As usual, time seems to be moving differently here. It's been a week or so now and I've spent most of my days in the apartment tinkering on different things. The weather has stayed fairly manageable. On certain days and nights the snow will fall rapidly to remind me that it's indeed winter here, but a few subsequent days of above 0C will melt away the snow and replace it with rain. In any case, it's good to know there's a sauna in the basement at the ready when I need it.
Renja took me through the Barefoot Path last week. It's an art project that she's spearheaded alongside Sandra - another local artist. The path winds through the woods past environmental, site-specific pieces created by local and international artists. I think the program runs in the summer, when there's more light for artists to come and stay for shorter, more intense periods. Some pieces only stay up for a season, while others - such as the ones we saw - are designed to last more permanently into the darker months.
She also showed me a nearby lake, which was still and barely frozen over, but she told me how it's ideal for swimming in the summer. I like the stillness of everything now, and as much as I'd enjoy endless daylight hours I would probably also feel a bit crankier thanks to the clouds of mosquitoes that emerge from said lakes in the warmer months.
The apartment sits just near the ferry connecting Korpo to its neighbouring island, but the actual town of Korpo lies another 9km inland. In between snowfall and with a few things to pick up I decided to take one of the bikes into town. The road was flat for the most part, but I honestly can't remember the last time I went on an extended bike ride, let alone one on a fixed gear. I had a coffee and cinnamon bun at the cafe and did a lap around the grocery store before riding back home. My thighs were on fire by the time I got back, just to remind me once again that I could not have picked a more sedentary career path for me and my fat ass.