Work trip to Stockholm, Sweden - 5th to 6th February 2008

A fairly quick trip to Stockholm this week, to see a colleague there. Having previously been to Stockholm in November, and now going in February, I was sensing that I haven't exactly had the rub of the green in the timing of my 2 visits. I'm sure that the place is lovely when it doesn't rain, and there is daylight for more than 3 hours a day - but I haven't had the pleasure of seeing it like that yet.

Arriving from Heathrow to Arlanda airport, one of the first things that strikes you about Sweden in general is that everything works. The airport is very efficient, you get your bags back quickly, you walk about 50 yards, then a purpose built train service takes you to the city centre in 20 minutes. The Arlanda Express train station seems to be dug into the ground, so the walls of the station look like they are cut out of bare rock. Generally, things are very efficient, like they are in Norway, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and, most places except the UK really.

The full day that I was in Stockholm was a rainy, cold, grey and depressing day - much like most of the days between October and March, it seems. It was raining big, fat raindrops, the kind that find their way down your neck. And, of course, it started to get dark at around 3pm. All this, added to the fact that alcohol is stupidly expensive, gave me the distinct impression that Stockholm is not a particularly fun place to be in winter. It seems like it is at the end of the world (and probably is) - I'm definitely going to try to make my next visit in summer, to at least have a chance of seeing the best of the place.