One year in Sweden
The fastest, hardest, best year has just passed by, and it’s been 12 months since we moved to Sweden from Sydney. I can’t believe a year has zoomed by already. I’ve been going through some photos of the last year during the week (I’m hoping to collate them into a little book as a keepsake of our first year abroad) and I’ve been struck by how much has changed as the months have passed by. Arriving in November 2020 to an orange autumn as we tried to find out feet, to Christmas and house hunting in a snowy January, to the first buds of spring and green leaves on the trees in May before a sunshine filled summer through to August, and now being back here in November, with the leaves yellow once again outside our windows.
Looking back on all we’ve squeezed in this year has me feeling really proud of us; a brand new job, buying and renovating our apartment, learning Swedish (still a long way to go but we’re learning a little more each day!), Joshua got his Swedish drivers license and started returning to the office in September… all while living through the pandemic and being far from home.
The light at the end of the very long tunnel finally crept closer, after being vaccinated in September in Sweden, and with border restrictions easing in Australia, we managed to squeeze in a very brief but wonderful trip home to New South Wales to see family, and hug my very-pregnant best friend before her baby arrives. Flying out on the same flight from Sydney to Sweden, 1 year and 3 days after we moved was a strange but poignant marker of time; landing at Copenhagen and crossing the bridge to Malmö last year felt exhilarating and unknown, whereas this time we were heading home, to a house and life we’re really loving. I put together some of my favourite videos from the last year in Sweden, and it’s so nice to have this little capture of our first year here.
It’s starting to feel like ‘home’ is more than one place now, with our apartment being a real haven that we’ve made cosy and comfortable and very us. We still miss Australia, but are feeling settled in Malmö and enjoying all that it has to offer. Next week we’re adding a furry friend to the mix and I’m so looking forward to having a studio companion during my work days. I can’t wait to see what the next year holds!
