Reuniting with an Old Friend

OK....this is probably not where you thought I was going when I mentioned an old friend.  I'm actually talking about my new found love (or at least appreciation) for my bicycle.  A little strange, I know, but a story worth telling.  Thinking back, my bike must be at least fifteen years old (and yes, if you're wondering, it was a gift for my 16th birthday).  I had such big plans for this bike and all of the riding I would do.   It even had a sporty, yet cute name...the Rock Hopper!  Truth be told, it got only sporadic use over the past decade and spent a few summers lonely and unused in the garage.  For shame!  Some years were more eventful than others, but biking certainly did not become as much of a regular activity as I had originally planned.  When I did dust off the old Rock Hopper, the purpose was simply to get some exercise.

She's in decent shape for her age....kinda like me!

Then along comes Sweden.  When the hubby and I visited Lund last fall, the bike situation was like nothing I had seen before.  Bikes were EVERYWHERE!  The train station and bus stops all had bike racks that were full (imagine that!) and the bike paths were plentiful and well maintained.

Bikes as far as the eye can see!

I noticed that you could pretty much get anywhere around town on your bike as easily as you could by car (and there were some streets where only bikes and pedestrians were allowed).   So before the big move, getting our bikes a proper check up was on my to-do list.

I'll admit that it took some time for me to get back into biking once we arrived here (I was told by a friend that I should refer to it as "cycling", but that seems a bit too "Tour de France" for me and the Rock Hopper).  Anyway, I was at first more comfortable exploring our new city on foot or, or course, by car.  However, my girls soon discovered that riding their scooters or bikes was much more fun (and faster) than walking.  This meant that I had to hop on my bike in order to keep up with them....or start running.  Needless to say, I opted for the bike.   We started riding together back and forth to their school (it's only about 1km each way....or a little over a half a mile).

There is no way I'm catching her on foot!

The next adventure was riding into downtown Lund which is about 2.5 to 3 miles away...again not any great distance, but I'm making progress.  Often times the distance was greater simply because I got lost!  After a few trips, it was brought to my attention that the ride from our house into town is actually all downhill (no, I did not figure that out on my own, but it did make sense why the ride back always seemed a bit more difficult).  Clearly I'm not very observant.

Over the next few weeks, I realized that a transformation was occurring.   I was using my bike as a means of TRANSPORTATION....the horror!   Riding to school, a trip to the grocery store for a few items... slowly but surely I was adopting the Swedish way.  I know many families (including ours) that have only one car and I've even met some people who grew up in a household with no car (can you imagine??), but it's strange to actual view my bike as a vehicle and not just a means to exercise.  To put some of this in perspective, my old Target store (sigh!) was a mere 1.9 miles from our home.  Did it ever EVER occur to me to ride my bike there when I only needed to pick up a few things?  Of course not.  What a ridiculous idea!

I do have to mention that gas is ridiculously expensive here...like around $8 per gallon expensive (so my friends back home, you can all stop complaining about your fuel prices!)  So I have to wonder....are the Swedes just super health conscious and environmentally friendly, or is it just too damn expensive to drive???  Perhaps it's a bit of both.  For the record, I still use my bike for exercise...it's just not its sole purpose anymore.

A favorite photo taken on one of my rides

I admit it still feels strange to hop on the bike wearing jeans or "non-workout wear", but at least I don't look out of place doing that here.  Many people ride their bikes to work....wearing sport jackets, ties, skirts, and even high heels (not all at the same time, of course)!   Even if it's raining, they just don the proper gear and get going.

Riding in the rain...previously unthinkable!

I did find myself with a bit of a problem once I began running small errands on my bike...I was pretty limited as to what I could buy and carry home.  I looked around at my fellow "bikers" and noticed that many had a nice sturdy basket attached to the front.

I want a cute basket like this!

Thinking that this would work for me, I headed to a local bike shop and explained to them that I needed a basket.  "For THAT bike?" was the response I received.  Well...yes.  The bike shop guy took a closer look and said that it could be done, but that it wouldn't be "quite right".  I'm not sure exactly what that meant, but his concern elicited visions of my fancy basket spilling its contents all over the street. No thank you.

On to Plan B.   I could get those basket things installed on the BACK of my bike (I guess they are called "panniers"....whatever).  These really don't have the same "cute factor" as the front basket, so I decided against them.  Sadly, my next and possibly final, option was to purchase a good sized backpack.  I'm giggling as I write this...thinking that most of you are laughing at the thought of me cruising around on my bike....wearing jeans and sensible shoes...sporting a backpack.   Luckily around here it appears pretty normal.   However, since I thought I would only use the backpack occasionally, I opted for the large, relatively inexpensive, not extremely attractive one from IKEA (no, I'm not kidding).

Yep....this beauty is all mine!

It's ok that it's not so pretty.  I won't be using it that often (I try to convince myself)....it will be my "special occasion" backpack.  Wrong.  I use it nearly every day.  I schlep my gym stuff, take the girls' things to and from school, and yes, make minor trips to the grocery store all with the help of my stylish IKEA backpack.  In fact, when my younger daughter saw that I was including a picture of it in this blog, she said to me, "You LOVE that backpack, don't you mama?"  Yes honey, I do.

So, in a few short months I have become a bike riding, backpack wearing, wanna-be Swede.  I guess there could be worse things.  I admit that I do stop and think about how ridiculously expensive gas prices are when I only have a short distance to travel (and I'm considering driving).  I have even been known to ride in the rain (average rain only....no downpours).  And for those of you who know me well, I am always game for a little extra exercise!  Only time will tell if my eco-friendly habit will continue once I'm back in the states....perhaps if I find a cuter backpack!

Me and my bike- BFFs!

Me? A Tour Guide?

Ok...I admit that "tour guide" is a bit of a stretch, but it is true that I was recently given the responsibility of entertaining four women from the States while their husbands were here on business (they are colleagues of the hubby).   A while back, he asked if I could show the ladies around Lund. As it turns out, the hubby would actually be back in the U.S. and unable to assist with the "tour" which seemed quite unfair (not the fact that I was giving the tour, but that he was in the states without me!).   Nonetheless, I agreed to help out.   It would be nice to have some company from women who appreciate all the things I miss from back in the U.S.  Besides the obvious friends and family, there are a few other American things that I miss a great deal....really good "bad for you" foods and convenient shopping!

The employees at my old Target probably think I died!

I was a little nervous as the day approached.  I have to admit that I have not spent a lot of time in downtown Lund, and I did NOT want to get lost and embarrass myself....the town is quite small, so it really would be embarrassing to lose my bearings.  To try to reduce that risk, I took a few trips into town before the day of their visit.  My girls and I spent part of a Saturday looking around and doing some sight seeing for ourselves.

Basement of Domkyrka (Lund Cathedral)

The quaint streets that lured me to Sweden in the first place!

The hubby's co-worker (and I will go out on a limb and say my friend) Li helped schedule the day.   She set up a "ghost tour" of downtown Lund with a gentleman named Jacques Schultze (he seems more "guy" than "gentleman" but I don't want to sound impolite).  And, for the record, he IS Swedish although his name sounds French.  He made sure to clarify that for us...not that there's anything wrong with being French, of course.

The "real" tour guide!

Anyway, the tour was great for the ladies and for me as well since I know pretty much nothing about the history of Lund.  One of the ladies thought that perhaps I was in "training" to become a tour guide like Jacques.  I had to giggle because even my knowledge of U.S. history leaves a bit to be desired!   Jacques mixed in historical info (I don't know how he remembers all the pertinent dates!) with interesting ghost stories and some pretty good jokes!  Here's one of the more impressive buildings that we encountered.

One of the University buildings....soooooo beautiful!

After our tour was over, we headed to lunch at Kulturen which is an open-air museum nearby (I admit I've only dined at Kulturen....and checked out the gift shop....I should probably add a real museum visit to my "to do" list).   Lunch was very tasty and the ladies had many questions for me about life in Sweden.  I have to admit this is when my shameless plugs for my blog began.   (I couldn't help myself...some of their questions were answered perfectly by previous posts...i.e. how do you find a hair dresser? Are you looking for a job?)

Can I have one of each???

If had been a rainy day, we may have lingered at Kulturen for some Swedish culture.  However, the weather was beautiful, much different from most of the summer, so we just walked around town to browse in some of the shops.  The ladies wanted to make a trip back to Ahlgren's Konfektyr - a chocolate shop that we passed on the tour (I admit that we first stopped into the Tourist Bureau so I could grab a map and make sure we started walking in the right direction.....sad, but true!).  The shop was full of all sorts of chocolates (some from Sweden and some from other countries), gift boxes, and other goodies.  It also has really good ice cream cones.   Even though I was still full from lunch, I was tempted!

The ladies picking out some treats to take home

We managed to check out several other stores in town, mostly just to browse (although I found a few new places which may need a second look).   We also investigated an indoor marketplace...also new to me... that had meats, cheeses, fish, etc.

He's the one!

After a final stop for coffee, our bus picked us up and dropped us back at the office where the husbands were waiting (theirs, not mine).   The day was a lot of fun....for me, at least!  I didn't get lost (whew!) and I was also able to spend time with four great ladies from the U.S. (who made me feel like moving to Sweden was a pretty cool and interesting thing!)

Thanks for a great day!

Working Girl?

I wasn't really going to advertise that I had started looking for a job here in Sweden until something  funny happened (related to the job search) which I have to share.  But you are going to have to wait....or skip to the end....to hear about it.  In the crazy six months while the hubby and I were living in different countries, I yearned for some time off, a break from all of the craziness!  Working, packing, trying to sell the house...and oh yeah, and making sure the girls were fed, clothed, etc....was enough to put me over the edge at times.   So the thought of being unemployed while enjoying a relaxing summer was quite appealing.

I could get used to a summer at the beach!

However, after arriving in Sweden and unpacking, organizing, and learning my way around town (at least a little bit), I was becoming a bit anxious.  Partly because I'm used to working and it feels weird not to be going to work every day....being productive....bringing home a paycheck.  The other reason is there aren't many people around during the day to keep me company, because EVERYBODY WORKS in Sweden.  OK, maybe not everybody...but most people.  So sadly there aren't just a bunch of stay at home moms (or dads...I don't want to be sexist) anxiously awaiting the opportunity to have coffee or lunch with me.   And maybe the fact that this has been a crappy, rainy summer (not conducive to lounging at the beach) had added to my restlessness...just maybe.

Work would be a vacation from days like this!!

So I started the job search.  I asked for suggestions on updating my CV (that's what they call it here) to make it more appealing to the local audience, then looked around for places to send it.  It didn't take long to encounter a couple of problems with my quest for employment (and it's not that I'm super picky...).  The first is that I started putting the feelers out several weeks ago....smack dab in the middle of summer.  I figured it would be a little slow with people taking vacation, but I was told that Sweden is actually "asleep" for about six weeks in July and August.  Good to know, I guess.  I decided to continue searching for interesting jobs and posting my CV wherever I could, so that my information would be ready and waiting for the right people (when they finally got back to work!).  Needless to say, I have not yet been fielding a bevy of emails or phone calls, but I remain optimistic.

Keeping my eyes open for a sign like this!

The other issue (you might have guessed this would come up) is that I don't speak Swedish.  There are some international companies in the area (and I have been told that I should be able to find work as an English speaker), but most of the job search websites are still written in Swedish.  Luckily, a co-worker of the hubby's and someone I consider a friend...Cecilia....has helped me to translate and post my CV on several sites.  She even helped me register with Arbetsförmedlingen.  What???   Arbetsförmedlingen is a Swedish employment office (with a name that's nearly impossible to pronounce).   It's one more place to post your information and search for jobs.  They also can provide some additional services and job coaching, but are more concerned with helping the out-of-work Swedes (as they are the ones collecting unemployment benefits).   You can imagine how frustrating it can be when you arrive at their website and are greeted with this...

Ny på Arbetsförmedlingen?

Titta på introduktionsfilmen för dig som är ny hos oss. Filmen finns på olika språk och du kan chatta med en arbetsförmedlare efter filmen.

Anytime I feel like I'm starting to recognize more Swedish words...I end up seeing stuff like that and return to feeling totally clueless!  Google Translate (and Cecilia) have really helped keep me sane through this process.

For those of you who were patient....and read about all my woes associated with job searching....thank you very much.  For those of you who skipped all the way down here just to read something funny....shame on you!   Sooooo, I get a letter in the mail from Arbetsförmedlingen (written in Swedish, of course).  I figured it was a note reminding me of some job verification they wanted.  I look more closely (then Google translate the first line) and it says "A job vacancy that may suit you"....Cool, I think to myself.   Then I flip the page and see "Homepartykonsulent" (and yes, that's all one word).  What?  I didn't have to be a Swedish genius to see the "homeparty" part of that.  Are you kidding me?  They are suggesting I become the Swedish Avon lady?  Sell tupperware or jewelry to my five friends?

My new boss??

Uh.....no.   The home party "consultant" part was right on...the product line, however, came as a bit of a surprise.  When I went to the website to see what they wanted me to peddle at home parties, I found this:

Himmelriket Ltd is the largest home party company in the erotic industry. Our range consists of erotic toys, tools, oils, games and more

Interesting... Not exactly what I was expecting.  Nonetheless, I quickly submitted my application and am anxiously awaiting a call to set up an interview.  

Please call!

The rest of the house....

It has been quite some time since I shared pictures of our kitchen and living areas.  I kept postponing showing the rest of the house (the upstairs) because I felt like it needed to be "better" before I did...perhaps more organized, more things on the walls, etc.   I realized that, because this house is not ours, it will never be just how I want it so I will just have to show it "as is".

The upstairs is probably what you would expect...the bedrooms and a bathroom.  Doesn't that sound exciting??  I bet morbid curiosity will keep you reading...or at least checking out the photos!

Looks kind of like a hospital hallway

In case any of you are interested in visiting, I will show you the guest room first (this room is also used as an office).   Like most of the rooms, it needs some decorating, but at least the bed is comfortable.   The girls refer to this room as either Nana and Papa's room or David's room.  "Who is David?", you may be asking....David is a good friend of the hubby and his main "partner in crime" before the girls and I moved here.  We thought that the boys might go through withdrawal once we arrived (since they don't hang out quite as often), so we called it "David's room" to ensure that he felt welcome here anytime!  (We even changed the pink IKEA light to a white one to make the room less "girlie").  We have lived here almost four months and David has yet to try out his room!

I know...it's very pale!

Ah...a splash of color!

Now we move on to the girls' rooms.   Although quite a bit smaller than their bedrooms in the states (smaller than in the U.S. is a common theme around here), their rooms are cozy and accommodate most of their things.  The hubby did need to buy them Swedish-sized beds before we arrived as their beds from their old rooms were too big!

Malena's room

Bed by IKEA

CeCe's room is pretty much the same set up.  Both girls have "decorated" their rooms on their own (so far) which makes things interesting.

Yes...she hung purses on the wall!

Hello Kitty is big in Sweden, too!

Now, onto the bathroom (sadly there is only one full bath in the house...there is just a half bath on the first floor).  It gets a little crowded in the mornings if everyone needs to brush their teeth at the same time, but we manage pretty well for the most part.  Thank goodness our girls are not teenagers....THEN we might have a problem with the lack of space in the bathroom (and lack of access to it as well)!  With storage space significantly downsized from our last house, I realized that I really don't need to keep 6 different skin cleansers, 4 moisturizers, etc....

Absence of color is a common theme...

Daily essentials must fit in your assigned bin!

Although most of our toiletries and shower stuff has a place (a shelf or a basket)...there is only one towel rack (it is heated, though, which is nice).  So I created a "linen closet" just outside the bathroom.  It may not be the most attractive thing in the world, but it's functional.  It even has hooks where the girls can hang their towels.

Practical, practical, practical

Now on to the final bedroom....if I call it the "Master", your expectations would probably be set way too high.  It is probably the biggest bedroom and it does have french doors instead of a window, which is nice (although it would be nicer if there was a balcony!).   For those of you who don't know, last year the hubby and I finally bought what I refer to as the "big kid" bed...one with a headboard, etc.  (we had not invested in a decent bedroom set since we've been married).  We were a little concerned that our gigantic American bed would not fit in our not-so-big Swedish home.  Luckily, the bed fits in our room...barely...although we could only squeeze in one of the nightstands!

Our cat also enjoys the big comfy bed!

Because of the lack of closet space, I was forced to keep a dresser that I have had since I was a child (and when I say "child", I am not exaggerating!).  It has followed me from apartment to home to home (it was kept in the master closet at our last house) and I was so looking forward to leaving it at the curb in Lombard....unfortunately necessity has kept it around!

Luckily there is enough room to open the drawers! 

You may have noticed that you didn't see closets in any of the bedrooms (with the exception of a small free standing one in the guest room)....and that is because there aren't any!  Instead, there is a "bank" of small closets in the hallway (you can go back to the first photo if you didn't notice them).   I have to say that the lack of closet space (and storage space, in general) has been one of the bigger challenges of this house.  I am quite certain that Malena's old closet was as big as all of our closets here combined.  Sigh!

Again...adapt and overcome!  Each of the closets has space for hanging clothes and then a small IKEA basket-holder thing  (I checked their website...they call it the "Antonius"...from the name I would expect it to be a little fancier!).  Anyhow, the closet set up actually works pretty well for the girls (thankfully with small children comes small clothing!).

Malena's closet

Each closet also has a cabinet above....which provides additional storage for things that are needed less frequently.  As you might imagine, fitting an adults entire wardrobe into one of these TINY closets (they are all the same size) is impossible.   To manage the situation, I first had to move most of my dresses and the hubby's sport coats, suits, etc. into an extra coat closet downstairs (not super convenient, but it works).  I also have become the master of the under-the-bed storage containers.  It reminds me of our first house where there was a seasonal clothing rotation as the closets there was also too small to hold everything.

Just a small sample of what is hiding under the beds!

I guess that's it about it for the interior of the house.  Many people have asked if it has been a difficult adjustment after living in a considerably larger home.  It really hasn't been that hard....although I certainly miss some things about the old house (the kitchen and ample storage space are at the top of the list!).  On the plus side, moving to a smaller space forces you to get rid of old clothes and random crap that you've been hanging on to for no good reason.   I guess this means you won't be seeing us on an episode of "Hoarders" any time soon!