November was a month of snow (yay!), grey skies, blue light, glögg, frozen waterways, the first julstjärna, hyacinth bulbs, the whir of gritters, heads nestled in hoods, saffron everything, and a warm glow emanating from windows.
Dark and grey. Standard November weather until snow arrives.
The skating rink was set up at Kungsträdgården. It’s funny they went through all this effort, when the whole city ended up covered in sheet ice not long afterwards.
The first snowflakes fell on the same evening I arrived home from a work trip in Germany — perfect timing! It continued all month, which meant I lost many hours hovering at the window monitoring the weather. I’m pretty sure I was one of the happiest people in Stockholm during November.
The kommun started erecting padded fences at the bottom of small hills, ready for sledges. When the snow arrived, sledges became a mode of transport, not just leisure items. You even see people taking kids to and from school this way.
Saffron mania begins in the run up to Christmas, and you start seeing golden versions of everyday buns, biscuits and other sweet treats (including doughnuts). I actually made lussebullar for the first time this year. Scott hates sultanas so I put a chocolate chunk in each end, and we ate them with whipped cream in the middle. Delicious.
Snowploughs and gritters barged along roads and footpaths. Late at night, early in the morning, when there was a break in the snowfall. The good news is, we are gradually sleeping through more and more “snowplough alarm clocks”.
I love this eerie blue Winter light! The photo was taken at about 14:00.
That’s all for November!
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