Silent Night ... (not likely!) was the full page ad I saw in my copy of delicious for the classic Australian bubbly Jacobs Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir. I laughed at that image, knowing that it would be frowned upon in Sweden as we never joke about alcohol here.

It's a very touchy subject for reasons I still don't fully understand. I know that historically, Sweden has had an alcohol problem. It was so bad, that prohibition was tried for a time (in the days where the church weilded much more power) and there are tragic tales of poverty, death and broken homes because of it. Part of the reason it is so potent here, is that, unlike Australia, wine is not the most common drink in Sweden. After all, it's too cold to grow grapes and until fairly recently Sweden was too poor to import wine. The chosen drink was one that could be distilled from the plants available (grain and potato) - a type of vodka or snaps. Combine that high alcohol percentage of the chosen firewater with hard working conditions, very few opportunities for alternative entertainment, ease of "home distilling", a harsh climate with long dark winters where you could drink in isolation and you can see why they are part of what is called the vodka belt.

On the other hand, I found it rather amusing that one of the biggest selling Swedish exports is a vodka we know as Absolut, when the Swedish word for a teetotaller is absolutist. Talk about a contradiction.

They don't even make it easy to buy alcohol here. It is strictly government controlled (though that monopoly is under attack in the EU court system at the moment) and only available from the relatively few State outlets, called Systembolaget (the System Company). Not very reassuring name, is it? And certainly nothing as frivolous as the great Booze Brothers chain we had in Adelaide. Even the Finns manage to have the amusing name Alko for their State run places.

I had to go and get some Christmas drinks, so I had no choice but to venture to our local Systemet. This is an interesting experience. You go in, take a queue number, look at the number of people there and then try and estimate how long you have to wait. On a particularly busy day, you could face more than an hour's wait (in which case I go and shop next door in the supermarket while waiting).

"Why is there such a long wait?", I hear you ask. Well, they don't trust us not to drink the stuff before we get to the checkout, so treating us like pre-school children, they lock the booze behind glass cases with a number next to the bottle. Then when your queue number is called, you go to the counter and ask for the number of the drink you want and they will get it for you from shelves BEHIND the counter.

You aren't allowed to take photos inside, so you never saw this, okay?



That's me perusing the white wine section, pencil and paper in hand. I find it easier to quote the number than ask for the wine by name. The staff only understand it if I say "nummer 7359". If I say Jacobs Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir in anything other than a thick Swedish accent they won't have a clue what I'm talking about. Yes, I did manage to snaffle a couple of bottles for Christmas day for $A19 a bottle - I think a little Aussie bubbly is always welcome at Christmas dinner.

Today it is the shortest day of the year - the winter solstice. With sunrise at 9.44am and sunset at 2.40pm, it can't start to get lighter soon enough for my Viking. He hates the darkness and today is a dull, overcast day. Even if you sleep for eight hours, you spend much more of your waking time in darkness than in light. Yesterday on the other hand was a glorious, sunny winter day. When I looked out of my kitchen window, I saw the snow glittering in the sunshine and the blue sky and thought it must be quite warm outside. But as soon as someone passed, I saw how they were dressed:



Yep, it's arctic out there. The reason I don't register that is because our apartments are centrally heated and I'm in a t-shirt enjoying the pleasant 20.5C inside. When I first came to Sweden, I used to look out, see the sunshine and just put on something light. Lars-Göran said "You'll have to put more on before you go out" but I wouldn't believe him. "Look!" I'd say, "it's sunny, blue skies and I already feel warm". He thought I was nuts and steered me over to the thermometer on the wall. These essential household gadgets have both the inside and outside temperature on them. I would just stare at it in disbelief as it said -6C (yes, that's minus six celsius). I refused to believe him, so he led me over to the balcony and opened the door. Man, oh man, was THAT a shock to the system. I've now learned to check the outside temperature before dressing for a quick foray out doors.

In this weather, it is the dog I'm really concerned about. I know she has a fur coat and all that, but I'd love to dress her in something warmer. I do have a little leopard print coat that one of my step-daughters made for her, but I think something more like this is more her style. As a tiny, fluffy white toy poodle she is very much a pearls girl I think. Lars-Göran disagrees, but then he's no fashion expert.

The snow that fell on Saturday and Sunday is lasting well. There have been no further falls, but the temperature has stayed below -5C ensuring a crisp frost underfoot.



The fresh water ponds are frozen over and ready for skating and now even the sea is beginning to freeze in the bay where we moor our boat in summer.



Today, it is a more sombre sort of day, with near dusk like conditions prevailing. Luckily, we can counteract that darkness with making our homes as warm and cheerful as we can, with lots of interesting candle holders, burning tiny, fragrant tea-light candles to ward off the darkness.

Of course, some Swedes like a bigger fire. Remember last year I talked about the big straw goat in Gävle? Well, this morning's news reports that overnight, it has been torched again in the wee hours of the morning. I can't say it's unexpected (this is the 21st time it's happened), but still it's been done before, guys. Try something else, already!

The view of Nynäshavsbad from the boatclub just after lunch will give you an idea of daylight at this time of the year.



So, from here onwards, Sweden should be feeling a bit more...sunny.

The best news, though is that we are assured of a white Christmas.

Thankyou, Santa!