Around Stockholm, December 2023

December was a month of prolonged snow, short and dark days, people walking with their faces angled towards the ground, ice fog, the whir of gritters, large mittens, the rhythmic clack of ice grippers on footwear, golden string lights on balconies, rosy cheeks and bitter cold.

We saw our first light pillar!! The vertical strip of rainbow light in the middle of the photo above was created by reflections from tiny crystals in the air (many were seen across Stockholm around this time). I'm pleased I managed to capture it before it disappeared a few seconds later.

I chuckled when I saw knäckebröd being used as Christmas decorations... but what a great idea! If you're unfamiliar, knäckebröd are Swedish crisp breads.

This beautiful sight is ice fog; millions of tiny, glittering ice crystals suspended in the air. It blurred buildings on the horizon in a strange way compared to regular fog — the patchiness messed with my eyes a bit.

This sign reads "stability, trust and a green transition. You are EU."

Another foggy day in Stockholm!

Ice cream shops remain open for a decent chunk of Winter, despite the low temperatures. However, more and more closed signs appeared in December. Our favourite ice cream shop (Stikki Nikki) opened for just one week with their Christmas flavours so we stopped by — can't miss out on their saffron flavour at this time of year.

Sledging kids gathered on hills across the city. The kommun puts a temporary padded wall at the bottom of most.

We watched fireworks near Skinnarviksberget on new year's eve. Given it was incredibly cold, we really didn't think many others would be doing the same, but joining a horde of people walking along Yttersta tvärgränd proved just how wrong we were! It was chaos.

Thanks for following our adventures in 2023 and as we say in Sweden, gott nytt år!