Stockholm

We spent the first half of our Christmas holidays in Stockholm. It was extremely cold (mostly due to the wind), but no real snow to speak of. Funnily enough, the city was a ghost town - that is, until the Boxing Day sales began! Then there were big queues outside all the shops in town.

Day 1 (23 Dec): Arrived, checked into our hotel (very nice) and had a walk through Gamla Stan. This is the Old Town, and was on an island, as seems to be de rigeur in Europe. We had a great dinner at the Glenfiddich restaurant. The food was much more authentic than the name, with a great deal of pickled herring. Surprisingly yum. Our waiter had a Geordie accent, having learned his English from a Newcastle resident!

Day 2 (Dec 24): Walked through the city...

...and ended up at Gamla Stan again. Saw the guards at the Palace and had a hot chocolate at a cafe, which had been converted from a prison (where they held Gustav III's assassin).

Went to the oldest church in Stockholm, the Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Saint Nicolaus Church), most commonly known as Storkyrkan (The Great Church). Admired their nativity scene and the gorgeous 1489 wood-carved St George and the Dragon.

Watched the ceremony for the closing of the Christmas markets. Had some tasty gingerbread, and some horrible mulled wine (Glögg):

More Stockholm:

Day 3 (25 Dec): Spent Christmas day at the open-air Skansen museum, where they recreate traditional Scandinavian country living. Had good luck with the animals - saw a red squirrel, plus wolves, a fox, wolverines, reindeer, and mooses (meese?). Spent the evening watching The Lord of the Rings on telly.

Day 4 (26 Dec): More museums on Boxing Day. The Vasamuseet (houses an intact 17th Century ship)...

...and the National Museum:

Spent our last evening at the Absolut Icebar Stockholm which was actually in our hotel. Everything, including the glasses and furniture, is made out of ice. The temperature inside is -5° C!