Knee-deep in snow, I find comfort in an impromptu ice pack made of snow, all while earning an honorary digital residency in Tallinn. Who knew surviving a fall could be so entertaining?

I wake up to dim light and a lot of snow outside the window of my apartment in Tallinn. Today is the day to finally get things done, first by picking up the coveted digital residency, and then by an intense tour of the city’s main neighborhoods, looking for stimulating gathering places and co-working spaces for startups.

The weather seems to be on my side, with a morning without snow and a temperature above average for the period, above zero. I feel the need to get out as soon as possible and get moving.

My first crossing in the icy snow towards the main road, where we will take the tram, immediately puts me to the test.

So, I feel the need to take a break and seek shelter inside the first large supermarket I come across, also to study the offer and typical Estonian products.

There is also the classic bakery counter for sweet and savory snacks. It’s 10:30, we’re already tired and very cold, so it’s hard to choose between jam croissants or cabbage and spicy cheese, to quiet the rumbling of the stomach.

These are the classic situations where Andrea leaves the choice to me, and I become the only one responsible for the choices and food purchases that will fall on both of us. When in doubt, therefore, as usual, we leave with two bags full of various snacks, ranging from mushrooms to chocolate.

And here comes the fall at the second bite.

Knowing that they are now within reach, the sense of hunger intensifies, and the most natural thing is to start eating them on the street, walking, until the tram stop, at least to quell that wave of hunger. It therefore takes a back seat that we are literally walking on rough, icy, and slippery terrain.

I throw the bag to free my hands and protect my face as I approach the asphalt, while my knees are already struggling against the impact. They are the ones who got the worst of it. I feel sharp pains in both knees and all the surrounding area, but I try to get up immediately to understand the extent of the damage.

Andrea is worried, because he sees and especially hears, along with the passers-by, my desperation and suffering, and moves me from the center of the road, to make me sit down. After a few minutes of agony, I try to compose myself and visualize immediate relief solutions, with what I have available at that moment. I see the pile of shoveled snow left on the sidewalk, which can become the best emergency tool and ice supply. But since it’s a single block, the only thing I can do to make it adhere to the skin, through the pants, is to kneel on the snow.

This surreal scene naturally unfolds: me, marked on the face by the unmistakable signs of despair, kneeling on the pile of snow, on the side of the road, in elegant clothes, at the main intersection of the passage of cars and pedestrians.

As soon as I realize this situation, physical pain gives way to hysterical laughter, and I frantically ask Andrea to take a picture of me, with the clarity that this would have been a unique moment to immortalize and pass down over the years. Unfortunately, Andrea disapproves of my innovative solution for knee relief and wants to treat it with a lot of seriousness, so no photos.

In the meantime, I enjoy some looks I cross from people in cars who point at me, and from passers-by who cross and approach, first thinking that I have launched a new way of begging on the snow, and then understanding that there is something strange, that they do not fully grasp, but that amuses them.

We decide that it’s time to go home and rely on real care. I manage to walk slowly and with difficulty, we stop at the pharmacy for an anti-inflammatory gel, and at home we resume the new ice packs. This time, the solution we find is based on snow scraped and collected from the apartment balcony, wrapped in kitchen rags.

The healing mix of snow and anti-inflammatory seems to work, because a few hours later, with a restorative lunch based on snacks that survived the fall, I am combative and dynamic, ready to trot around Tallinn far and wide, and to be deservedly awarded the digital residency, at this point also honorary, for having distinguished myself with special merits already on my first day