Expecting a too-cool-for-school hive of

Scandi-hipsters, Ed Cooper is pleased to find

Stockholm is in fact a far more relaxed affair,

with enough wintry activities, casual nudity

and friendly bars to ensure visitors stay

chilled. Jumping into frozen lakes: optionalIllu

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Scandinavians take their saunas seriously, and the golden rule is – no swimwear. Nudity is required, though you should take a towel to sit on (shy folk can wrap up in it).

Forever chilled,’ my gravestone would read. At least, that was my initial thought after voluntarily plummeting, naked, into an ice-cold Lake Källtorp, a small body of water in Stockholm’s

outdoorsy epicentre, Hellasgården. This forced me to face the very real possibility of a frosty demise: trapped under ice in an undercurrent, with locals looking on in

horror – a recipe for a PR nightmare.

Of course, these were just morbid thoughts jolted into me by the shock of the frigid lake’s shrivelling temperatures. The reality: merely a typical case of bumbling journo (guilty) risking bodily parts in the name of a good story. I surface to the sound of rapturous laughter from a group of locals, seemingly congratulating me for being daft enough to plummet into the unforgiving depths. Alive? Yes. Stupid? Undoubtedly.

Wind back the clock about 20 minutes and you’d see me embark on the first stage of the lake-jump preamble: stripping down and setting course for one of Hellasgården’s saunas to endure 80°C heat with a handful of locals and my guide, Marco. “Do you

share any similar traditions in England?” he asks. I struggle to draw comparisons

to the lunacy of the naked lake jump, managing only to uncover a fraction

ABOVE: The bay of Riddarfjärden on an icy Lake Mälaren, with the striking architecture of Stockholm’s Old Town behind. The Old Town dates from the 13th century, but most buildings are 18th- and 19th-century

I SURFACE FROM THE LAKE TO THE SOUND OF LAUGHTER FROM A GROUP OF LOCALS

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As well as ice diving, Sweden offers a number of wreck dives, including a variety of Second World War ships around the island of Öland, off the coast of Småland.

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of idiotic similarity in chasing a wheel of cheese down a hill in rural Gloucestershire, which – according to Marco, now in only his birthday suit – is “complete madness”. If you’re wondering about the reasoning behind this traditional Swedish silliness, the theory is that leaping into a freezing lake will shock you into living longer. An imperfect plan, if you ask me.

Post-jump, I’m a little embarrassed (men aren’t supposed to squeal) but completely refreshed. Eventually, my lungs recover and Marco (who’s still naked) and I return to the relative paradise of the sauna. Chatting away in the stifling heat, a few locals (they’re naked too) recommend a trip to Brunnsviken, a bay of the Baltic Sea surrounded by parkland. At the time of my visit (in mid-winter), Brunnsviken resembles a Herculean block of ice, and tourists and Stockholmers flock to it. Heaps of alternative and winter-friendly activities are available

in and around the city, and Brunnsviken in particular – hiking, cross-country skiing, pimpling (that’s ice fishing to you and me) and, for the truly masochistic, ample opportunity for a spot of ice diving.

Having left Hellasgården armed with a new aptitude for all things wintry, I set course to spend my next day in Stockholm slipping, sliding and – eventually – skating along the Brunnsviken with Stockholm locals and wintersports aficionados ICEguide. Deploying onto the lake with a backpack full of survival must-haves (that’s a lifejacket, coffee, sausages and soup, in case you’re interested or lost), and skates sharp enough to shave with, I take to the

THE THEORY IS THAT LEAPING INTO A FREEZING LAKE WILL MAKE YOU LIVE LONGER

NEED TO KNOW

EAT & DRINK B.A.R. (or Blasieholmens Akvarium och Restaurang, if you insist on being formal), in central Stockholm, offers a traditional pick-your-dinner and locally caught fish bar towards the back. Expertly encapsulating the shabby-chic, not-quite-finished feel that occupies many of the best restaurants in the city, there’s even some sumptuous Swedish craft beer behind the bar, making this place a case of straight outta Shoreditch (minus the try-hards). restaurangbar.se

STAY Built from the ruined castles of the 1700s and proudly registered among Sweden’s listed historic buildings, Hotel Skeppsholmen was once a hospice for plague victims, and later went on to accommodate military employees until 1900. Now sporting a refreshing, forward-thinking design, the hotel is itself a representation of Swedish culture, in terms of both hospitality and typical Scandi-style.hotelskeppsholmen.se

PARTYA multi-purpose entertainment venue on the corner of Berzelii Park, Berns breathes the feel of a venue that even Gatsby would frequent, especially on a Friday evening – which is when you should be there, too. Elegantly resplendent at its quietest and eye-bogglingly opulent at its greatest, skip that bloody Ice Bar and settle in here. berns.se/en

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Like any good hipster hotbed, Stockholm has a fanatical coffee culture. Södermalm generally boasts the best blogger-friendly cafes serving ‘fika’ in cut glass jars.

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ice and – as soon as I’m able to look up from my bumbling feet – am seduced by the frozen Scandinavian seascape.

“OUR RELIGION IS ICE!” yells our inimitably enthusiastic leader and ICEguide’s founder, Joakim Malm, during my comparatively bumbling baptism behind him. Having been thoroughly wooed by my surroundings, I’m inclined to join his cult. Whether submerged below

the waves and scrambling for dear life in Hellasgården, or skating on top of the Baltic Sea in the Brunnsviken, you are powerless to resist the merciless beauty

of Stockholm’s natural landscape.Later in the day, we head to Tweed

Bar, a stone’s throw from Skeppsholmen (an island, which shares its name with my hotel), where Stockholm’s homage to hyperlocal culture continues, particularly in the drinks Tweed serves. The menu is peppered with inventive cocktails and –

more notably – craft beers named after some of the bar’s more, let’s say, interesting employees, which, done with less humour

and affection, could come across as crushingly hipster. As it is, Tweed – like the city itself – is welcoming

and unpretentious in a way you might not at first expect.

As I sip of my Don Kypare (that’s

a craft IPA named after Tweed’s larger-than-life Italian chef), I ruminate on precisely what makes Stockholm so easy to fall in love with.

For starters, it’s a quirky, idyllic destination ideal for your own disappearing act, with its vast expanses of nature and a refreshing lack of cooler-than-thou attitude. It’s also a place where you can totally disconnect from the grid without venturing far from the city limits.

This rush of utopian wonderment stays with me as I my flight back to London soars over Stockholm’s archipelago. Come as you are, leave your comfort zone in the departures lounge, and you’ll be welcomed as a local. Consider it a city in which you’ll be both literally and metaphorically chilled – just remember to keep your head above water and you’ll have a fine old time. e

GETTING THEREFLIGHTSBritish Airways flies to Stockholm from London Heathrow, with fares starting at £93 one-way; to book visit ba.com or call 0844 4930 787.

MORE INFORMATIONEd Cooper was a guest of Visit Sweden. Head to the website to find suggestions for both city breaks and countryside escapes.visitsweden.com

STOCKHOLM IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN TOTALLY DISCONNECT FROM THE GRID

ABOVE: A boat makes its way through the frozen Baltic Sea that surrounds Stockholm. The city is made up of 14 islands of the wider Stockholm archipelago

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