A Skandinavian Christmas

Christmas markets had been taking a back seat since visits to Cologne/Dusseldorf and Luxembourg a few years ago, so we decided it was time to change that. Some cheap flights courtesy of Norwegian air saw us headed to Stockholm for a long weekend at the end of November, just after a heavy snowfall, perfect for getting into the Christmas spirit.

A delayed flight though meant we arrived later than planned on the Friday (the bus from the airport into town is the cheapest way to get there, and usually pretty quick without massive snow falls), so after checking into our hotel we headed straight for the Old Town markets with the sun starting to set mid-afternoon. We found them easily, but they were on the underwhelming side - only around 30 stalls. Not to worry: we tried some glogg (swedish mulled wine) and ginger biscuits to warm us up a bit, then walked around the quaint old streets with snow crunching underfoot. By 4pm it was pitch black, and our soft bodies were finding the cold, cold. 

We marched back through town past the Royal Palace and Parliament, and over a bridge beautifully lit with lights, and enjoyed a quick pricey pint (£6) followed by some traditional nosh at Pyttirian. 

Saturday we had a somewhat later start - let's call it an alarm malfunction. So we hightailed it to Skansen open air museum, the world's first open air museum and one of the oldest and biggest Christmas markets around. Friday's snow had stopped but it was thick all around, deep and crisp and even. A real picture postcard setting for the premier Christmas market maybe 100 stalls, selling a range of stuff from cured reindeer meat (not fans) to warm socks, homemade beer and assorted gifts and decorations. It wasn't long before the -10 degree weather started to bite, so we enjoyed plenty of hot food and wine, including Dean's particular favourite, a coal bun - a mixture  of flour, water and salty bacon all fried in a cast iron pan over a fire. Simple yet effective, it was like a thick doughy pancake, served with cranberry sauce. 

With warm stomachs but cold extremities, we took part in some of the entertainment on offer, a dance around the giant Christmas tree. We joined the crowds for some Swedish folk dancing which ranged from pretending we were a variety of animals to traditional womanly housework (we think). Unfortunately the video evidence of Dean being a bunny rabbit doesn't exist, as Lou pointed a camera doing nothing at him while he danced instead of pressing 'record'. Obviously the traditional housework dance didn't include women and technology... 

Invigorated and feeling the feet again (by this stage it was -5) we checked out the grounds which included traditional Swedish buildings (like a farm house and a working bakery), and the zoo complete with reindeer, wild swine, lynx, foxes, bison, wolverine and seals. The brown bear was, wisely, hibernating for the winter. There had been so much snow and at times we couldn't see nor hear another soul so it really felt like we had the wilderness to ourselves. As we walked back to the centre of the park the snow started falling heavily again, so it was all pretty magic for these two kiwis who still love a bit of snow after spending most of our lives without it.

The following day (Sunday), we headed for the Royal Palace. Rather annoyingly, in winter things are open very limited hours in Stockholm, so it didn't open until mid-day. This did make sight-seeing a bit tricky, it was far too cold to wander around outside for too long, and far to pricey to while away the hours in cafes, but when the Palace opened we enjoyed a couple of hours taking in the history of the building and the obligatory changing of the guards.

Stockholm was a beautiful city surrounded by water - and in our case snow - so we'd happily visit again, perhaps in summer to see more of the city without constantly having to warm ourselves up and battle against short daylight hours. The easiest way to get around was the metro - buy a ticket from a shop which is cheaper than a machine or the ticket guy (weird), for roughly what you'd pay for a trip on the London underground. It's also a small, walkable city, and we found that was the best way to get our bearings and keep ourselves moving in the cold.