One of my very favorite Swedish words is vårvinter. Directly translated, it means “spring-winter,” and it’s pretty much what it sounds like. It’s that time in between, when the seasons are starting to change. When there’s still plenty of snow, but there’s plenty of sun as well, and each day is lighter than the last. It’s more than a word or a season; it’s a feeling, and it’s here, and it’s glorious.

The past few days have given us temperatures well above freezing and mostly blue skies. Today is a little greyer yesterday and the day before, but it’s still several degrees on the plus side, and the snow is melting fast. I’m not kidding myself — I know that it’s way too early to be counting winter out, but it’s absolutely on the wane.

I’m off to Uppsala in the morning, where it’s apparently rather colder than it’s been up here. Tomorrow’s supposed to be sunny down south, however, in contrast to the clouds and rain that are forecast for here. I suppose I’ll trade a couple of degrees gladly enough for more sunshine. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed that I don’t come home to an icy mess on Friday night, when it’s supposed to get cold again.