Three weeks at school

Oliver has now been at school for three weeks and is enjoying it very much.

The church outside in the park

Oliver loves iceskating

We have had lovely winter weather for the past few weeks and nature is beautiful. We are very fortunate to be living in a lovely park which also is the walk to school.

Jessica and Anurag are travelling in Europe now until the 8th of February when the return to see us for a weekend before heading back to Sydney.






Oliver has new gloves, he calls them "connecting gloves" as the fingers are together inside - this helps with the heat when it gets below -10c

We went to see good friends one saturday night, it was -19 outside, but lovely and hot in the water of the spa - which is outside. We both enjoyed it very much.

We have started using the fireplace in the flat, it works wonderfully and Oliver and I tend to sit infront of the fire in the evenings and do his homework. A great place to sit and relax.

Settling in

Celebrated Jessicas 21st on the 10th, dinner at home and then coffee with family on the weekend.

Oliver is enjoying school very much and yesterday told me "I love my swedish school mummy" - which feels great. The school has been fantastic and everyone we meet are very nice.
His swedish is coming along nicely and we have started doing homework. Today he gets to go to the library and borrow 3 books, he is looking forward to that.



Fritis, which is after-school care, is going well too - lots of playing outside in the snowy park and plenty of stuff to do indoors (today will probably not be long outdoors - it was -12 this morning).

This week we farewelled my beloved Grandmother, Annalisa, who was 93-years-old and I am very happy to have known her for so long. It was a lovely and snowy day.

Now it is time to start settling in and getting organised for the year here in Stockholm.

Winter days

In the park outside the house

Outside school

Oliver is loving the weather and prefers walking through the park and then one more block to get to the shops instead of taking the bus two stops. We are getting used to the walking (well at least my muscles are).

Walk to school on the first day

On the 7th of January, we took the bus downtown to go shopping for some things for the flat. Where the bus stopped is an icerink and Oliver wanted to try (at first he did not want to but then he changed his mind). We rented skates and headed out onto the ice. I had not been skating for 10 years. 

First time skating

Living on Östermalm

Olivers first own  snowball

We moved into the flat where we are going to live this year on the first of January.

Unpacking went well and after a few days we settled in nicely.
Jessica and Anurag stayed with us until the 4th when they left to go visit Milan for a few days.

Oliver and I went on walks to Karlaplan to go shopping.
The plan is to not have a car this year. The flat is centrally located in Stockholm and public transport is very good around here. We will be using taxis to get home after nights out and rent a car when it is needed.

I was given a "dramaten-vagn" which is a trolley to take your shopping in - it is great in size and whatever I can fit in the supermarkets larger basket (the one on wheels) will fit in my trolley.

Food shopping

It is very different to shop in smaller quantities, as I am used to shopping weekly, with the car, for a family of up to 5 people.
It takes some getting used to, now after a week in the flat, it is easier. And the shop is not far and it is not difficult to walk down to the shop to do a small shop every other day.

We invited Kerstin, Svante and Stina over for dinner at the flat and had a lovely evening.

Xmas in Stockholm

On the first day in Stockholm..............

First trial to go outside in the snow

Oliver was very excited to get out into the snow - and not so sure how to put his winter clothes on. After a few times though, he is now very good at getting it all on in the right order.

Got it!

On the 27th of December, we celebrated Xmas with Mormor, Morfar, Auntie Stina, Auntie Sara and Magnus and the cousins, Felix and Emelie and Jessica and Anurag.
We had a lovely "fika" followed by Xmas presents and then a for us traditional Swedish Xmas dinner.

As we then spent the first couple of days in Trollbäcken, we had a nice and relaxing time - and one by one the missing bags turned up and all was in order and nothing lost or broken.
I repacked the first bags and took the ones we didnt need for the first week to the flat for unpacking later.

One day we went to have lunch with Ulf and Helene in Hässelby together with Anna and Micke. It was very icy and slippery on the roads, I drove Svantes car and managed to both get there and to Ekerö without slipping off the road.

Fast asleep

I picked up Jess and Anurag at Brommaplan and then we went to Ekerö for a Westling family dinner. We had a lovely evening and Oliver played with his cousins, Mimmi, Sara and little Greta.
He fell asleep in the car on the way home - which is not difficult as it gets pitch dark at 4 pm.

Any time spent outside in the snow is a great time for Oliver.

Play outside with cousin Felix

Flying from Sydney on Xmas Day

The trip from Sydney to Stockholm:

Leaving Sydney

On Xmas day, 2012, we left for Stockholm, Niclas and Fredrik dropped us off at the airport and we had a coffee before we left to go through security.
Oliver and I where booked on BA to fly via Singapore and London to Stockholm. 7 bags packed and checked-in on the flights (one with Jessica).

Jessica flew to Stockholm on the same day, just half an hour later, on Qantas via Singapore and Frankfurt.


The flight left on time, Oliver slept for 4 hours on this flight and was awake in transit at Singapore and did some shopping.
We did not get to meet Jessica as she was on a far away gate.

The next leg up to London went well, we both slept on the flight and had time to read and watch movies.

T5 LHR

The little traveller

T5 LHR

A long stop in London, spent at T5, which was not as nice as I expected, but we found a nice corner near a kids playground and Oliver had a fun time climbing around before the flight to Stockholm.

Asleep on the final flight of the trip

The last flight was delayed from London, we waited in the gate, and as soon as we boarded, Oliver fell asleep and slept all the way to Stockholm. Managed to get him up and walking as we disembarked the plane.

4 out of 6 bags arrived and after reporting it we walked through and met Mum, Dad, Stina and Jessica and Anurag (who met Jessica in Frankfurt and their flight arrived on time, half an hour before us).
By this time it was getting dark outside so Oliver fell asleep in the car on the way home to Trollbäcken.


Jessica and Anurag got dropped off at the flat in town.

Arrival in Stockholm....

Oliver and I are staying in Trollbäcken until the 1st to acclimatise and spend time with family.

Olivers year in Stockholm 2013

This will be a diary of 2013, which Oliver spends with Mum and Dad in Stockholm.