Escape of the Day: Palace of the Snow Queen
January 9, 2008
Revel in the depths of winter by reading writer/translator Barbara Sjoholm’s account of her off-season journey to the Arctic Circle, The Palace of the Ice Queen. After I repressed my own desire to travel the Arctic this year (see this entry), I returned to the States and found this exquisite volume at one of my favorite bookstores. Like me, Sjoholm was in dark spirits when she felt the draw northward–but that didn’t stop her from hitting the road. I, for one, am inspired, and happy to have found a new author to love. (And I still want to go to the Arctic)
Quoting Olaus Magnus, 19th-century author of A Description of Northern Peoples, Sjoholm reveals the plus side of wintry weather:
“Cold allows fish to be kept fresh for five or six months without salt
…Cold allows games and most delightful shows to be held on the ice.
... Cold opens up all pathless territories to travellers and hunters.“
