Arn Goes to the North Pole

Sorta…

I opened the window from my apartment and it felt like hell just froze over. The streets were white and there were no people outside. It was like in the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” except that the plot made more sense.

It was -18 C, which is literally freezer temperature. (By the way, the average fridge temperature is 5 C while freezers are -17 C). But wait, wind chill was -27.2 C… wind chill is basically the real temperature outside. It’s the adjusted temperature after factoring in the intensity of the wind. No idea what I’m talking about? Open your freezer and put your hand inside, cold isn’t it? Now put your hand in, put a fan inside and set it to max. You can’t feel your hand? Good, I made my point.

I think the weather froze my brain as well since a few minutes later, I was outside with my heaviest winter gear -> complete thermals, 2 pairs of socks, 2 shirts, fleece jacket then my outdoor jacket, gloves and a bonnet. I had my camera so I can go picture taking.

You read right… picture taking

Hey, I’m a Filipino. Filipinos go picture taking whenever, wherever, however they want.

As soon as I stepped outside my cheeks felt like they were being pricked by needles and my eyes were all watery. I walked all the way to the bridge… where the wind was strongest.

The river was smoking.

I walked further and took a picture of the Wacker Drive clock then I walked downstairs to get a closer look at the river.

Poor pigeons. The one in the lower right actually walked towards me. I checked my pockets and I had nothing but my apartment keys and a Snickers bar. (Who walks around with a slice of bread in his pocket anyway?)

I went back up to the street but then I couldn’t feel my nose anymore and my cheeks felt like they were peeling off. The cold was also going through my bonnet and my gloves which are now freezing my hands and ears. I feel the cold creeping through my shoes and freezing my shins and my calf. Uh oh. While I’m known to have an extremely high tolerance to the cold, this was just too much as I ran back home. This weather is more fit for polar bears and penguins.