Stockholm - In the winter?
Stockholm
can be beautiful on a sunny, snowy winter day. But in the drizzling November rain,
it is more like London in the fall. In Stockholm, winter usually arrives late.
You will find snow on the ground and ice on the lakes that surround the "Venice
of the North", but not until the real winter starts in January. The most beautiful
winter month is March, when days are longer, and you get a nice, blue light that
lingers after sunset.
There are many myths surrounding the Stockholm winter. All Stockholmers keep their fingers crossed for snow before Christmas. Usually Stockholm sees some snow in December, but only for a few days. A White Christmas? Maybe every five years. The reason is all the surrounding water that helps melt the snow. Not until January will the lake freeze, and the ground be cold enough to allow the snow to stay. It is seldom really cold. Ten below (centigrade) is a common winter day temperature. Twenty below is a rarity.
With the ice on the lake comes new walking paths, and Stockholm seen from the well traveled pathways over the ice is a real treat. Sundays the ice is covered with wandering people. Especially if there is snow on top of the ice. Then people will bring out their skis for a trip on the lake.
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| Walking
on new paths over the ice in downtown Stockholm is a popular pastime. |
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If there is no snow on the ice? Then it becomes even more exotic. Thousands of
Stockholmers strap on their excursion skates (a skate with a longer blade) and
go skating, often in groups (for safety, you need help quickly if you should happen
to fall through the ice). You also prefer to skate with the wind in your back,
and many groups go for trips of 40-70 km, with a backpack of food and a change
of clothes. When they reach their destination, they step off the ice and take
public transportation back home. Going back home against the wind is much harder
than it looks, even with a minor headwind.
So the Christmas markets mostly will have to make do without snow. But all the lights on houses, above city streets, and on Christmas trees still makes Stockholm quite special place around Christmas. Glögg (hot, spicy wine), coffee, and saffron bread with raisins keeps you warm, and that is when Gamla Stan (Old Town) and it pitoresque basement restaurants is at its best. Many of them are at other times mostly tourist traps. The Christmas market at Skansen, the Stockholm Zoo and outdoor museum, with all its traditional Swedish houses and Swedish local specialties is also a must-see.
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| Stockholm
City Hall in the winter. Here the Nobel Laureates receive their
prizes from the King. |
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The archipelago just outside Stockholm is a wonderful experience in the winter,
too, es pecially when the ice has become thick enough for ship to have to fight
a bit to conquer it. This is the true for both archipelago excursion on the ferry
boat, as well as the cruise ships to Finland and Estonia. Furthermore, the ice
stops the wave action, making the ride smooth. Even when there is no ice on the
Swedish side, the ice is often more than a meter thick in the Bay of Finland,
and even the biggest ice class 1A ships will sail in a convoy behind an ice breaker.
During the dark month of December the Christmas cruises featuring the Swedish smorgasboard is a popular pastime. You will not be hungry for a week after a dinner experience featuring a Christmas-fortified smorgasboard, unless of course you follow the recommended akvavit remedy to help digest the food. Most of the older, beautiful archipelago steam boats are busy all of December with two smorgasboard cruises for lunch or dinner. It very popular among Swedish companies to arrange Christmas parties for their employees aboard these boats, so it is not altogether easy to find a reservation, in spite of the multitude of boats. Reservations can be made online here or by email. Resetips recommends going on M/S Waxholm III, M/S Gustafsberg VIII, S/S Stockholm, M/S Östanå, M/S Prins Carl Philip, S/S Drottningholm, or M/S Enköping. Christmas smorgasboard is generally served starting the last week of November until a couple of days after Christmas.
Christmas markets can be found, among many other places, at the royal family
residence of Drottningholm and also on the archipelago island of Utö if you
are in Stockholm just before the famous Lucia Day (the Queen of Lights), December
13. On Lucia Day, white clad ladies with candle lit crowns can be seen in processions
all over Stockholm.
Different and spectacular evening cruises in the archipelago before Christmas
are run by the Cinderella boat company. With the help of powerful floodlights
the snow clad islands with their sleepy summer residences are lit up. Reservations
can be made here.
The ferry cruise ships to Finland, Estonia, and Åland sail on their usual schedule
throughout the winter. A 24-hour cruise to Mariehamn on Åland with dance, entertainment
and very good food will give you an excellent view of the archipelago and its
many islands with a very small risk of rough seas - only an hour each way in
open water. The rest of the time you are protected by the 24,000 islands, many
of which you can look practically straight down at. If you go on Birka Paradise
you can take the opportunity to sunbathe under an artificial sun on the glass
enclosed sun deck. From the "playa" on the upper deck you have a wonderful view
of the frozen archipelago and the sparkles of light from the few farms and house
of the people that live out there year round. It is a very exotic experience.
Birka Paradise also maintains a very high class on the food served in the a
la carte restaurant and the champagne breakfast buffet (a small add-on to the
regular buffet breakfast). Enjoy typical Swedish delicasies and a good wine
selection in a romantic setting.
Footnote: Why are winter skies so blue?
The color of the sky is a light phenomena that varies with the weather. Sunlight
contains all colors, but when it passes through the atmosphere, small air molecules
spread the light in all directions. Blue light spreads the most, resulting in
the blue color of the sky. When light is scattered by larger particles such
as dust and water droplets, all colors spread equally, and the sky appears white.
So high humidity causes the sky to appear more white than blue.
Clear winter weather in Stockholm often comes with very dry air originating
from the east. Therefore the sky can be as exceptionally blue as seen in the
picture above. Truly stunning winter skies! |
