Winter in the City

This year winter has been a proper one. This morning even in Riga the thermometer outside the window read -23°C. The radio reported that elsewhere in Latvia the mercury had dropped as low as -31°C. I must say, winter is not my favourite season - the cold doesn't inspire any kind of active activity. Bundled up in ten layers like an onion, I trudge from home to work and back. To some extent one has to summon the last reserves of willpower to go out in the evenings for dance classes or some event. I would much rather sit under a thick blanket on the sofa and stare at one of the screens - the television or the computer; both are equally addictive.

Looking at it all through the prism of optimism, Latvia is fortunate that you can enjoy all four seasons here in their full glory. Traditionally there are only three winter months - December, January, and February - what's so hard about getting through those! And besides, a walk on a sunny winter day among snow-covered trees and shrubs, ice-covered rivers, canals, and ponds, when everything shimmers with silver, is true beauty.

Below, see the photo gallery, created on a couple of such walks right here in Riga with a Nikon D200 in hand.