Skating in Hellasgården

I tested out my new ice skates on a lake today in Hellasgården. I went with a group that ended up being all Australians and Italians (except for me, of course).

The weather today is what I thought winters in Stockholm would be like - cold (-10 to -5 degrees C), windy, and snowy. Not the type of weather that I really like to be outside in. But, if I'm going to be outside in it, I may as well be skating.

Hellasgården is really nice. They had a 3 kilometer track cleared on the ice for skating. There were also a lot of people cross-country skiing and kids being dragged on sleds. This is me skating (well holding still for the picture) on the lake.Most people were skating with Nordic long distance skates. They have thinner blades than figure skates, are much longer in the front, and don't have a toe pick. Only 5 of us ended up skating and no one else brought skates. You could only rent Nordic skates. I was a bit worried about being able to keep up with the others using my figure skates. But, I managed just fine. Here's Alison and Matteo on Nordic skates. (They were actually trying to push each other over so one would be on the ground when the picture was snapped - but neither succeeded.)
After one lap, half of the group had had enough. The rest of us continued skating for a while. We had worked up an appetite. They were selling hot dogs on stick so that you could cook your own. We warmed up by the fire while warming up our late lunch.