Ever decreasing friction – from the Doctor

Walking around Stockholm can be terrifying. And I’m not talking about the gang crime (for which Sweden holds pole position in Europe), nor the giant elk burning with Christmas lights, nor even the sight of young girls dressed in white with flaming candles in their hair. All of which feature at this time of the year.

I am simply talking about snow. As an Aussie seeking Scandinavian adventure, snow is something I long for. Watching the snowflakes twirling gently down and the transformation to a world of crisp white is enchanting. But there is a dark side – and that is the sheer oily slipperiness of busy streets.

Today I had to walk about three miles around Stockholm. Several inches of snow had fallen. At first this is soft and grippy, though you cannot judge the depth or where the gutters end as everything looks the same. But very quickly the treads on your boots fill up with snow and make a glassy surface and you start to slip.

Then as more and more people walk the footpaths, the snow packs down and also turns into a smooth surface of ever decreasing friction. The worst parts are the pedestrian crossings where the snow is the thinnest and the most slippery, where there are the most people, in the biggest hurry, and where a long lines of cars watch as you creep anxiously
across the road.

Luckily, I had my spikes and strapped them onto the bottom of my shoes. That helps a lot – but is mortifying as I was the only person in Stockholm yesterday actually wearing spikes. Everywhere Swedes walked briskly about their business, in runners or boots and occasionally high heels. Some were jogging, carrying cups of coffee, or walking their dogs. Even older people with sticks were out and about, climbing stairs and carrying their shopping.

So how is this possible? How can someone in their mid 70s or older be walking up and down the stairs without even holding a banister, while I have to concentrate on every step and psyche myself up to cross the road? I wonder this every day.

Today, one of my Swedish classmates solved the mystery. She is French and her daughter has just taken her very first steps this week. Even so she is already at pre-school, and the school already takes the kids outside and has them walk and play on a frozen fountain and pond. Letting them fall over and slip and slide and get used to how the friction works and how to regain their balance. This is part of their curriculum. I realised I have seen many school students playing in the forest near our cottage during school hours – climbing rocks and trees and getting comfortable and confident with their natural surroundings.

I guess it’s the equivalent of an Australian upbringing: learning to swim, what to do if you get lost in the bush (find a fence, follow it to a gate, wait), and giving swimming pools a quick scan for funnel-web spiders before you dive in…

Despite this inappropriate upbringing, I made it through the day with some slips but no falls, and was relieved to reach Arlanda Airport. Flying seems a doddle after a Stockholm snow day.