Re-try yesterday’s post, and update

Well, I don’t know what happened to yesterday’s post, but I’ll try again. It had several pictures–I learned how to upload my photos–and my latest observations. In this recap I’ll get to add still more. Every day, some new discovery. So, to catch up on pictures:

All our bags are packed [in Linda Yates’ van] after a VERY short night, and we’re ready to go…

to Bluegrass Airport, to start a VERY long day of flying to Sweden. First to Chicago, then a 5-hour layover, then a 9-hour flight to Stockholm.

It had snowed about an inch before we arrived, and still was overcast, so Stockholm looked pretty monochromatic.

We had about a 3-hour wait  there for our train to Linköping. We arrived in Stockholm at dawn. The common areas of the airport seem to be lit completely by sunlight, so it was pretty gloomy at first, but it lightened up as we waited. Compared to the hustle and bustle and constant announcements at a US airport, Arlanda seemed subdued, like the hush of newfallen snow.

On the train platform we met a man from W. Virginia, who had come to Sweden with his Swedish wife 10 months ago. We shared the first part of the ride with him. He sells some kind of components for nuclear power plants–ironic, he said, since in the states he was opposed to nuclear power–and takes the train regularly in the line of his work. Otherwise the train ride was mostly uneventful. There was limited space for our luggage, but we managed to cram it into a rack. The cars are very quiet, even from the outside. The tracks were rough in some places, though, and for a little while I thought the bundles of  “discomfort bags” were so thick for a reason. Fortunately I didn’t have to use one.

As we emerged from the train station and hailed a cab, one of my first impressions was of the small parking lot for cars and the huge bicycle racks, filled with bikes. By now (less than a week later) that has become [yawn!] commonplace.

Our neighborhood is very pleasant. The houses have tiny footprints compared to the US, and are close together, but inside they are quite spacious. This evening I visited a neighbor 2 doors behind us, and it felt closer than going to my next-door neighbor at home. Fortunately, our neighborhood is close not only physically but also socially.

So here we are outside our new home for the next 5 months. Monica (the “better half” of the couple who owns the house) came home from Oxford for the week to help out at work–she’s one of 5 GPs in a neighborhood clinic serving 10,000, and they’re struggling along without a sub while she’s gone–and to finish getting the house ready. She oriented us to the house, the city (as much as she could through the fog of our exhaustion), took us to open our Swedish [not Swiss] bank account, and took us grocery shopping. It’s hard to imagine how we could have begun to settle in without her!

On Saturday, Harry’s co-worker Peter Nilsson took us under his wing for 3 hours to work through my list of wants/needs. It was a very productive outing! I got

1. a cell phone–YAY!!! And it’s a smartphone (not as fancy as the one I use in Lexington, but it does have GPS, which I have a feeling will be a lifesaver). I had to buy the phone; I get unlimited internet use a month at a time; and I buy pre-paid calling minutes. The funny thing is, it costs less than 3 cents a minute to call the US, but it costs me 10.5 cents a minute to call anywhere in Sweden. I don’t even want to try to figure that one out.
2. slippers–2 pairs–they go a long way toward keeping us warm, esp. on the main floor. Upstairs and in the basement the heat is in the floor.
3. bus passes–They have a good bus system, but you can’t pay the driver. You have to have a bus pass.
4. yarn–first project, a warm hat for yours truly, who forgot to pack a hat and scarf. How was I to know it was going to be cold??? It’s only up around the Arctic Circle!! (Don’t you believe it. I forgot a bunch of basic stuff.)

I don’t think I’ve introduced “our” cat, Wizard (as in, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz):

He’s 9 years old, and “mostly an outdoor cat.” That’s Swedish for “he sleeps, eats, and poops outdoors, and otherwise spends as much time as possible inside.” He particularly likes this one spot on the slate tile in the entryway, so I’d guess it’s just a tad warmer than the other tiles. Wizard is a real sweetie. Underneath all that thick “outdoor cat” fur I think he’s  about the same size as Julie’s cat, Blackie. He hardly ever meows, but he’s ready with a purr, albeit a very soft one.

Things I’ve learned so far:

1. If you’re going to use the wheeled shopping bag for groceries, pay attention to what you’re buying!! It’s not just about volume, it’s about weight!! The brisk 30-minute walk to the grocery store morphed into a 45-minute trudge back home.
2. I’ve forgotten how to do without a microwave. (I’m re-learning. I refuse to ask a neighbor how to thaw something. Some things are just too basic!)
3. The neighbors are very nice, and heartwarmingly generous.
4. The area is very quiet and peaceful. People really do walk  and bike more. There are cars on the road, but not nearly what we’re used to. And the walking/bike paths are several feet away from feeder streets, and way far away from major roads–like maybe 30-50 yards. Remember those tiny little bells we had on our bicycles when we were kids? That’s actually what they use for a horn on their bikes! We’re going to have to train our ears to hear such little sounds on the walkways.

It’s getting late, and I’d like to knit some more on that cap. Tomorrow we go to Norrköping, about 30 miles away, in hopes of getting our fingerprints, etc., taken so that we can get personal numbers–critical for getting along in Sweden. Harry and his co-worker will go from there to somewhere outside of Stockholm where Harry will present a talk at AstraZeneca, a Swedish bio-pharmaceutical firm that uses one of his assays. I’ll have another adventure: finding my way home using my new bus pass. It involves taking the train back to Linköping and then getting on the right bus back to the neighborhood. And maybe some shopping…

Who said, “We’re in touch, so you be in touch?”

Melissa