Season's Greetings 2009

Christmas time in London is a strange beast. The CBD is noticeably quieter. Majority of my office is away with Christmas obligations. Only the ex-pats and those with Visas in their passports turn up to work. The days surrounding Christmas, the 24th and the 26th casts something of a trance over London. It's a city possessed with consumerism.

Christmas eve, where people race against the 5 pm retail curfew; Desperately trying to fulfill last minute Christmas duties. Then comes the 25th, it's the day London shuts down. Public transport stops, the streets are empty and you'll be hard pressed to find anything but a steak or anything ethnic to eat (not that that's a bad thing). Boxing Day rolls around and the city sputters back to life. Thousands of people cram into back into the retail shopping districts in hope to grab a bargain on last season's stock.

Don't blink or you might miss those 24 hours when Christmas in London is removed from the 21st century. Keeping the spirits occupied and entertained with the simplicities of a warm house, some hot food and good company.

"You want me to come over I got an excuse" - Kickstart, Example

I ♥ Winter

I challenge you to find me something more visually indelible than winter. Calm serenity. That's all winter is good for, visuals. Everything else screams pain in the ass. It takes me an extra 5 minutes to do anything.

Winter, generally means added time. Things have to be done in slow motion, walk cautiously, thread warily. Extra time required to get ready to leave the house. Extra time to try on spent shopping. Cars move slower, the underground nine times out of ten will fail. End rant.

Weekend Trip: Take #1

This destination has long been on my European "todo" list. I've been told that if I were to see any major Scandinavian city, then this should be the one. A quick browse over travel forums and I soon realised that attractions were not the major draw card and found that it held a sentimental appeal of character and atmosphere. With newly assessed expectations and a fistful of Swedish Kronas we set out for Stockholm.

We opted for the after-work flight option and arrived at Arlanda International airport just before midnight local time. Thankfully the tourist information was still open and in the bright halogen illuminated room we stood in awe of the postcards and posters depicting an aestival Stockholm. This was unfortunately, not to be. We were greeted by cold, wet weather. That, and the fact we had limited daylight meant we had a severely reduced number of tourist options.

The general concensus, was that Stockholm is definitely a Summer city (A number of locals reiterated this point). Resigned to the fact that it would probably remain on my "todo" list I set out to count the number of Ikea Products, Saab Automobiles, H&M stores and beautiful Swedish women I would see over the trip. I lost count after the first day.

Stockholm Christmas Markets - Sugared Almond vendor.

My Ikea futon - In fact, in our hostel room alone, I counted 3 Ikea-labelled products. Don't get me started on the kitchen and bathroom.

Saab - It must have been the weather, but every single car we spotted was filthy and in dire need of a wash.

H&M

Dubbelrulle - It's 50% kebab, 50% hotdog. 100% post-alcohol snack.

Vasa Museum - Replica (10:1) of Sweden's most famous ship.

Overall, plenty of fun. We spent majority of the time cafes, sleeping and walking the streets of Old Town. Didn't get to see any Ericsson Mobiles or Nudie Jeans, that I'm afraid, will have to wait until the summer.