Stockholm

Flying into Sweden we see forests of snow covered trees. We've arrived at the depths of winter. It's -6 when we land and on exiting the terminal sparse flakes of snow fall from the air. Finally the snow watch is over! It's just after 3pm when we board the bus to take us into the centre of Stockholm and the light is starting to fade. By the time we reach the city centre the temperature has risen to -1.

Our hotel can only be described as Scandinavian. Peg board walls, bedside lights on hooks that can be repositioned on the ladder-like bedhead... and hydroponically grown salad greens and herbs at reception.

It's fully dark when we head out to explore the city and find somewhere for dinner. Every window we pass exudes style and simplicity. It's snowing lightly, and after dinner we find a city park transformed into a winter wonderland with ice skating rink and twinkling lights, all the prettier in the softly falling snow.

The next morning we're out exploring in the daylight. Stockholm is a city spread over 14 islands so there water and bridges are everywhere. We start our exploration in Gamla Stan, the old town. We're staying just to the north of this island, on the mainland in the area called Norrmalm, the central modern part of the city. With the lightly falling snow, the narrow streets and gingerbread style buildings there is a beautiful view at every turn.

In the water surrounding the island we watch the swans, geese, coots and ducks swim in the icy water - in some places the water is fully iced over, making a resting place for the birds.

After a while we head off the island of Gamla Stan and walk around the waterfront to the island of Djurgården, most of which has been preserved for parkland and many of the city's museums.

Tractors are out scraping the roads and footpaths clear of snow and dropping gravel from hoppers at their rear.

We spend the rest of the day at the Vasa Museet. This museum houses the recovered and reconstructed 17th century sailing ship, the Vasa. It sank 20 minutes into its maiden voyage while still in Stockholm harbour. At the time it was to be the centrepiece for the Swedish King's navy in the 30 Years' War. With two gun decks, less than 12 meters across, with too little ballast the ship was extremely unstable and it took only a few light gusts of wind for the ship to list and water to pour in through the lower gun ports. The museum is part intro to 17th century shipbuilding, political, military and everyday life and part archeology and preservation. So much to learn and see all related to just one ship! One of the best curated museums we've been to with very appropriate use of technology to tell the stories.

We have lunch in the museum restaurant and marvel at the views out across the waters. You can cut your own bread to accompany your meal and the tea is bottomless. At the end of the meals trays are put on a conveyer to be returned to the kitchen. There is no single use plastic at all and even the serviette holder reminds you to take only as few as you need, to support their sustainability efforts.

The next day We take a train trip to the west to visit Arboga, the town where Ed's great great grandfather was from. We sit on the top level of the two storey train and the view across the snowy landscape is picturesque. There's a lot more snow around here, but the day is clear and still, with no snow falling. We walk down to the river - it's mostly frozen over with only some room left for the ducks. The town has some quaint looking houses, old buildings and two beautiful churches.

In the evening we visit the Moderna Museet, Stockholm's modern art museum. The collection is perfectly sized with a good selection from impressionists up to the present day. It's interesting to see stronger influences from Russia in the collections.

On Wednesday we visit the Stockholm Royal Palace, Kungliga slottet. We take a tour to gain an understanding of the history and current role of the royal family. The palace was built in the 18th Century to replace the previous Tre Kronor castle that dated from medieval times. The old castle burned almost entirely, except part of one facade was incorporated into the new design. The new palace was simplified on the outside - a large square with central courtyard - while the interiors were decorated in lavish Rococo style. A small selection of furniture was purchased in France and then copied by Swedish craftspeople to reduce costs. One area where no expense was spared is the Hall of Mirrors, based on the one in Versailles and designed and constructed exclusively by French tradesmen. There is also one room renovated in modern Swedish style to honour the current king. Parts of the palace open to the public are still used for official events, including the state apartments where heads of state stay when on official visits.

As well as the state rooms we visit the Tre Kronor museum, which is in the medieval basement of the castle and shows how the new castle was constructed as well as what life at the old castle would have been like. We then head outside and around to the other side of the palace to see the treasury, which holds the Swedish crown jewels, and the carriage museum.

In the evening it's snowing more heavily than it has so far during our stay and the snow flakes are huge! We head back to Gamla Stan for dinner, to a restaurant serving traditional Swedish food in a sleek modern restaurant. We eat prawn on toast with fish roe, Swedish meatballs and potato dumplings stuffed with pork. There are lingon berry cocktails too!

On the way back to the hotel we stop to admire the snowy vistas of the city across the water.