Life in winter from the Finnish window

From my recent three-week December trip in Finland's sauna capital of Tampere, the everyday view from the apartment I lived in has somehow made a room in my heart.

- Rameshinder Singh Sandhu

From my recent three-week December trip in Finland's sauna capital of Tampere, the everyday view from the apartment I lived in has somehow made a room in my heart. I was based on the sixth floor, the building on one of the main streets touching the train station just a numbered steps away.

My tiny room's window was a perfect spot. It faced the large shopping store called Stockmann with offices occupying most of the top floors. While its doors remained busy with shoppers going in and coming out, its offices with glass walls always had some kind of action, from morning meetings with the boss to workers lingering long around the coffee machine. I had also spotted one room where an elderly woman always fiddled with large files. On the ground floor was a coffee shop where conversations never ended: Large groups, two friends or maybe a couple. Many also sat alone looking out in a contemplative mood.