Winter Activities in Örebro
Winter Activities in Örebro
Now that we live in a very north, very cold country, we are finding it a little more challenging to keep up our active lifestyle. We know it’s important to get outside and receive that dose of Vitamin D. This can be difficult when we only have 6 hours of sunshine and I’m at work during those hours. With the Christmas holidays taking place, we have been able to get outdoors and explore a whole array of new (to us) winter activities in Örebro!
Cross – Country Skiing
A few years ago I watched a Nordic Skiing race on TV and laughed. I thought it was a pretty pointless and strange “sport”. Never did I think that I would be in the position (or location) to one day tackle this new activity. I am much more familiar with the skiing or the downhill variety (or rather snowboarding in my case). Since the land is pretty flat in Sweden there are ample courses and tracks to go cross-country skiing. Always looking for a good deal, we found some second-hand skis, poles and boots on Facebook Marketplace. We actually made some great South African friends through doing so! So far, we have only been twice, but I do believe there’ll be enough winter to keep going. A small ski track has opened up at Ånnaboda, that we have been practising on. A few more will be opening up as we get more snow and the temperatures drop. Ånnaboda is just out of town, a mere
Ice – Skating on the Lake
For us warmer weather folk, we have only ever skated on an indoor ice-rink. All that changed when we moved to Korea and the temperatures were cold enough to sustain outdoor ice-rinks. Now we have hit the jackpot… a country that skates on lakes and rivers! This weekend the (frozen) lake was cleared, swept and prepared for the skating season. You can hire skates, both regular or long/Nordic ones, spark (kick chairs) and helmets. The staff at Rynningeviken are super helpful, friendly and quick to rent you the equipment you need. I tried the longer skates this time, as I have only ever ice-skated with traditional ice skates. They were much easier to balance on, and when using the poles, required a very similar action (and upper body strength) to cross-country skiing. We are now on the hunt for a second hand pair of skates. Then we can head down there every weekend for a run around the ice!
Light Show at the Castle
Every year there is a light show that takes place in the city centre at Christmas time. What makes this super special is that it is projected onto the castle walls. The townsfolk stand around on the bridge to see the show which lasts about 15 minutes. Some amphitheatre style seating is available -if you don’t mind a cold bum. The light show this year was about two mice that go on all these crazy cinematic adventures. It was rather cinematic but I did enjoy the gingerbread castle ad the
Christmas Parkrun
This is something that goes on all year round and we attend fairly often. You can read about our experience of Parkrun in Sweden here. But the winter adds an interesting little twist to a regular ol’ run. Snow is still so novel to us, so running in it can be quite fun! Also, I never turn down a reason to get dressed up! So when our local Parkrun announced that there was a Christmas themed dress up run the week before Christmas, I was in! My friend and I spent all afternoon crafting our delightful Christmas tree outfits. However, we completely missed them actually looking for or handing out prizes…Oh well, we know we were best dressed – we even made it onto the news!
Bonfire in the Nature Reserve .
Sweden is kitted out for bonfires and really encourages people to spend time outdoors, no matter the weather! There are numerous fire pits, barbecue areas and picnic tables along the river and into the Oset and Rynningeviken Nature Reserve. These are stocked with wood regularly so we have never encountered a lack of wood. This Christmas, we didn’t have plans until later in the afternoon. We went on a cycle in the sunshine to find a barbecue spot. We weren’t the only people with these plans, however! It was so nice to see so many families out and about enjoying the nature and sunny weather together. We didn’t cook anything on the fire this time, though. Marks enormous gammon provided us with meals for days. We used the fire for much-needed warmth and ambience! This might become our new Christmas tradition 🙂
Hopefully, some of you family and friends will find yourselves in Sweden at and around Christmas sometime…. hint hint! May these ideas get you excited to plan your visit, or if not, to at least find out what we get up to during the winter months!
