Stockholm Thursday 28th February

So here we are, dearly beloved, with the final instalment of An English Fool Abroad With his Sketchbook, Stockholm Edition. I had a number of plans for this morning, none of which involved going beyond walking distance from the bus terminal where I was going to get the bus to the airport. Why? Well, you see, the thing is that I wasn’t entirely sure when my transport pass would run out. I know that we touched down on Monday about 11am local time, and that it takes a good 20 minutes or so to find the train and take the train into the centre of Stockholm, and the first thing I did when I got to the Central Station was buy a 72 hour pass. Which is okay, as long as you remember that those 72 hours start from the moment that you first use it. And I wasn’t sure when that was. I reckoned that I was certainly good until about 11:45, but after that your guess was as good as mine, since I didn’t both to check what the time was when I used it on Monday.

Now, you remember how I said yesterday that the sun was conspicuous by its absence? Well, today was worse. Officially we were due a high of about 5 degrees, and it may well have reached that in places which were sheltered from the wind. The only trouble was, there wasn’t really anywhere that was actually sheltered from the wind today, or it certainly felt like that. It was one of those winds which seems to blow in all directions at once – it was always in my face no matter which way I was walking. Add to that the fact that it was what you’d all a lazy wind – so called because it’s too lazy to go around you so it goes right through you instead – and you’ll appreciate that I was glad that I was wearing my ‘last line of defence’ jumper. The only reason I was is that it’s too thick to cram into my rucksack, and I couldn’t leave it at the hotel today. So, it’s an ill wind, as they say – even if it’s a lazy one at the same time.

I said my farewells to Gamla Stan earlier, and walked across the bridge on the south side for once, towards an area called Slussen. This is where I made today’s sketch. When you get right down to it, Stockholm does a very nice line in spires, and I really liked this view, even if the bridge was in the middle of a building site – yes, that is a crane on the right hand side of the sketch. This was a very quick 25 minute job, since that wind seemed to be getting lazier all the time. In fact I never felt that I could stop moving for the rest of the morning. Well, not until lunchtime. I was heading vaguely back towards the bus terminal when there was a distinct waft of warm air from a turning in front of me, which is how I came to enter one of Stockholm’s biggest shopping malls. Really not my cup of Darjeeling when you get right down to it, but at least I managed to sit down for half an hour, and sample the Swedish delicacy of varmkorv med senap for lunch. That’s hot dog with mustard to you. 

So time marched onwards, and by about 2:30 I was down to my last 80 kroner – which judging by my experiences in Stockholm would maybe get me a cup of coffee in the airport if I was lucky. (it did – just). I’d already bought my bus ticket in the morning. I didn’t want to mess about when I arrived, so I took the Arlanda express train on Monday, but now, armed with my experiences of three days in Sweden I felt bold enough to take the bus. Well, that and the fact that it was precisely three times cheaper than the train, even though it only took twice as long. Now, when I arrived at the airport on Monday, I didn’t actually notice that there was more than one terminal. When I got on the bus I noticed that it was going to stop at terminal 5, then terminal 4, then terminals 3 and 2. What you’re supposed to do if you’re going from terminal 1 I have absolutely no idea. I also had absolutely no idea which terminal I was going to be flying from. Thankfully the bus had free wifi, and I have to say that Arlanda airport’s online information about departures is a hell of a lot more comprehensive than Bristol’s or Cardiff’s.

So here I am. I have maybe an hour and a half before we get on the plane and say adjo to Stockholm. I’ve enjoyed my time here, and I worked out earlier that it’s the most northerly city I’ve ever visited in mainland Europe. Have to say, mind you, that it certainly felt like it today. The sarky security guard in the airport took one look at my last line of defence jumper and said, “You have discovered that it is not summer in Sweden yet, I think.” Ho ho ho. Laugh, I thought I’d never start, and I didn’t. If you’ve been with me since Monday, thanks, I’ve enjoyed your company. Here’s to the next time.