Our Time in Sweden

Three months have past since we said our goodbyes to our life in Sweden.  We have been busy settling back in to our Canadian home, school, work and family life.  Christmas has come and gone; Graeme has been playing hockey with his former teammates; there have been tests, speeches and plays to prepare for school; and in the midst of all this normalcy, I have to stop and ask myself...was last year a dream?  Did we really move our family to Sweden?  I recall the feeling I had when we were adjusting to life in a foreign country, that of amazement that we were going about our day-to-day activities just like we had back home.  But what I realized when we began our daily life back here in Canada, is how much more energy it took to accomplish those daily tasks in Sweden.  Before we left, we were waking the kids at 6:45am, out the door by 7:30am to drive to the subway station to catch the subway for a short ride to the station at the University, where we caught a bus to take them to school.  All in all, a 45 minute production!  Kris would head off to catch another subway to work, or if it was my good luck to have to take them to school, I would do the trip in reverse.  Running errands always involved much more thought and awareness than I was accustomed too:  deciphering labels in the grocery stores, guessing at sizes in the clothing stores, paying the appropriate parking fee to avoid receiving an outrageous $50-80 ticket.  Starting at two new schools while living in Sweden took alot of work, and at one point in time we had even considered trying the kids at our neighbourhood school where English wasn't taught until Grade 4.  Attending football games, reading maps, visiting museums, and listening to the radio...all these and many activities required extra attention and effort to make the most of them.  The feeling of success when we accomplished these ordinary tasks made the discomfort of the challenge tolerable.  It often felt like we were on a roller coaster ride, the highs were really high, but the lows were sometimes miserable!

We made the most of our time in Sweden, this I know for sure, and this blog is a testament to that!  All of the museums, nature walks, city tours, and excursions to outlying areas enriched us considerably.  The kids have had their eyes and minds opened to appreciate the vastness of the world and it's people.  They have a different outlook now and a great interest in how people of other cultures live.  They aren't so quick to judge a person by their appearance and they display a greater tolerance and acceptance of people in all shapes and forms.  They've developed an ability to cultivate friendships and also to maintain them from a distance.  The relationships that we all formed, individually and as a family, are what we will treasure as time goes by.

There is a great number of people who made our expatriation the success we will be remember it as.  Beginning with Kris' employers for proposing the position, to Keirstin, our relocation expert who found us our lovely home.  To our neighbours, Helene, Mats, Samuel and Sophie, for their warm welcome and ongoing friendship.  To BIPSS, the school where we first tested the international waters and emerged stronger from it.  To Rosie, Suzanne and Katrine, expatriates themselves who offered kindness and friendship to me in the quiet early days.  To Graeme's hockey organization, for employing such likable and confident teenagers willing to repeat themselves in English for the one little guy who didn't understand a word.  To Elise and Renee's football teams, for giving the girls an experience they will never forget.  To the parents of the other children on the girls' teams, who welcomed us, and looked after our girls when we weren't there to.  To Lasse, Ava and Vigo, who welcomed us into their home and their lives from start to finish.  To Lise, our Swedish teacher, who graciously accepted the fact that we were not going to master her language but never shook our fragile confidence.  To Shahin and Lovisa, for their youthful friendship and the opportunity to share their wedding day with them as well as a memorable last night in Stockholm.  To Jan-Erik, Suzanne, Elin and Philip, for taking such good care of us (we hope to have the chance to return the favour when you visit Florida!).  To the enthusiastic teachers at Rödabergsskolan, who made such an impact on our children in just three months that it will last a lifetime.  To the kind and fun kids that befriended our children at this school, they will be remembered as a great bunch of kids.  To Nadja, for her companionship I am grateful, our conversations made the hours I spent waiting for the girls to finish school fly by!  And to Sanjay, a great friend to Graeme, always ready to play.  To Scarlet and Jimmy, for the opportunity to reminisce about North America and watch the joy in you as first-time parents to Sydney.  To Tara, Ben, Aidan and Seamus, for showing us what true courage is all about as you settle your family in Sweden without the safety net of a big company to fall back on.  To Kristi, Mike, Evan, Maggie and Katherine, for sharing our trip to Tallinn and other neighbourly enjoyments!  It's amazing to take a few moments to stop and think about all of the people I've mentioned.  We are so blessed to have had such great people around us and so thankful for them.

                       

Graeme's Blog

Graeme recently had to present a speech to his class at school.  He chose to talk about his best friend from Sweden, Sophie.  Here follows a copy of the speech he made to his class:

Me and Sophie


When I moved to Sweden, I was sad because I left all my friends back in Canada.  One night after school my sisters and I were sledding down a big rock in our yard and Sophie and her mom Helene came over to say Hej (Hi in Swedish).  We spent the rest of the night sledding together and throwing snowballs at my Dad.  I now had a best friend in Sweden!

At first Sophie and I could not talk to each other because I could not speak Swedish and she could not speak English.  So we made up our own language, which was a mix of English and Swedish and we called it Swinglish!  When other Swedish kids were at our yard playing Sophie had to translate Swinglish for them, but it did not always work. One time Hendrick was over and asked for the bathroom and he ended up peeing in our garden!

Every kid in Sweden has a trampoline and Sophie’s parents did not have room for the trampoline in their yard.  So they put it in our yard.  All the kids in the neighbourhood came to our yard to play on Sophie’s trampoline.  One sunny summer day Sophie’s brother (Samuel) and my sisters decided to set the sprinkler up on the trampoline we had fun until Samuel hit his head on our house and cut his elbow.

Swedish summer days are very long because the sun never sleeps.  This gave Sophie and I lots of time to play on the trampoline, swim at the lake and ride our bicycles.  It also gave Sophie and I lots of time to trick our parents into giving us treats. We would always ask Sophies parents for ice cream and once we finished there we would ask my mom and dad for cookies.  We thought we were so sneaky, but I could never finish my dinner on those nights.

Sophie and I also liked to tease my sisters, we really enjoyed taking Renee and Elise’s Webkinz and throwing them out the window.  We only got in trouble when they landed in the bushes and my Dad had to get them out.

Sophie and I had lots of sleep over’s.  At first we only slept at her house because my parents could not speak Swedish.  The first time I slept over at Sophies, her mom asked what I ate for breakfast I told her I always had pancakes which wasn’t really true, but I did like the Swedish Pankaka.  Instead of maple syrup you put jam and whip cream on pan cakes, but I only like the whip cream!  My last week in Sweden Sophie did sleep over, and my dad said we were both snoring when he went to bed.

I really liked having my best friend living next door, I never had to ask to go for a play date I would just have to go outside and wait for Sophie to come out and play.  When she wanted to play she would sit on the tree swing in her front yard, which would let me know it was time to play!

Now that I have moved back to Canada I miss my friend Sophie in Sweden.  I know I will see her again, I just hope that I remember how to speak Swinglish!

Lazy Summer Days in Sweden

Yesterday we went to a nearby lake for a swim with our neighbours. The area was rocky but had a great wooden dock for sunbathing and jumping off into the cool water. Graeme took awhile to come alive (we are jetlagged and had slept in until 12:30pm that day!) but he was soon running across the rocks like a true Swede. Every now and then he would lay down but only for a few seconds, then he was up and scampering across the rocks again.

The kids have re-established their relationships with the kids next door, and are having more fun together than ever. Kris and I were pretty sure that this idea of jumping on the trampoline under the sprinkler was a bad one, and soon put a stop to it! (But not before we took this photo!)

Unfortunately, when Kris decided to play popcorn on the trampoline with the girls later in the day, Renee's knee came up and banged her hard under her eye. She has developed quite a black eye.

This evening, we had the pleasure of watching a fleet of hot air balloons soar over our heads, just above the height of the trees here in our neighbourhood.  I understand that having these balloons float over the city of Stockholm is a rare treat as other capital cities have forbidden this.

We're soaking up the sunshine and long days in anticipation of the dark winter that seems to be far around the corner.  If only summer could last forever....

Renee's Blog

I really enjoyed my time in Sweden. I’ll miss the trails, football, and our neighbours. My favourite part of living in Sweden was riding the subways and buses to school. I loved going on the trips to Egypt, France, Italy, Spain and Estonia.

When we first got to Sweden, we were going to a school called BIPSS (The British Primary school of Stockholm). In the summer, we visited Canada for one month. After that, we started going to a big school called ‘Rodebergs Skolan’. There was many children from grade nine to one!

There we all had really nice teachers: Graeme had Vasugi, Elise had Mr. Wilkinson, and I had Mrs. Simonsen. Vasugi is from Singapore, Mr. Wilkinson is from New Zealand, and Mrs. Simonsen is from Ireland. On October 24th, 2009 we jumped on a plane to Spain, Barcelona. There we stayed at a amazing new hotel, the ‘W’. We got settled in our room and then went to the beach.

We walked along the beach to where all the shops and restaurants are to eat. Once we ate, we walked back to the hotel and explored. We got really tired and went to bed. In the morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel.

When we were full with food and energy, we hurried to get the tour bus. The ride was seriously boring. I highly recommend that you skip it if you go to Barcelona. After that boring ride, we got another ride to the cruise ship.

Once all that boring checking in was over, Mom and Dad bought themselves wine for the trip. Finally we got on The Voyager of the Seas! Mom and Dad took us swimming.

Yeah! (NOT) The water was freezing cold! Even the hot tub was like a ice cube!

At dinnertime, we had to seat with people we didn’t know! We sat with a really nice family: Robin, Ashley, Rose, Fiona and Paul. Our waiters were Andre and Yenny.

The rest of the week was really fun!

I really liked Sweden, I think I’m really going to miss it. Everyone in Sweden is really going to miss us! When we told the Oscarssons, they almost started to cry! It was really random when Dad told us!

I think Sweden was a good experience for all of us. I really missed Canada! But, soon I’ll really miss Sweden!!

Elise's Blog

When I first moved to Sweden I was scared because I didn’t know if I was going to make any friends. But I was also very excited because I hadn’t gone on a plane for a really long time! When I first arrived in Sweden I couldn’t wait to see our new house! But my parents didn’t tell us anything about the house so all of us were like kernels in a microwave just popping up and down!
When we arrived at the house we just couldn’t believe the size it was like five times the size of our old house!
Our neighbourhood was fantastic but we all felt a little sick because it was our first time making new friends!


First Day of school

My first day of school at B.I.P.S.S. was very inviting. In the last month we went to Gotland, an island. I was very nervous and didn’t want to go, but mom got me into going. I had a great experience!
At the end of the school year my class was graduating so we had a Musical about FISH! I was a sparkly Herring and I stood out so much and since I was the shortest I had to go in front do these different moves!


Summer Time!

In Sweden before we came to Canada we had three weeks of summer vacation. It was kind of cold but it was fun because we went to this pond near our house and there were giant fish and I mean giant! But the water was really warm and the sun was really hot if you stayed still for a while.


New school again

Rodabergs Skolan is fantastic! I really hate that we have to leave it soon.
My teacher is from New Zealand! He has long blond hair and is really funny sometimes or he tried to be and the class was just silent!
Some of the fun things we did were going on a 10 Km hike; going to a museum where I almost broke my nose! and much more. Mr. W has this Quote Board and unfortunately I’m on it! After the 10Km hike we came out of the subway and I said ‘’Are we outside” and he started laughing and he wondered if I’d even came. But it just looked so fake that’s why I said it. I’m really going to miss Rodabergs Skolan and all my new friends but Mr. W said I’m welcome back!


What I liked about Sweden

I liked being outdoors in Sweden because you just never knew what would happen or what adventures you’d go on once you stepped outside. And the best thing about Sweden was the old town. It is just so cool and different!

A Walk Amongst Trolls

While enjoying a walk around Ekebysjön one day a while ago, we had the feeling that we were being watched...We stopped and looked around more closely, and sure enough, we were.  Nestled in tree roots and on logs, hidden by fallen leaves and hanging from branches, were trolls!  We delighted in finding them and pointing them out to each other...they were made from shells, wood, rocks, buttons, yarn and paint.  I had the idea then that we should have the kids create a troll of their own and leave it in the forest.  This past weekend the kids began early to paint their rocks that we had collected from the area.  Graeme made a troll holding a sword, Renee painted a Canadian flag and Elise made a funny face.  We carted the rocks back to the forest and scouted out the perfect spot to leave them.

 

Graeme decided to put his on a log and the girls followed suit so that they would all be together.

So, there are a few more eyes watching people walk this trail.  I hope they are there for a long time for others to enjoy!

Montserrat, Spain

On Sunday, after leaving the ship, we boarded a bus for a hair-raising drive up into the mountains an hour away from Barcelona.  The mountains are called Montserrat, and it means "serrated".  They definitely didn't look like any mountains I had ever seen.  There is a monastery sitting up here and lots of trails to walk on. 

There is actually quite a lot of activity up on the mountain.  Restaurants, shops, a hotel and of course not to be forgotten, the monastery.  It was a very foggy day and we could not see far in front of us. 

 

I'm sure this funicular ride is spectacular for those brave enough!  We opted to have a quick peek at the church and then have a walk on the trails.  We also managed to squeeze in time for two hot, strong coffees and a chocolate croissant!!

 

There were lots of really energetic people running and cycling up the mountain.  The trail we started on gave us a great view but we didn't have time to go very far.  The drive down the mountain was less scary, but I hated to see people leaning to one side, craning their necks for a look.  The bus took us to the airport where we hopped on a shuttle to take us to a nearby airport for our last night in Spain. 

We had a great vacation.  Cruising was a really nice way to see alot of different places without having to schlepp our bags around and find places to eat.  It gave us a taste of Italy and France and let us know that there is much, much more to see!

Enjoying the Voyager of the Seas

The Voyager of the Seas was a great ship.  The staff were very friendly and went out of their way to make our trip enjoyable.  We had only the one full day at sea so we didn't really spend alot of time onboard, but we made the most of it. 

There was mini-golf, rock-climbing and swimming pools (too cold for my taste!) and the kids tried them all!

The kids loved to race back to the rooms after dinner to see what creature our room attendant had fashioned out of towels.  Over the course of the week, we had a dinosaur, stingray, bat, bird and a rabbit to name a few. 

The girls and I attended a jewellery workshop one afternoon and we each created a necklace, bracelet and earrings that we wore to dinner that night. 

Each night we had an itinerary delivered to our room of all the next day's activities.  The list was endless and no one could ever go home bored!

Cruising the Mediterranean--Aix-en-Provence

Our plans for Saturday included a trip into Aix-en-Provence to spend some free time exploring this city.  It was market day so we watched the city come to life.  What a sight to see!  The food on display looked so fresh.  We sampled some delicious cheese and breathed in the smell of chicken roasting in Herbes en Provence...yum!  The flowers were all blooming, the linens and soaps were displayed so temptingly...how nice for the people who live there to have access to this wonderful selection!  We enjoyed a cappuccino and were entertained by the air-kissing going on between the other customers at the cafe.  The smell of baked bread lured us into a shop and Kris and I each devoured a flaky, buttery chocolate croissant.

   

This hurdy-gurdy man entertained the kids while I selected another small painting to take home and add to my collection.  We gladly headed for the bus at the end of the day, tired from the week's worth of sightseeing.  This was our last night on the ship and we were due to arrive back in Barcelona the next morning. 

Cruising the Mediterranean--Villefranche, France

Friday morning the ship anchored in the bay at Villefranche.  This would be the only day that we would have to leave the ship by tender.  It was great to hop on board the small boat and see how our cruise ship looked from a distance; it seemed to tour over the city when we were onboard, but it didn't look so imposing once we were on dry land.  Villefranche is a beautiful place!  Just what comes to mind when you think French Riviera.

   

Our plans for this day included sun, beach, French bread and cheese and some relaxation!  We took a quick tour of the village, shopped at the local market for our lunch, then made our way to the pebbly beach to lay in the sun.  The temperature was just right, hot enough to sunbathe but not so hot that it was uncomfortable.  The kids beachcombed and Kris and I lounged around reading our books.  The beach was being used by both cruise passengers and locals. 

I think that Kris and I both agreed that this was a place worth returning to!

Cruising the Mediterranean--Florence, Italy

Another early start to our day on Thursday...we were heading to Florence.  In fact, all the mornings were early...being on vacation is rough!  A short bus ride brought us to the old city.  We had been informed that this was the place to get some shopping done!  Leather, gold, wine, gelato...it was a feast for the eyes!  We set out from our meeting place without a real plan.  We were happy to be exploring Florence on our own, no earphones or crowds to contend with.  We made our way to the old bridge and snapped some photos of the kids.  Florence charmed us with the small, cobblestone streets, elegant window displays, and gelato counters.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Ristorante Boccadama...the lasagna was to die for!  The kids were excited to try some real, Italian gelato, so we followed our guides suggestion and sampled some gelato from a shop on one of the side streets.  It was good, but nothing to write home about!  While we continued to meander along the streets, we came to this window display:

  

And couldn't resist trying a second sample!  We weren't disappointed, this gelato tasted as good as it looked!  Elise bought a sketchbook bound in Italian leather.  I bought a small print of the city I plan to frame and hang up as a reminder of this beautiful city.  This was our best day yet!

Cruising the Mediterranean--Rome, Italy

Another early start awaited us Wednesday morning.  We had chosen a full-day excursion, so we boarded a bus at 7am for the 90 minute drive into the city.  The bus dropped us off right behind St. Peter's Basilica and we had the morning to explore on our own before meeting back up with the group for a guided tour.  We paused for a few minutes to soak in the atmosphere in the square as the crowds assembled for the daily blessing, then made our way to the first stop on our list, the Trevi Fountain.

  

We enjoyed the cleaner streets in Rome, but still got lots of laughs at the expense of the cars, including this one taking advantage of it's tiny size! 

I was not expecting Trevoli Fountain to be so large!  We all took turns throwing in a lucky coin, held in our right hand but thrown over our left shoulder, guaranteeing our return to this glorious city. 

Lunch was pizza at a sidewalk cafe, which we thoroughly enjoyed but didn't linger over as we had limited time and the Spanish Steps were next! 

Kris navigated the cars and tourists milling about the steps to pose for this picture with the kids.  Somehow it wasn't quite what I expected either, but we checked it off our list nonetheless. 

The afternoon tour of Saint Peter's Basilica was due to start, so we made our way back there and joined our group (herd) for a tour, complete with headphones.  The inside of the Basilica was breath-taking...truly.  And what was so amazing was that despite it's grandiose size, the space didn't overwhelm anyone.  The kids were growing tired of the photo shoots, so they grudgingly posed for quick pic inside the church. 

      

We left the Basilica, enmasse, to board a bus to take us to see the outside of the Coliseum.  We enjoyed the colourful outfits of the Swiss Guards that were posted outside the Vatican City. 

The Coliseum...what a sight!  We weren't able to tour the inside, so we had to content ourselves with a view from the outside.  What a place it must have been in it's day!

The day spent in Rome was great!  It was also definitely not enough time to see everything.  We'll just have to hope our wish comes true and that we'll have the chance to explore it again! 

Cruising the Mediterranean--Naples, Italy

We woke up early on Tuesday morning, excited to experience our first day in port.  We watched the sun rise and the city of Naples come into view from our balcony.  Eager to get some ground under our feet again, we went to the dining room for an early breakfast and then joined the crowds of passengers exiting the ship.  It was an unpleasant experience walking from the boat through the crowd of persistent taxi drivers and tour operators keen to make some money that day, but we made it through and started our walk through the city streets.  We experienced some culture shock here, namely due to the crazy drivers and the lack of pedestrian crossings!  It is no small feat to get a family of five across a three-lane road at rush hour in Italy!!  When our hearts had stopped racing we had a look around to get our bearings, then set off to see what we could see.  Unfortunately, the entire time we explored Naples, I never felt truly at ease.  It was partly the traffic, but also a sense of not being as safe as we were used to in Sweden.  Pickpocketing was never far from my mind.

 

The streets were colourful and the shop windows were beautifully decorated, but we found the streets to be dirty and the garbage cans overflowed.  We enjoyed watching Italians greet each other with air-kisses and had a laugh at the cars and all their dents and scratches.

 

We entered into this piazza and crossed over the cobblestones to have a view of the sea and our cruise ship, then made our way back to have some lunch aboard the ship and meet our tour guide for our afternoon trek to Pompeii. 

We were ready to be dazzled by Pompeii....and it did not disappoint us.  We could see Mount Vesuvius looming above the city of Naples, but were amazed to learn that it was just a fraction of it's original size.  We followed a tour guide as she led us through some of the many streets in this ancient city.  It was interesting to learn that the cobblestone streets we walked on were original, and that the large stones placed strategically every hundred feet or so across the streets were stepping stones for when it rained and the streets filled with water.   We saw the homes of wealthy citizens and poor, restaurants and a spa.  It was really hard to picture this city buried in a blanket of ash and to envision the damage that was done so long ago.  We had a very graphic illustration of the eruption and it's devastation when we viewed this representation of a dog who had died.

  

Fortunately, there was some relief from this horror, in the form of another dog, alive and well and enjoying the sun in the former market of the city:

The kids were getting tired by the end of the tour.  We decided that we weren't really "tour" people.  Having a receiver slung around your neck and a hard earpiece stuck in your ear while you trailed around behind a group of other tourists was not our cup of tea.  We had had a full day of adventure in Naples and gladly boarded the boat for dinner and bed, all set to sail to Civitavecchia during the night so we could enjoy a day in the Eternal City on Wednesday. 

Cruising the Mediterranean--Barcelona, Spain

We flew to Barcelona via Munich on Saturday, October 24th.  The excitement level was at an all time high.  "When do we get on the boat?" was what we heard every few hours.  And the answer was, "Tomorrow!"  So we spent some time exploring this vibrant city.  We stayed at a very nice place, called the W Hotel, seen here in the picture behind the kids.  It was a pretty impressive hotel and it stood out along the shoreline, visible even from the airplane.  It is in a newer part of the city that was created when the Olympics were held.  The beach it rests on is a manmade one, but that didn't take away from it's charms.  (The naked, hairy Spaniards did that!) 

This is the view from the 25th floor of the hotel.  The tallest structure you can see is the start of a funicular ride that takes people over the port and up to a nearby mountain. 

Seeing as we had some free time on Sunday before we were expected at the boat, we decided to try out one of the Hop On-Hop Off busses touring the city.  It gave us a good overview of what there is too see in Barcelona, and whetted our appetites to come back again sometime to explore it in detail.  We didn't get to see the Sagrada Familia, but we did see another of Gaudi's buildings, the Casa Mila.  The details in the balconys were amazing.

Not a moment too soon, we were boarding our ship, the Voyager of the Seas from the Royal Carribbean line, enroute to stops along the Western Mediterranean.

We had booked two adjoining rooms and the room steward performed magic each night while we were at dinner, transforming the couch into Graeme's bed.  The rest of Sunday and all of Monday we were at sea.  We saw land when we passed between Corsica and Sardegna.  When we woke up Monday morning, we had landed in port at Naples.