amount. The snowstorm ruined our plans for they day, which sucks, but at least I got to experience snowy Norway.

a photo of a short snowstorm in Larvik, the view is from the window

The photo I took during the snowstorm that had occurred on our stay in Norway and brought a lot of snow to Larvik.

After this dramatic shift in climate I got my ideal Scandinavian winter that I yearned for. I will leave these thoughts for the other planned article, but I just want to mention that spending 5 hours in a forest, in roughly -8°C, is something I strive towards and want to experience every day.
The rest of January was okay, I guess. I had an exam period, so I spent most of it at home, learning. Nothing special. Slovakia also experienced this wave of snowfall, and it snowed couple of times later throughout the month. It was very cold. It was cool.

Afterword

So this was the winter so far, viewed through my eyes. Didn't expect the post would end up to be so subjective. I hope it was still an enjoyable read despite this fact. Winter is not over yet, as there is half of February left, but the temperatures are rising and it seems like spring is on it's way.
December's warmth is very worrying. It was pretty much the biggest thing I was thinking about the entire month. January was a blast. And February looks okay so far. Nothing special. It snowed here like a week or two ago, but it melted immediately.

Alright, that's it. Take care.