Having grown up by the seaside, I’ve learned to always enjoy a good swim, and I have developed a second-nature kind of liking for water. Furthermore – despite that seaside of my childhood being of the sunny, warm kind – I’ve come to become aware of the exhilarating effect cold has on one’s mood and to believe in the benefits swimming in cold water arguably gives to one’s health.
I always felt a certain degree of envy every time I happened to bump into one of those videos where some crazy Fins or Russians cut a hole open on the surface of some frozen river or lake and jump straight into the water. I waited for my chance to do the same.
The other day, as I was having a walk along the frozen Neva River’s bank in Saint Petersburg, I noted some of those crazy Russians having a swim in a little pond, cut open especially for this reason. Here was the chance! A few days later I was back to give it a try myself. I found it really refreshing and invigorating, and I should definitely form a habit of it if I ever lived in a place with such a cold climate.
