Stockholm

I am looking out of the windows of Sandra's corner apartment in Stockholm and strangely it has the feel of New York (without the skyscrapers) - the grid system of broad streets in this part of town, the taxis, the apartment blocks, the pizza shop downstairs, the coffee shop across the road and the corner supermarket.

Sandra has a lovely apartment in the Sodermalm district, just 5 minutes from the centre of the city (by taxi) and she has generously lent the place to us for the weekend - she is staying with her man in another part of town.

Our weekend started 24 hours ago at Heathrow Terminal 5. It was my first time through the new terminal and very impressive it was too - it seemed quite spacious and a lot less frenetic than any previous visit to Heathrow, which wasn't difficult.

It also made a change to be flying with an airline that wasn't Ryanair - in this case it was British Airways. More legroom, more hand luggage, free food and drinks - and not much more expensive than many Ryanair tickets bought over the years.

We arrived in Stockholm in bright sunshine but there is snow on the ground in the countryside and ice in the sea. We could have gone south to Carcassonne, where it has been 20 degrees plus this week, but we came north to Stockholm where it is just above freezing.

My first impressions are all good. The city seems incredibly clean and there are so few people too by comparison with London. We dropped our bags at Sandra's office and went off for a walk, a browse in the shops and a coffee - I love the blankets they put on the outside chairs in the cafes to keep the smokers warm.

Last night we met Mats for the first time and we all went out for supper together to a bustling grill restaurant in the city centre. I was expecting more pickled fish and elk stew, but apparently that lies in store for us today, when we are sailing out into the archipeligo and staying overnight on one the islands - I so have clothes for a city break rather than a country/sailing excursion, but I'm sure I'll cope.