Welcome to our place

So I thought that I would take you all for a peak into our living quarters. This has finally turned into a home now and that feels great. I love the area and living close to water once again. I have showed you some pictures of the area before. But the view over the canal is something that I never get tired of. It is always the most beautiful during dusk and and early in the morning.

From our outdoor patio/porch area we are almost able to see the water. Everyday there are boats cruising down the canal.

This is our street. We live in the building to the right.

This is our outdoor or patio area. It is quite large and we have actually two grills standing out here. One belongs to the guy who owns the apartment and then we also have ours out here. We can have one hell of a BBQ party if we would like.

The bathroom. We only have one here. In Sweden it is not common as in the US to have a bathroom for each bedroom even if it is something that I really liked. When we do buy a place of our own we would want two bathrooms (the second one only has to be a half bath).I am glad we do have a washer and dryer but there is also a big laundry room in the basement. Since the washers and dryers are much smaller here I go down to the big one once a week and do all our sheets and linens down there in one go as there is a large washer down there. Even the shower is very small compared to US measurments. There is not much space left when you are in there schampooing your hair.

This is the great room that is combined with the dining room in an open floor plan. That is why you have the chairs at the bottom of this picture. To the left is the bedroom. Now we have set up our furniture. It is all ours except for the dining table and the chairs. The apartment was furnished which did cause problems for us since we already were coming with a fully furnished home of our own.

We put up our old tag in one of the bookshelfs and will add the second tag that is still on the car once we got it through the final control and registered with a Swedish tag. Actually that is happening on Wednesday next week. There was a cancellation and we got to take that slot.

From the living room or great room you get out into the our door patio area or our own little porch area.

Here is the bedroom. It is not big but still large enough for us to fit in our dearly beloved bed that is a king size bed. I just love this bed. It is the best we have ever had. We bought it at IKEA in Atlanta. I love having space when I sleep. To the right you can peek into the walk in closet. We are so glad we have that one because we would never have managed without it.

We managed to cram in a lot more that just our clothes in here and C even managed to put in our shelfs and thereby saving us more space. Also we did not have to store the shelfs somewhere else as we would have if we did not have this walk in closet. Compact living requires being very organized.

Then finally we have the kitchen and dining area. At the end of the kitchen is the hallway and where you enter the apartment. So this is it folks. This is where we live and what it looks like. It is not very big when it comes to what we are used to and the Southern living we have grown accustomed to but it works well for now.

Swedish

Some things you adapt to fast and like instantly. Such as:

Free and tasty fresh brewed coffee at work. There is even milk provided for all employees as well.

Free tea and not having to bring salt and pepper to work because it is provided.

Having company by nice collages every lunch to chat with.

"Fika" at work (fika is very very Swedish and that is coffee breaks with people at work).

Being able to pick up free copies of newspapers such as Metro and City.

To have the opportunity to bike to work and see that there are bike lanes to take you everywhere and anywhere.

To be able to stop a long the way to and from work and do errands very easily such as a quick stop for groceries ect.

Being able to window shop as I peddle to work.

The total freedom of being able to come and go at the time that suits me best and do any kinds of stops a long the way I like to and from work. When living in Alabama and taking the car everyday together with C we always had to make sure to wait for each other and keep the same schedule. No stops at GAP or anywhere else that were not planned in advance. C hates shopping and I would always have to drive home and drop him off first . So having only one car i AL meant that just about everything had to be planned and timed constantly.

Sweden is great in many ways :-)

Trial and Error

Jag saknar verkligen gymmet från UAB. Jag visste att jag skulle sakna det men oj så jag saknar det ändå. Där fanns allt och det var stort och fräscht. Här kunde man köra allt från styrketräning på egen hand, alla möjliga olika pass till att simma längder i den stora härliga badsängen.

Jag har provat på Friskis och Svettis en månad och tyckte att spinningen var ok men att övriga pass var rätt trista och dessutom var Friskis vid Karolinska Insitutet rätt litet men samtidigt ligger det perfekt till och är lätt och bekvämt att ta sig till. Jag körde ett prova på erbjudande på en månad där och har nu teckat upp mig hos SATS. Just nu håller jag på att testa deras utbud av olika klasser samt att testa mig fram till vilken anläggning som är bäst att träna på. Jag har ju en anläggning vid St. Eriksbron och sedan finns det en på Medborgarplatsen som jag cyklar förbi på vägen hem. Det är ju dyrare att träna på SATS och frågan är om det är värt pengarna, om det är så stor skillnad att det är motiverande nog att kosta på sig det hela.

Detta är bara en av en uppsjö av frågor och beslut som dyker upp då man flyttar till ett nytt ställe. När man befunnit sig på semester någonstanns så behöver man ju inte befatta sig med sådana här vardagsbeslut. Det är det som är rätt tärnande så här i början att man ständigt måste hitta nya lösningar som passar. Ständigt treva sig fram och hitta stigar i vardagen som förenklar och funkar. Första perioden hemma i sitt hemland blir en lång period av just "trial and error".

Vart och vilken butik ska man köpa matvaror i? Vilken tidpunkt passar bäst för att handla och vad är smidigast. Det är så mycket småsaker som man ställs inför som man normalt inte ens tänker på då man funnit sig till ro på ett ställe. Allt detta tar en hel del energi, tankekraft och tid. Men det finns inga genvägar eller någon skriven lösning utan det måste få ta sin tid och det måste testas ut av en själv. Så jag testar vidare och ibland suckar jag och saknar. Men ibland får man jackpot och hittar något som är mycket bättre. Man vet aldrig liksom...

Men det var precis så här när vi flyttade till Alabama också eller ännu mer så då precis ALLT var nytt. Jag minns än hur slut man var varje kväll. Att bara ta sig igenom dagen var en pärs. Lite så är det nu igen. Denna vecka har dock flugit sin kos iallfall och nu är det redan fredag snart.

Vehicles on wheels

We got our dear car (Grace as we have named her) but we are still not able to drive her. When she arrived on the container we had to send in the papers so that a back ground control can be made to made sure that we are the only owners and that we have owned her for more than a year before shipping her over seas in order not to have to pay tax on her. Right now this is being made. When we do get this back ground checking approved we have to get a motor vehicle inspection that needs to be done on all cars here in Sweden every year. So probably we won´t be able to drive her in yet another few weeks. Meanwhile we do have my dad´s good ole Volvo from 1989. It is still in very nice condition. That car sure is an old quality car.

Something else that is new to me is that you can rent bikes in Stockholm. You see these kinds of bikes all over town. Actually you see many people using them also.

You pay a fee and then you can rent a bike for a few days or for a more extended period.

Baked Goods

The cinnamon buns have an offical day of celebration in Sweden and today was cinnamon bun day in the calender. Everyone talked about cinnamon buns and at work they had ordered cinnamon buns for everyone for the fika at 3 pm.

This is a book I wanted to get for a long time but I did not have the chance or the opportunity while living in Alabama. It is a modern version of Swedish classical dishes. The book is divided into the different regions or counties of Sweden and each part has selected a dish as of its own to symbolize just that particular part of the country. It is really nice and has lots of recepies that appeal to me.

The book also has some really wonderful pictures. I love pictures in cook books. I think that makes all the difference and could almost not image buying a cook book without pictures or one that has very few.

I also got this book about apples. There are so many more kinds of apples here and now is the real apple season. I made a yummy apple cake Saturday that turned out really well so I will make it again. Today is the offical day in the almenac for the cinnamon bun. It is funny but Sweden has a cinnamon bun day that always is on October 4th. So to celebrate this day one should get and enjoy a cinnamon bun. There are ads about this on about every bakery that I have passed on my way to work. I had some cinnamon buns last weekend so I feel I have already had my share. But cinnamon buns are much better here to me (I guess that is because I am Swedish and like to have the dough sweetened instead of adding frosting).

The selection of crisp bread is also vast. There are so many kinds. There are basic good ones and then there are the hand baked fancy ones.

Here you buy them as they are baked in classic rounds with a hole in the middle. Kind of like gigantic doughnuts. The hole in the middle is because they should be hung indoors up in the celing to be dried. I don´t know if this is still done but this is the way it was done in the past times anyway.

This is one of those more fancy brands that are hand baked and also have been baked in one of those pizza stone kind of ovens as well. Swedes love their crisp bread.

Saturday we also had our first official dinner guest. It was C´s childhood friend H (that has been one of the ones to come to Alabama to visit us). We had a real cozy and tasty Saturday dinner together. H brought us this lovely orchid. It is just beautiful. It was the perfect home warming gift. Plants is just what we need as we could not bring any with us from Alabama. That is also a striking difference between Alabama and Sweden. Here people have lots of plants in their homes. In AL I guess this was kind of unusual as the climate was warmer and there was always enough green plants and flowers outside that one did not feel the need to have any indoors. Here in Sweden there are also window sills to put pots with plants something we did not have in Alabama either.

Nice weekend

We are starting to turn the place into a home that actually feels like home and looks neat and cozy also. I am kind of proud of our selfs that we managed to do so in only about one week. So nice to work hard first but then get it over with and be able to move on an focus on other things that are more fun.

Saturday morning we made waffles with fruit salad. We got the chance to test our american waffle maker and it turns out it works fine here and makes just as delish waffles here as in Alabama. C has installed our converters so that we can use our US appliances and we have two places where we can plug in things with american plugs.

Both Saturday and Sunday offered us nice fall weather with some sunshine. Here are some pics from the end of the road where we live. I just love watching the boats passing by on the canal.

We have also stared to subscribe the morning newspaper. Here you can choose to get it only on weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sundays). That is perfect for us as we don´t have time to read the paper on weekdays.

Nice and relaxing Sunday morning with the paper in bed. Ah so nice!

Then we made Sunday brunch with home made scones. There truly is something about warm home baked bread and the scent it spreads in the kitchen that is so comforting. I guess that is comfort food to me :-)

The rest of the Sunday we headed out to my parents place to exchange cars. We park the Mazda there until it has been approved and all the papers and registration have gone through and we borrow one of my parents cars meanwhile. We don´t drive a whole lot but do need a car to go grocery shopping on weekends.

We also bought a new DVD so we can rent and enjoy movies later on. The one we had would only work on american DVDs. So now we got a new one that can also play music as well. C is installing it at the moment so our home is filled with music. Have a good start of the week.

My bike route to work and back

Yesterday morning I decided to bring my camera with me and take some pictures of my route to work that I bike and show you what parts of Stockholm I pass on my way. The entire week has been one of those perfect and crisp, chilly fall mornings. Both on my way to work as well as on my way home the colors of the sky has been absolutley spectacular! This morning the sky was colored in pale blue and pink and there was quite some fog lingering over the water. It looked just gorgeous. On my way back the sun is about to set and also paints the sky in the most beautiful colors. I leave Sjöstaden behind me and start out crossing the first bridge over to the souther part of Stockholm city. Sometimes they close of this bride to let the larger boats pass.

This is one of the most beautiful parts of the way here at the start. I just love living close to water again. There is always something pretty to look at when passing this bridge that crosses the canal.

Over in Södermalm (southern part of central Stockholm). There are many people biking besides me as you can see or people walking.

This is another of my favorite parts. The sun is shining on the house of nobility here.

I also pass by old town (the oldest parts of Stockholm and this is a must see if you come to Stockholm as a tourist). Here the old buildings from the 1600s are really pretty and decorative in their architecture.

Just before I am about to pass the beautiful buildings of Old Town and I go downhill from Götgatan I get this view that is also very pretty.

Götgatan, one of the central and most famous walking streets of the southern parts of Stockholm. This street is always crowded by both pedestrians and bikers as well as a few cars trying to pass by. It is very busy.

I love this furniture shop that they have in this old industrial building.

I also pass by one of the best kitchen shops called Cordon Bleu. This is Stockholms Williams-Sonoma store. I have not yet had the chance to go inside and take a peak but I would love to.

This is what it looks like standing by a red light amongst other bikers and traffic waiting for the light to switch to green and start pedaling again.

I pass by some of the most central parts of Stockholm such as the Grand Central Train Station. This part is kind of tricky and has a lot of traffic so here one has to be careful and concentrate.

The view over city hall with its tower and three golden crowns shines brightly in the sunlight.

Stockholm is a truly beautiful city. It has a beauty that Birmingham just does not have. I just love that it is so full of life also with people, shops and resturants.

On my way home the sun is about to set.

Passing by the Old Town and one of the squares.

Again one of my favorite parts, this narrow part very close to the water. The street lights have just been lit.

City hall with its silouette against the setting sun.

House of parliament where the government sits.

Finally back where I started and very close to home again. The other evening this boat just passed under the bridge as I biked by and I could hear music being played from the boat. It was just one of those moments I want to treasure in my hear and add to my collection of beautiful memories.

Now it is Friday evening and that feels great. I love the feeling of having the entire weekend in front of you. I just wish the week had more Fridays or what do you think?

I wish ya´ll a great weekend!