Seasons in Sweden: A Photo Essay

Emma

Written by Emma

09 Nov 2019

Winter

where we are now, where we will be for a while.

In November grey clots the sky, swaddling you as you try to go about your daily business. You transition into wearing chunky knitwear but there’s a permanent, non-committal drizzle and fog in the air and it makes everything damp.

When the snow comes, even if there’s no sun, it makes everything brighter. Take what joy you can from the fact your nostril hairs will freeze together. Do not chew minty gum and then go outside. Be glad that the snow makes everything so quiet, and can put on such a show.

Snow frozen on trees in Northern Sweden
Trees in Kiruna / Photo: Emma
Uppsala skyline with snow on the rooftops
Uppsala in late winter / Photo: Emma
Snowy trees against blue sky
Trees by Flogsta housing, Uppsala / Photo: Emma
Kiruna church in winter
The Church in Kiruna, January 2018 / Photo: Emma
Pink spire in the winter
Kiruna in the winter / Photo: Emma
Woman standing in the snow
Me in the wintertime, Kiruna / Photo: Raeed
Happy woman in the winter
An outtake / Photo: Raeed
Snowy landscape, Uppsala county
The outskirts of Uppsala, March 2018 / Photo: Emma
Frozen lake and skating spot
Fjällnora / Photo: Emma
Snow scene and woman
Early afternoon, January 2018 in Kiruna / Photo: Emma
Small frozen lake in Uppsala and the moon
Afternoon in wintertime Uppsala / Photo: Emma
Industrial buildings and frozen river in Uppsala
Industrial / Photo: Emma
Frozen undergrowth, Kiruna 2018
Frozen undergrowth, Kiruna 2018 / Photo: Emma
Pink and snowy landscape view from airplane
Pink wintertime light, flying away from Kiruna 2018 / Photo: Emma
Woman standing with ice skates on on frozen lake
Skating in Uppsala, March 2018 / Photo: Ivanna

Spring

sneeze and you’ll miss it. Is it March – May? Is it April – May? The snow is like that friend at a party who says all of their goodbyes at 11:00pm, promising to call it a night now, but every time another Frank Ocean song comes on over the aux cord says, “I can just hang around a while longer!” Before you know it it’s 8am the next day and they’re still there, incomprehensibly. 

You’ll need a bigger backpack to accommodate the extra sweater, the rain mac, the gloves (just in case), your umbrella.

Everything is in flux. The gravel from the streets to protect against the ice gets in your shoes.

Daylight savings comes, everyone exhales.

Lake and rock and trees
A spot for sauna in Stockholm / Photo: Emma
0 degrees frozen lake temperature in March
Temperature of the water outside of the sauna / Photo: Emma
Sakura in Stockholm
Sakura in Stockholm / Photo: Emma
Pink sky early in the morning
A bedroom window view, Uppsala 2019 / Photo: Emma
Evening light in winter-spring Stockholm
Early evening in Stockholm / Photo: Emma
Pride flag and pink building in Uppsala
Pride flag and pink building in Uppsala / Photo: Emma
Stockholm tube, 6pm in the spring
Stockholm tube, 6pm in the spring / Photo: Emma
A sleeping boat in Uppsala, Spring 2019
A sleeping boat in Uppsala, Spring 2019 / Photo: Emma
A pink spring sky, Uppsala
A pink spring sky, Uppsala / Photo: Emma 
Green and pink trees
Spring trees, Uppsala 2018 / Photo: Emma
Cyclist and spring trees
Uppsala 2018 / Photo: Emma

Summer

don’t close your blinds before bed, be woken up by the sun at 3am and – for one night at least – watch it make its golden arc upwards.

Get your walking boots on and hike into the night without worries.

Go out to the islands, swim everywhere, be outside whenever you can be.

A student room in early August morning
A student room in early August morning / Photo: Emma
A 3am walk home in Stockholm, Summer 2019
A 3am walk home in Stockholm, Summer 2019 / Photo: Emma
An 8am morning swim, July 2018
An 8am morning swim, July 2018 / Photo: Emma
Church in Odenplan, Stockholm
Church in Odenplan, Stockholm / Photo: Emma
Hot air balloon in Sofia, Stockholm
Hot air balloon in Sofia, Stockholm / Photo: Emma
Person walking through a forest.
Woodland walk, July 2018 / Photo: Daryl
Statues and trees near Södrateatern, Stockholm June 2019
Statues and trees near Södrateatern, Stockholm June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Swimmers in Stockholm 2019
Swimmers in Stockholm 2019 / Photo: Emma
Friends after a swim, early September 2019
Friends after a swim, early September 2019 / Photo: Emma
Österlen, southern Sweden, June 2019
Österlen, southern Sweden, June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Boat and Swedish flag, 2018
Boat and Swedish flag, 2018 / Photo: Emma
Stockholm archipelago
Stockholm archipelago / Photo: Emma
Light at 12:30, Stockholm, June 2019
Light at 12:30, Stockholm, June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Early evening (or late morning, I can't remember), a church on Södermalm, Stockholm
Early evening (or late morning, I can’t remember), a church on Södermalm, Stockholm / Photo: Emma
Gamla Stan, Stockholm
Gamla Stan, Stockholm / Photo: Emma
Caramel and pistachio ice cream, Uppsala 2019
Caramel and pistachio ice cream, Uppsala 2019 / Photo: Emma
A late August swim in Stockholm city, 2019
A late August swim in Stockholm city, 2019 / Photo: Emma
A friend by a lake out the back of Stockholm University, 2019
A friend by a lake out the back of Stockholm University, 2019 / Photo: Emma
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, two friends walking, June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, June 2019, two friends / Photo: Emma
Abisko National Park, June 2019
Abisko National Park, June 2019 / Photo: Emma
Fjällnora, Uppsala 2018
Fjällnora, Uppsala 2018 / Photo: Emma
Stockholm 2019
Stockholm 2019 / Photo: Emma
1:30am in a woodland area just outside of Stockholm
1:30am in a woodland area just outside of Stockholm / Photo: Emma

Autumn

start taking coffee in a thermos on walks in the forest. Watch the leaves shimmer off of trees when waiting for the bus.

Walk home with your head held up, facing forward. The wind and rain and snow are yet to come.

A friend in Stockholm
A friend in Stockholm / Photo: Emma
Walking in the forest
Walking in the forest / Photo: Emma
Taking in the autumn sun on Södermalm
Taking in the autumn sun on Södermalm / Photo: Emma
A walk in the woods, Autumn 2019
A walk in the woods, Autumn 2019 / Photo: Emma
A walk in the woods, Autumn 2019
A walk in the woods, a red wooden house, Autumn 2019 / Photo credits for this and all photos below: Emma       
Person standing on a train station platform.
A pink sunset over Stockholm.
An orange building.
Student standing in front of a tree.
Emma

Written by Emma

09 Nov 2019