It has been almost a year now since I left London for Sweden! I realised it when having travelled to London on a short business trip last week and today again when I recommended a friend my old dentist in North London.

Last year at this time I sold Erwin with whom my scooter/motorcycle “career” started in early October 2006. He got a nice new home not far from his old one with a nice Italian guy whose initials were actually on Erwin’s number plate. If that is not fate then I don’t know.

This is him, by the way (Honda SH125i) – I saw quite  a few of his cousins in London last week!

On the first of May last year I flew back to my parents in Germany and on the third I went back with my Dad in the big family car in order to get all my boxes down to “basecamp parents”. It was going out on the 3rd via Dover Calais and back the next day on the same way. Gorgeous weather we had and I can remember my Dad first looking suspiciously at the road where I was driving on the “wrong” side. Last week it by the way took not even a day to get me trained back from the “right” to the “wrong” side, still keeping that behaviour of walking the first day back in Sweden. That tells you that one cannot wipe out five years abroad within one year. And I quite enjoyed being a fish in familiar waters again – even if for less than two days!

Despite loving Sweden and the great human being that motivated me moving here and starting a new life together with him, it took me longer than I thought with settling into my new surroundings. I’d say that really only happened around now-ish. Life here, even if you really enjoy it, is slightly different – most of all a lot more quiet and a lot slower. Which is great, which gives you the thinking space I was craving for such a long time. Then again, one also has to get accustomed to it, not to mention to learn a new language, learning to understand what people say around you. Even if that still sometimes is an issue, it is by far not as stark anymore and I mastered the language to a god degree. And knowing Swedish or simply the language of the country you live in defines so much how well you connect with people. Outside of work and collesgues I have family and friends of my beloved, the guys and girls from the Guzzi and Ducati clubs and also the running group at Friskis & Svettis. All of them helped hugely with settling in so that I now really feel home.

That is another thing by the way. Going to the gym. Doing sports with a GROUP. OK, I did Wing Chun before in Germany and in England for quite some years which was great, but it was lightyears away from going to the gym. “The gym = rat race after work” I thought when living in London. Never ever would I be part of something like THAT! Well, but here firstly people are going a bit crazy about sports – but then again in a very fun way and not in the London-stressed-out- “I pretend that it is fun but then again I really think it is utter rubbish”-office-worker-way. People doing sports here in their spare time do really enjoy it. Please correct me if I am wrong. And since I did not find any martial art style and club in close proximity I started running last summer. Now this happens at least once a week on the 7 kilometer level plus a few shorter additional joggs. And today I subscribed to my first proper run, the so-called 5 km long “Vårruset”. Not a long distance, but I know that I will manage it in a decent time – and I also know that if you would have told me in London I would take part in a run like this, I would have laughed at you and called you a nutter.

That’s how things can change within almost 365 days – and really, never say never. Ever.  There are lots more things to tell, but these are maybe the most significant ones.

Oh yes. And just so that life does not get too boring and one does not settle in too much – we found a bigger flat! So we will be moving during summer and there might be the one or the other story about it on this blog. Personally, I look forward to watching the boyfriend packing and going through his collection of things of the last years. And I do not quite that much look forward to my own packing during summer hols in July in a supposedly hot summer… All my moves except one were in summer – and it was always hot. Murphy? Most likely 🙂 But what would life be without him?

Anyway, I’ll keep you updated.