This is the front yard of my Stockholm crib. It also happens to be the backyard of the Crown Princess of Sweden and her prince consort and children. Catching the last daylight and some fresh air between office and dinner, it is surprisingly easy to get lost in the park. The English-style landscaping is from the mid-18th century when even a park did ideally not look like any human hand had shaped it – only God’s hand.

Take one wrong turn and you may be faced with a Chinese pagoda. Get lost in the squirming lanes again and you come face to face with a Roman tent -looking pavilion. Or a round royal lunch pavilion. Or the ruins of a castle. Or the royal castle of the Crown Princess and her family.

As I circled around the Chinese pagoda and turned back towards candlelight, tinkling cutlery, and a cozy evening meal, I thought of how lucky I was to have this place as my front yard if only for one day a week.

(Hotel Stallmästaregården in Hagaparken, Stockholm, Sweden; October 2015)