"Warm lights shine from the houses that dot the wintry slopes of Mount Flyen and a cold wind blows as I stand in a swimming costume trying to talk myself into joining my friends in Bergen harbour. Stars are already appearing in the inky mid-afternoon sky. Life-changing moments are easy to spot in retrospect, but at the time they can feel so ordinary. I didn't know then that my wintry swim would lead to a year of adventures."
"The water was so cold it burned. I gasped for breath. The bones in my feet ached with cold as I trod water, legs frantic under the dark surface. It lasted under a minute and then we were out. As we warmed up, hands around mugs of hot chocolate, skin zinging from the experience, more and more women arrived at the cafe, hair wet from the sea."
Warm lights illuminate wintry slopes as a swimmer hesitates before joining friends for a harbour swim in Bergen. The mid-afternoon sky fills with stars as the swimmer plunges into burning, bone-aching cold, gasps, and endures under a minute before warming with hot chocolate alongside other wet-haired women. The experience triggers a decision to spend a year swimming across the Nordic countries, seeking what makes life feel alive after leaving a job near burnout. Nordic cultures reveal a deep love of the sea, with Icelandic belief in water as a cure-all. The swimmer establishes a routine of weekly swims and plots a route from Copenhagen.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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