For those of you who have not moved from London to Stockholm in early spring (because in Stockholm, late March is definitely still only early spring), here are some first impressions.

Stockholm looks deserted. Compared to London, there is a lot of space and few people. Even 11 o’clock on a Saturday morning, the roads were almost empty in the middle of town and there were hardly any people in the streets.

Stockholm is also visually quiet. London is an incredibly busy place, with a very high information density. A lot of people, vehicles, and movement, but also a lot of visual input – signs, details on houses, shop windows etc. In Sweden the architecture is more restrained, the shop windows less in-your-face, and the street signs all standardised.

The grass is brown and not green. In London grass remains green all year round, because winter doesn’t get particularly cold. In Sweden, grass dies during winter and then fresh grass comes up in the spring.

The air is dry. I can feel my skin shrivelling and wrinkling. At the same time it means that the air does not feel as cold as it would in London. 7°C in London is raw, wet and cold; the same temperature here feels quite mild. I used to put this down to habit, to getting used to the weather, but I doubt that that would happen overnight.

There is gravel on the pavement everywhere. Gravel that gets stuck in the grooves of shoe soles, and on the wheels of the suitcase, and then sneaks into your home and onto your wooden floors if you’re not careful.