Where did the spring disappear?

According to miss H – who for your information has an infallible memory, believe me – at this time of spring last year, we were basking in lovely sunlight and astonishing temperatures (for the Norwegian capital) of  +14°C. Trying to get a respite from the ice and freezing temperatures of Oslo, I decided to visit the folks down in Göteborg this weekend. Soothing rays of sun and a single blissful degree above zero greeted me on the western coast of Sweden. After having spent a day in town, I spent an hour and a half vacuuming and washing our car of all the grease, dirt and ice of a winter’s worth of driving. Finally, a clean car! Satisfied, I admired my reflection in the windshield for a moment before I went indoors for a sip of mom’s coffee. And what, pray, met my reflection in the kitchen window? Snowflakes had started to float down from an ever darkening sky. SNOW!!! Lord almighty, it had followed me here from Norway!

Oxsjön on a beautiful Sunday morning!

The white sand of Sisjön filling in for the red sand of Sahara.

Prying the front door loose from all the snow barricading us in this morning, I went for a long run up in familiar territory. I slowed down to a sedate tempo up to Sisjön and completed three laps around Oxsjön before heading back to mom’s and pop’s, completing 23k. Five slippery centimetres of snow filled in nicely for the sand that’ll meet us in the Sahara, but trying to prepare for the heat of the desert in Scandinavian conditions is like trying to prepare for Tour de France by cycling laps around the parking lot on your tricycle… Anyway, 90 km this week feels pretty good and we’re getting there!

And thank God for Le Pain Francais, who supplied me with a delicious breakfast today.

Le petit dejeuner.