We had an outstanding Sunday afternoon and evening in Stockholm, though it very nearly didn't happen as the trains from Nynäshamn were cancelled. Again. I'm used to it during the weekdays, but never on the weekends! There are always a variety of inventive excuses - autumn leaves on the track being my all time favourite, but there is also "wagon fault", "faulty doors", "switch problem" "moose on the line". Today they decided to fess up instead and announced personalbrist (not enough staff!). Which didn't help us. They eventually sent a replacement bus to take us on a 45 minute ride to a point where we could hop on another train, but the normally one hour trip actually took just over two and a half hours by the time we waited here and there for missed connections! I guess its the price one pays for living out in the sticks.




We attended a glögg party at a friend's beautiful apartment in Ferkens Gränd in Gamla Stan. This is very close to the Royal Palace and to the cathedral where we heard Händel's Messiah last Sunday. Our friend Olle is a professor at Karolinska Institutet (the big teaching hospital in Stockholm) so he has many friends and colleuges and the two level, half-timbered apartment was packed with joyous laughter and good cheer when we finally arrived - slightly late.

We drank industrial strength glögg, chatted with a few people, accepted compliments on the sweet little santa puppy we had with us and feasted on the fabulous spread, with tables laden with lussebullar, struvor, klenäter, pepparkakor, panettone and biscotti. Not to mention the piles of glistening red apples, shiny clementines, chocolates, marshmallow, knäck, ischoklad, almonds.... I asked Lars-Göran what the klenäter were and he said he had no idea! But I should know better than to ask him about anything that doesn't have sails!




After leaving Olle's place, we turned along Österlånggatan (The Eastern Long Street), which is one of my favourite streets in the old town. In the early evening, with the street lights and Christmas lights blazing, it was a beautiful atmosphere and far less commercial than the tourist areas around the western long street. It was so quiet here and we could chat happily while we looked at the tasteful, cheerful window displays and walked towards Kungsträdgården.




It was around 5.30pm by now and the dark night had well and truly fallen. It was also rather cold, having fallen below zero during the day, though the air was that lovely crisp cold that I love. Still, I was very grateful that I'd worn my thermals and was snuggled into a warm down-filled coat, woolly scarf and hat as well as cosy, lined, leather gloves. The open air ice-skating rink had been set up again and the Christmas markets were still going as we approached.




However, it was to this building that we were headed - the gracious, refined department store of Nordiska Kompaniet or as it is more commonly known here, NK (pronounced "En Ko"). This large and elegantly appointed department store on six levels reminds me a little of Macy's, Harrods or Australia's DJ's, but in a uniquely Scandinavian way. I love this shop, especially at this time of the year when they have their Christmas window display.

This year's theme was Pepparkakeland (Gingerbread Land), a magical place where the Christmas gingerbread is made. The windows are apparently based on a 1930's children's book by Einar Nerman (Resan till Pepparkakslandet). I have read some criticism of this display, saying that the figures looked like the ompalumpas from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, rather than the little people who bake the gingerbread. But I sometimes think that adults read too much into these things and perhaps we should look at it all with the same wonder as the children. If those there last night are a representative example, then this display of a dream landscape of lollies, flowers and gingerbread is a big hit.




As you can see, the windows are bright, colourful and very appealing for a young child. You could literally smell the baking gingerbread if you pressed up close to the windows. The first window introduced the country where everything you need for making gingerbread grows.




The second window was like a non-stop lolly factory, where the decorations for the gingerbread were made, ready to be sent to the bakery. I'm sure a land where there is a never ending supply of sweets sounds like paradise to children, no matter what their age (looking very pointedly at a certain candy rat who lives with me....)




Next, it is on to the bakery where the raw ingredients collected in the first two windows are blended and made into the lovely gingerbread shapes that we all know and love here at Christmas time. The animatronics were excellent and the kids were fascinated to watch the lumps of dough being rolled flat and then cut out into giant heart shapes and baked in a giant oven.




Next, the baked biscuits moved on to be decorated with white icing by the artists, before being packed and ready for delivery all over the world. Decorating gingerbread here is very individual, so I thought that the use of an artist with his palatte was a clever idea. On the far side of the window, those in the mail room are crossing off the list of places that have received their shipment....




This was when I stopped in my tracks and stared open mouthed at the list. A real wtf? moment as I read that one parcel was off to Sidney. Now, every other name on that list was a city, so I'm pretty sure they didn't mean a person named Sidney. Perhaps they need a spelling lesson. Sidney, indeed! It would have been better to misspell London as every Brit I've spoken to in Sweden insists on pronouncing Stockholm as Stockhome. Maybe I'll start saying Stickholm instead.




Having been beautifully packaged into bright, striped hat boxes, the delivery people take them to the airport along a track. I smiled and looked at the scene, but then had another wtf? moment as I looked at the destination of the red and white striped box....




Oh no! Will Australia Post recognise it or will they stamp it "Addressee unknown. Return to Sender", like Sweden's Posten does to letters and parcels from my friends who accidentally leave the umlauts off my surname. Can someone in Australia please let Clover Moore know that her gingerbreads are incorrectly addressed and that Sydney may miss out this year.




The gingerbread is ready now to be airlifted by hot air balloon all over the world (except maybe to Sydney, unless Sidney offers to do the right thing...). I really enjoyed looking at the windows and while I can perhaps see why some people were concerned that the basic tale had been tampered with, it was not blatant commercialism, but really rather charming.

From there we went inside NK, where you are not allowed to take photos. So you never saw this, okay?




Isn't it a beautiful, civilised place? You really need to allow hours for a visit to this shop and preferably leave your husband home. It is absolutely beautiful and the cutomer service is quite outstanding. You can find everything you had ever dreamed of owning in this classy shop, from gourmet food, designer glassware and dinnerware through to clothing, stylish hats, watches, jewellery, cosmetics, books and even furniture. Not to mention the amazing cafés. Even if you don't plan to buy anything, it's just a great place to browse. But better without a bored husband. Just trust me on that one. The one shop that made me laugh was this one. Maybe it's just me, but surely the words cow and perfumery don't belong in the same sentence. I just shudder at the thought!

Of course, after the visit to NK, I've had to listen to Lars-Göran sing his version of the children's Christmas song Tre pepparkaksgubbar (Three Gingerbread Men).




Somehow, I don't think this will be a huge hit on the karaoke circuit....