The perks of slumming it out

I'd just returned from Paris after a whirlwind trip to Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris again. I often plan ahead, it's nice to have a little bit of security when travelling, leaving more time to worry about the important things like culture, what to do and see etc; however, on this occasion, I broke my golden rule. So I got off the plane at Skavsta Airport in Stockholm after a two-hour delay and finally got back into Stockholm at 12:30am. As a general rule, hostels close at midnight in Stockholm so I couldn't rock up to a hostel and ask for a room to crash in. So I searched until I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted for a hotel, happy with a 5-star hotel with ridiculous prices and beauty (I'm not a fancy person, I'm cool with slumming it out) to no avail; there was a conference in town the ONE NIGHT I needed a room. Just one room; any Stockholm locals want to lend an Aussie a room for the night? But alas, no. So I found a quaint little park bench in front of a hotel (purely for security reasons; if I get attacked the guards are there!) where I stayed until my ferry back to Finland. But I found out in those 5 hours on that bench how beautiful and different to my home city Stockholm is; the people are really friendly (maybe a bit drunk but still friendly!) and the cool November air was a nice change from hot summers back home. Stockholm is a gorgeous city (in my top 3 Europeans cities) and after dark it is stunning; beautiful, clean and welcoming. Word of advice; prepare but welcome the unexpected!!