Stockholm

I'm back home briefly from a short but splendid trip to Stockholm to enjoy a bit of quality time with my favourite journalist, Catherine Edwards and her charming boyfriend. It's my fourth trip to Sweden, and my third to the capital, and it continues to grow on me. In summer, it's quite delightful, and the fact that Stockholm is really a collection of islands gives it a great deal of character and interest. It's also a city with a fascinating history.

A boat trip was high on my list of travel priorities - I've managed at least one trip on the water on each of my previous visits to Sweden, and this time there was the opportunity to do an extensive tour of the waterways, including the vast lake, which is associated with a fascinating legend. While listening to the guide's commentary about this, I had the idea for a story - something I've striven for in vain on my earlier visits. This story is provisionally titled 'Thin Ice'. Mind you, given that I've got a number of major projects on the go at present, I'm not entirely sure when I'll get round to writing it up.

Among other highlights was a visit to the vast wooded cemetery where Greta Garbo is buried. The scale of the place reminded me of my visit to England's National Memorial Arboretum. There are plenty of great walks around the centre, both in Gamla Stan, the old town, and along various waterfronts. If you haven't visited Stockholm, you've a treat in store.

On the flights to and from Stockholm, I read a couple of entertaining books. Only one of them will be reviewed, though. This is because, to my amazement, I discovered after I'd finished the other book that I'd not only read it before, but I'd reviewed it on this blog - albeit quite a few years ago. The amazing thing was that it is a fairly enjoyable (if slightly trashy) story, even though none of it had stuck. The only consolation I have is that my feelings about the book haven't changed from those expressed in the review!