Here I am in London, where we’ve only just reached fall (although it’s hard to tell as it’s already pouring with rain and freezing) and yet I can’t stop myself from reminiscing the days last winter when I was back in Poland. It’s a pretty random place to miss when you think about it, especially as I slept in the tiniest dingy little room with my newly demoted ex-boyfriend, only £180 to my name and without any grasp of the language – or warm gloves. It was a massive culture shock being served vodka and blocks of butter with my lunch, with the flight home consisting of the plane falling out of the sky several times as it fought against a storm with everyone on board screaming. It’s the sort of trip most people would look back on and grimace, and yet here I am craving the disorientation, the new language, the beautiful backdrops, and just how everything completely disconnected me from the stresses of home life. If I’m completely honest with you, this one wacky little sojourn introduced me to the wonders of cold countries, and may have even started to turn me from a summer person to a cold, wrap-up-warm-lest-you-freeze-your-arse-off person – and here’s why.

LESS ANIMALS WANT TO KILL YOU, AND THEY’RE ALL SNOWY AND CUTE

Imagine, narwhals! Snow leopards! Arctic hares! Adorable little fluffy wildlife is something I’d rather look out at from my hotel window than, say, killer snakes and spiders. My cousin lived in Australia a while back, and loves telling the story of how he nearly put on his shoe before his friend warned him to shake it out first – and a highly venomous bug fell out. I simply don’t have the balls or dedication to deal with that on a daily basis, and have a colossal hate for mozzies – something I doubt you’d find in -20 degree weather. Along with a distinct lack of pests, diseases don’t tend to flourish in that climate either.

YOU FEEL BETTER

This is mainly just from experience, but I find that you typically feel better when sweat isn’t dripping into your eyes and you’re struggling to breathe from walking up a shady sidewalk in 50 degree heat. I went to Turkey a few years back where they literally had to put warnings out on the television telling people not to leave their homes lest they overheat and die. Imagine, I went to the Aegean for a warm summer holiday but instead ended up spending it at the bar in the shade. At night, all you need in cold weather is a nice duvet to fall asleep, but in hot countries there’s nothing you can do except sleep in the fridge.

HOT COCO

I stand by the fact that one of the greatest joys in life is hot coco, and the only reasonable time to drink it is when you’re freezing your bum off in a foreign country. Imagine holing up at a snowy table with a hot chocolate in your mitten-clad hands as a bunch of snowboarders whizz past, or inside a warm car with ice crystals on the windows as you glance out over the aurora borealis. It’s so much better than when you’ve got perspiration sliding down your eyebrows, and definitely makes the colder moments sweeter.

LESS DRUNKEN ENGLISH TOURISTS

Whilst I’ve loved going to slightly warmer places like the canary islands, I hate that most people just visit for a cheap piss-up, doing things like knocking your camera out of your hand and shouting drunken comments at you. By my reckoning, the further north you go, the less crazy tourists with regrettable tattoos and gonorrhea there are. Maybe it’s just because Tenerife is a lot cheaper to fly to than Sweden or because the drinks are insanely expensive, but I’m pretty chuffed with it either way.

YOU APPRECIATE THE HOTEL ROOM MORE

When I went with my ex-boyfriend to Poland we stayed in the ugliest, most cramped room ever, and normally I would have completely hated it. But coming in from freezing, slightly uncomfortable weather to this cosy little room with blankets, junk food, and the Peep Show on Netflix, I was super happy every time we went back. The staff were super rude, our neighbours kept using the water I’d just boiled in the kettle, and from the outside it looked slightly like we were in a public prison – but it turned out to be the most fun I’d had on a trip in an age, and I was lucky to share it with someone who became my best friend. Cold countries and odd experiences bring people together, and being able to laugh about it in a teeny little room with some pretzel sticks is one of those experiences you’ll feel blessed to have had.

CWTCH YOUR BOO

I love being warm indoors in cold weather, by a little fire and wearing super fluffy socks. Staying somewhere cold also gives you the opportunity to cuddle in closer with your loved one – plus it’s super adorable to look out and see snow and mountains and people messing around on ski lifts together.

HEALTH BENEFITS

Cold weather is proven to be better at tightening and toning your skin, and being surrounded by fresh alp air and clear water makes you feel instantly better. Merely standing around being cold burns calories, and the lower climate outside aids inflammation within the body. Along with helping you sleep better, giving you more energy, clearing your mind, and helping you breathe easier, some studies suggest that colder weather even produces longer lifespans. Imagine, you get to spend more time on the earth feeling better – and you get to make snow angels!

WINTER SPORTS

I have been dry-skiing in warmer countries, and honestly, I don’t think that it really lives up to the hype of normal skiing down snowy saloons that are dotted with little huts selling fratwursts and warm pastries. When it’s icy out, you can ice-skate on frozen lakes and ride a snow mobile, along with bob-sleighing, snow kiting, and sledding down hills with your friends. I can assure you that by contrast, no one’s looked at Namibia on a map, sighed, and wistfully said “man, I wish we could go to Namibia so I could do sports that make my fringe stick to my forehead with sweat”.

NORDIC LAKES AND SWISS MOUNTAINS

The gorgeous landscapes of colder countries really can’t be matched. Whilst I adore the concept of visiting the Sphinx or looking out at elephants in the wild, I am also fiercely drawn to the idea of being able to stare at some incredible sights that have been carved wholly by nature, whilst throwing snowballs at people. It’s pretty insane when you’re in places like this to be able to look up at the view and realise that the backdrops are all natural wonders – especially when I clock that I’ve lived in the concrete jungle of London for the past few years.

Despite what a lot of people say, cold weather can be fun – and you might even fall in love with a trip to a colder country. For me, Poland is one place I am craving to go back to, but I’d also adore to visit someplace like Moscow or Iceland. The culture shock is straight up one of the best things to experience, but for me, I’ll always be won over by a nice warm mug of hot coco.

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