Sometimes the most memorable moments of a European trip can’t be planned; they’re a combination of place and circumstances. I have the benefit of living in Stockholm and experiencing one of those moments without having to go anywhere.

Right now, Sweden is being harassed by cold weather. Early this week, Stockholm saw temperatures nearing -23 Celsius. Several decimeters of snow has been piling up. Public transportation has come to a halt because the tracks are freezing. People are being warned to stay home. We are just hours away from the Arctic Circle and the winter is beating Stockholm.

But those people that heed the warning and stay home are missing out. Because Stockholm is glimmering right now. The city is covered in white, untouched snow and it is a spectacular sight. I have written several times about Gamla Stan in Stockholm. The Old Town. But no matter how well preserved it is, you cannot escape the present. Lights, signs, trinkets, they dominate the windows.

The snow though, the snow wipes that away. The signs disappear, there are fewer people around, the snowswept city is silent. The whole experience gives a sensation of being transported back in time when those medieval buildings near the castle were home to the Swedish gentry. And for any history nerd, there is nothing better than disappearing into a time long since gone.

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