Running on Ice

"I'm running on ice...
I'm slipping and sliding,
cause I'm running on ice."
- Billy Joel







Today we took the boys for a 'walk on water'. How often does one get a chance to walk on a frozen ocean or sea? Islands that we once paid a few Euros to enter by boat is now open to pedestrians. The beach is covered by inches of ice and snow and the waters are safe to roam.





The part of the Baltic Sea that surrounds Helsinki is properly known as the Gulf of Finland. These waters usually freeze by late January but with our so called 'mild' winter, the freezing is behind schedule. This time of year one should be able to walk from Finland to Estonia on 20-40cm of ice...that is if icebreakers were not around. Only until recent weeks did the city declare the area lakes and shores "safe" for walking, X-country skiing, and skating. 1942 was the last recorded time for the entire Baltic Sea to freeze over and in 1987, 96% of the Sea was ice. By the end of April, the Sea should be almost completely thawed.





So how does a Texan who would wear shorts and flip-flops every day if given the chance survive in this enormous igloo? I relax on the "waters edge", pretend the sun is out as I soak in the rays, and if I stare long enough the snow turns into the whitest sand I have ever seen!