-23 degrees C (-9 degrees F)
This morning the temperature was -23C. That is -9F for all you Americans. -23C is really f-ing cold. Let me describe to you a 50 minute commute to work in -23C.
1. Leave my apartment building and immediately think to myself, “It seems a bit cold out today.”
2. Walk down the street and notice that many people have pulled out their polar bear fur coats for the commute to work. I also notice the distinct absence of any of the usual stray dogs loitering about.
3. Turn onto the main street where I am hit by a slight breeze. Maybe it’s more than “a bit cold” outside.
4. Decide not to walk to NDK and instead wait for a tram (despite that I will only take the tram 2 stops to NDK) since I don’t want to walk through the foot of snow we got over the weekend. Luckily I only needed to wait 3 minutes for the #6 tram.
5. The tram pulls up looking like a piece of ice carved into a tram. I’m amazed the thing is actually running.
6. I take this tram to NDK where I have to wait for the #7 tram (outside). The #7 tram is late. By the time it finally arrives I can no longer feel my fingers, toes or nose.
7. The #7 tram also looks like a hug block of ice. There was about a half centimeter of ice covering all the windows on the inside blocking any view of the outside. Luckily I was going to the last stop so I didn’t need to mentally count stops in my head. The inside of the tram was only a few degrees warmer than outside the tram. No body talked, moved or did anything on the tram. Everyone’s energy was focused on keeping core body temperatures warm.
8. I arrive at the last stop where I have another 5-6 minute walk to my building. I try to walk at my fastest speed, but my joints were so cold they wouldn’t let me. My entire hand has now gone numb and my face stings.
9. I finally make it to my building, only seconds away from severe hypothermia (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration – but that’s what it felt like). I think this is the coldest temperature I have ever been in.
Note that the weather forecast for today was a low of 22F (-5C) and a high of 39F (4C). In fact, they are still predicting 39F for today. It looks like they will be off by a couple degrees as I doubt the temperature will rise by 48 degrees (F) by the end of the day. Perhaps the Bulgarian weather forecasters should invest in a thermometer and a weather rock.
Haha! I didn’t even notice how cold it was on my 5 minute (walking) commute this morning because I stopped into a bakery halfway for some breakfast. It was a brisk 3 minute walk from my warm apartment to the warmer bakery, and then a 2 minute walk to work. Everyone was commenting how cold it is, and I was like “huh?” until I looked at the weather bug on my start page.