Summer memories

Our dear friend Hanna took this picture of Noah this summer in Göteborg. Feels as a long time ago when looking out over a Christmassy snowy city.
The excitement is at its peak now when only just over a week to go until Santa comes. Every time Noah hears a sound outside the front door, he looks at us and says: "Tror du att det är tomten mamma?!" = "Do you think it is Santa?!". Ohh, what would Christmas be without children...Noah is totally the new cook at home, making all sorts of baked deliciuos things for the big day next week.

Funny qoutes

In the morning on the way to daycare and the annual Winter Concert, the bag was packed with our new video camera (video's to come of course). I told Noah that we would film him and his friends when they were singing at the concert. He replied: "No, mummy sing and Noah will film."

On the way home from daycare, looking out over the forest with crisp white snow and a clear black sky Noah spotted the moon and said: "Mummy, I want the moon".

Latest picture from daycare

Cuddle time

You have to work with what you've got - all smiles here!

A sunny October day

We spent the day in the large park of Hisingen (on the island where we live) and enjoyed sunny weather and a big picnic basket.

Preschool photo

This is 2o10's school photo from October of Preschool 1A at the International Preschool in Biskopsgården.

Dress up Party - pictures from daycare

Dare to move?

The drivers dared to drive really close up to the animals. This particular rhino on the picture below, tried to attack our jeep just seconds after the snap. Did I mention that the jeeps were fully open?

Beautiful creatures

Safari time in South Africa

A continent apart

Sitting in my bed with a cuppa and hot water bottle and the heater on wheels is standing in the middle of the room. So where am I? Back in Australia on a visit? You would think so hey? But no, I'm somewhere that I find so exotic, very different and breathtaking; in a little bit cold and springy South Africa. I'm away with work on a mobilty scholarship for 10 days in Port Elizabeth, visiting Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Yes, yes, it didn't take long before my heart started to long for my boys. In fact, it was already on the second stretch between Amsterdam and Cape Town when it kicked in. But am on day 3 now and it's going ok, better than expected. It is a busy schedule filled with very interesting meetings and work shops and it is all really enjoyable. Upcoming leisure events will be such things as visits to the townships, game reserves and a Sunday lunch with newly made friends here. In many ways, Australia and South Africa are alike with the friendly people, exotic wildlife and very poorly isolated houses :-). PE is also as windy as Perth and offers fantastic seafood. However, you notice very quickly that there are also some dramatic differences which reminds me of how lucky (and spoilt) the Westerners really are. But SA is as we all know in transition and if the cards are played right, there is a bright future ahead. One thing is for sure, I will be coming back to SA as this country can't leave you untouched, which in my eyes makes a place the perfect holiday destination. And next time I'll bring my dear family along as there is nothing that beats enjoying experiences togheter with the ones you hold closest to your heart.

"Har du ont pappa?"

This morning we were sleeping in, being Saturday and all. Noah laid down next to Shawn and put his forehead against pappa's and said: "Har du ont pappa?" (= Are you in pain?). Pappa answered back that he was just tired. "Ok. Do you have pain in the arm?" Noah said and pointed at arm. Pappa didn't have pain in the arm and again explained that he was just tired. But Noah didn't take no for an answer and continued to ask and went through all the body parts.

The day was spent - choice by Noah, surprise surprise - at Liseberg, Göteborg's amusement park. Today there was a showcase on with farm animals, trucks and free tastings of homemade country specials. For the past week we have felt the autumn in the air but luckily we had very little rain during the visit at Liseberg and we were able to squeeze in a couple rides as well. All in all, a very good day.

Eagle eyes

"I found the sunglasses in the drawer mummy!"

"Maybe play trains after dinner pappa?"

"I put the paper in the toilet."

"Yes, I did it. Noah fixed the dator!" [Managed to start up and play a DVD file with Mickey Mouse on the laptop...?!?!]

"Mamma, Noah också kela baby?" (=Mummy, Noah also cuddle the baby?)

The last two weeks Noah's sentences

has become much longer and more complex. 5-7 words are now the usual length which makes the conversations with him so much more fun and interesting.

We have also noticed that he knows all the tram stops on our line and what to expect at each

single one; bridges, tunnels, soccer fields, schools, shops, baby swim, train station and so on. He also knows which tram line to get on, either number 5, 6 or 10. The little chap has much better eye sight than us so when a tram is arriving further up the track and it can hardly be seen on the hills, Noah shouts "It's tram number 5 mummy! Look daddy, it's number 5. Look! Look! Noah goes on the tram now."

It seems to never bore him to go on the tram. During the winter when it was all wet and humid inside the carriage, he was happy as Larry. Now during the summer, it's boiling hot on board (no AC here in Europe), he doesn't even notice the heat. He sits still and in (almost) silence and looks out through the windows, dreaming away about...yeah who knows? One thing is for sure though; he is such a boy!

Strawberry Jam, mmm, mmm!

We spent three days with Mormor and Morfar in Lundsbrunn. We had so much fun!
First we went strawberry picking. What a joy to pick your own strawberry and be able to eat as many as you want at the same time. Of course, Noah ate the most!
From the strawberry's we picked, we able to make strawberry cordial, strawberry jam and and strawberry cake. It was incredibly cheaper to make it yourself and taste so natural.

This strawberry didn't make it into the bucket.

               

4 Kilos in 15 minutes!

Sun, Sand and Surf!

Well its been quite a while since we've been able to update the blog, but now we've gone back on the old computer and we can post some photo's of our summer vacation.

Our first summer vacation in Sweden, why go anywhere? So, we stayed in the city for two weeks, hired a car for a week - traveled around the south of Sweden - and then came back to the city for our last few days of what has been a great Swedish summer. The pictures below are from our time in the south of Sweden.

During the first two weeks, we had visitors from Australia and from Stockholm. When we collate those photos we will post them immediately.

Sun and Sand......in Sweden!!!

mmmmmmmmm.........ICE CREAM

Summer Days

July has been a great month so far. Preschool is closed and therefore I took the whole month off. Today Shawn officially start his holiday and it is quite a challenge to decide what where are going to do! There are so many things to choose from and we want to do it all.

So far we have had a fantastic summer. The weather is that good that the Swedes (including us) are starting to complain it is too hot. We have had lovely visitors from both Perth and Stockholm.

Noah loved having his old friend, Nathan, from Australia here and happily shared his toys and room with him and his mum Hanna. We spent four days together which of course was way too short- time flies when having fun! Noah didn't like to see his friend depart so luckily we had the pleasure of welcoming our friends from Stockholm shortly after Nathan and Hanna left. Our little boy is very social and was so happy to see "Mamma Isa, Pappa Benny, Ludwig och Cornelia" again. At first he told us that he was "lite blyg" but after five minutes he forgot about his shyness and it was all play.

This weekend we just spent at home lazing about with a visit to the beach and BBQ at Annelie & Tony's place. Noah is very fascinated of his godmother as she is due in 3 weeks. Noah knows it's a baby in there - he once stated that she ate the baby (!) - and you can tell he is still really puzzled by the whole "big belly situation".

Today we are thinking of what do during the next two weeks. The weather is going to be hot, hot and hot so the best is to be at the beach all week. We are thinking of renting a car for a week and go down to Skåne county´s coast line and visit some friends and then pay mormor and morfar a visit. Time will tell, life is hard when on holiday ;-)...

Mother´s Day

A great, slightly different gift on Mother's Day:

It was time for nappy change and we were about to put on a fresh nappy. "No" said Noah. "No nappy". "Ok, but then you need to go on the potty instead" we answered. Noah went to the bathroom, picked up the potty and carried it into his room. He sat down on the potty and did his business. And that's that.

Puddles and Worms

Jumping in puddles is a blast and even the adults in our family have invested in gum boots! As it rains the worms come out and you find them everywhere on the streets. Worms are animals, Noah stated one afternoon last week. We watched the crawling worms and then spotted a dead one. Noah looked at it for a minute and said "Mask (worm) tired". Interesting observation...

The laugh of the day

We were walking alongside the boat harbour in Sannegårdshamnen. Just had a lovely waffle lunch with some sparkly on our friends' sunny balcony overlooking the water (yes, Sweden is pretty darn great half of the year). Anyway, Noah is in a great mode checking out everything that we pass. Then we walked pass a couple with a tiny, tiny dog and Noah burst out in excitement :"Look the cat!".

Mr. Chatterbox

Here is someone with lots to tell - I think children must long for this moment, when they finally can start to communicate so others can understand them. To be able to tell stories and sing along to music.

The development of speech is very noticeable from week to week. Very social and bubbly. He tells us about his experiences. He is happy too, so he tells me; almost daily he says that he is happy: "Noah lycklig". The language is still a mix of Swedish and English, where the English is coming through much better, especially when talking about dagis. And daycare is a favorite one to talk about; what they been up to, the names of all the new friends and the new things they've learnt.

Today we came home and Noah sang a new song for me; "Noah loves friends, Noah laughs with friends". He likes to dance and wiggle along to the new songs - proudly showing off the latest moves also learnt at dagis. It's such a energy booster to see him being so happy at daycare and that he has adjusted to this new lifestyle so well. In fact, he likes it so much that when we are at home and we have to discipline him, he just looks at us and then says: "Noah åka tåg till dagis". Oh little Noah, the grass is never greener on the other side... ;-)

The experience of Christmas is still a strong memory. Yesterday someone was hammering in a hook in the wall next door and Noah looked at me with big eyes and said "tomten". I replied that Santa wasn't here but when he does come he always asks "Are there any nice/good children in the house?". Noah remembered the answer to this one, probably since we practiced it every day throughout December. So then I asked him if Noah was a good child - he replied promptly with a yes and a smile. "So what does the children get from Santa then?" Noah looked at me and said "Train track". Indeed Santa did bring, amongst a lot of other things, a train track.

2nd week at work...

...and I'm tired. Nothing unusual though since I'm normally ready for bed when Noah goes down at 7.30 pm. Work is good though - I'm enjoying the 7am starts (my choice as it allows for an earlier pick up at dagis) as I'm alone in the office and can quietly eat breakfast, read emails and slowly get into things. Once into the job properly, and not to mention the new family routines I believe things will be great. Noah is already getting the hang of the "dad drop off" and the "mum pick up" thing and knows what's going on - you better not be late cos then he starts asking the staff where we are. Didn't know that little kids had such a built in body clock when it comes to such stuff but I guess they just can sense it. Thinking about it - the pick up is an important part of the day so of course you would know when it's time...

Last weekend we had a great family weekend and enjoyed the lovely spring sun, lazed in bed watching kids movies and Noah helped out in the kitchen making bread and other things. Unfortunately we're experiencing problems with the uploading and it's quite impossible to upload pictures to a "normal" size, hence the massive pics in the last posts. Also, not being able to upload seems to affect the spirit of writing..but soon it should be back to normal, we hope..

The Week in Spain

A week goes quick...Noah had such a good time. I truly don't know what he loved most..maybe the flight..maybe the beach, picking stones and seashells..maybe tourist train that went up on the hill..maybe going by car through tunnels..maybe the food..maybe hanging around mormor and morfar and getting spoilt..?

Anyway, if you would ask him what we did on the Tuesday, Noah will answer: "Noah åka flygplanet!" meaning that he went on the aircraft. Back here in Göteborg, he is now telling most people he bumps into, in the shop or on the tram, about his trip to Spain. Similar drill every time, something like this; "Noah Spanja mormor och morfar. Noah åka flygplanet. Noah åka tåget berget. Noah stranden. Plocka stones. Noah campjinget. Noah åka tunnelet."

Peñíscola

-Sunny and no need for a jacket.
-Noah is happy - picking seashells and stones on the beach.
-Master Calpén tried churros, like a Spanish doughnut and loved it - of course.
-Eating lots of fresh seafood, drinking local good wine, prepping dinner outside whilst enjoying the fresh sea air.
-Been to some local festivities, markets and seen some beautiful countryside views.

Hasta la vista!

This morning on the way to dagis, I asked Noah if he knew what we are going to do tomorrow. He answered me back: "Åka flygplan". And he is absolutely correct.

Noah and I are going to Spain tomorrow! We are flying down to catch up with mormor and morfar for a week before I commence work at the university, grandparents' treat. Unfortunately for us but fortunately for Shawn is he very busy at work, so he will stay put in Göteborg whilst Noah and I head down for some vitamin D and tapas :-).

"Money, money, money..."

Again, it's been a while since the last post - time just flies and we both wonder how it's going to be when we are older... Anyway, big news this time:

1: Shawn has a job!

A few weeks back he attended a recruitment day for the biggest health club chain in Sweden and he successfully got a job with them and have been working with them as a personal trainer and class instructor for two weeks now.

2: I got a job!

I attended an interview two weeks ago and was offered the job two days later. I'm very relieved and happy about it as it had been over 70 applications and 5 where called for an interview. The job is at the University of Gothenburg and I begin the week after Easter.

It's funny how things turn out...The apartment we are renting is located on a island called Hisingen. This is also where one of the English-speaking preschool is based. The health club where Shawn got a job is also on Hisingen and only 10 minutes walk from home. And guess what? The faculty where I'm going to work, yeah you got it by now, is also on Hisingen, only 5 minutes by bus from home! How convenient, we could not asked for a better solution!

Nemo and Dory

Penicillin is strong and Noah's ear is already better. That much better that we decided to pay Universeum a visit. Not sure if I mentioned it before but it's a science centre where you can discover the space, the rain forest and the ocean. It's a fantastic place, especially on days when it's rough weather outside. Like this weekend - snow, snow and more snow. In fact, it came that much snow that our first attempt to visit Universeum on Saturday failed, as the trams didn't run and we had to walk back home after hopefully waiting for a tram for 30 minutes.

Sunday was much better and we caught the tram, enjoying the views of the city with fresh snow - there is nothing like it, especially a day like Sunday when the sun is shining.

We have already been to Universeum once this year and at that first visit, we realised that having season tickets was the only way to go. So now we can pop in at anytime, just for a few hours to have a play and look at the animals.

Noah remembered where everything was and when we got to the ocean part of the centre, he pointed and said "sharks". But it wasn't the sharks that got the attention this time, he ran straight to the tanks where he knew he could find Nemo and Dory.

Bug attack

I'm down with a cold and Noah with an ear infection. It's so much easier now when he is a little older and can talk. This morning he said to me: "Mamma, öra ont", letting me know that his ear was hurting. So we booked an appointment with the doctor and just he had said, it was the ear. The penicillin is strong so we should see an improvement already tomorrow. When being sick, you're not always too keen to eat proper meals and for some reason Noah likes to stick to his beloved oatmeal so there is porridge for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the menu.

Fettisdagen

Fettisdagen is the last day before the Christian feast; the day between the Blue Monday, and theAsh Wednesday. Because it is the last day before the Easter Feast, it has created a tradition to eat buns, so called semla. The oldest version of the semla was a plain bread bun, eaten in a bowl of warm milk. Today, the Swedish semla consists of a cardamom-spiced wheat bun which has its top cut off and insides scooped out, and is then filled with a mix of the scooped-out bread crumbs, milk andalmond paste, topped with whipped cream. The cut-off top serves as a lid and is dusted with powdered sugar. Today it is often eaten on its own, with coffee or tea and some people still eat it in a bowl of hot milk.

Most grocery stores sell them already in Early January and Shawn, with the big sweet tooth, has bought a few this last few weeks. I'm not really into the shop bought version so Noah and I surprised Shawn and baked our own on Fettisdagen. Guess if he loved the surprise? And after tasting the "real deal", Shawn has requested homemade semla every year :-). Below are two pictures of semlor, the assembled product as well as a cut-up view of the semla. Anyone keen to visit next February...?

Happy Valentine's Day!

The in schooling at "dagis" is complete and there have been no tears. Only one of the first days when the teachers asked Noah to put away the toys for lunch! From mummy there have been no tears either, just an overall weird feeling that something is missing and the realisation that shopping without kids and a pram is a breeze :-D.

This weekend was a quiet one, yet still lots of fun. Friday night we had dinner with an old friend of mine and her partner along with another couple we never met before. It's great to get out and about and get to know new people, it feels as if the circle of acquaintances is growing! It was a lovely dinner and we could tell that we have been out of the scene for a while because we both woke up with headache the morning after :-).

Saturday day was spent lazying about at home as well as some cleaning, which really only takes a blink of an eye since this place is small! I love a spacious home but you gotta admit, it's hassle when it comes to the cleaning!

Saturday night Annelie and Tony came over for dinner. The good old slow cooker came in handy, being hungover and all, and we enjoyed a beef and mushroom stew with mash. What better meal a snowy winter day?

Sunday...sick again! Not hungover this time but I managed to catch the latest bug that Noah brought home from daycare. What is it with kids' bugs, they just seemed to knock you out?! So I've been in bed all day whilst Noah and Shawn have enjoyed the usual tram ride - I'm glad we invested in tickets with unlimited rides :-).

Even though being sick, I have enjoyed my so far most memorable Valentine's experience;

When Noah and Shawn came back home after their tram ride, they buzzed on the door. I didn't get why they couldn't open the door themselves since they had the key but I dragged myself out of bed and opened the door. By the bottom of the stair stood Noah, with the biggest and proudest smile on his face. He looked at me and started to walk up the stair with one hand on the railing. In the other hand he held a bouquet of tulips! He looked at me with sparkly eyes, smiled and said "Mamma, färger!". (Färger means colours and sometimes this is what he calls flowers - he is quite accurate I must say.)

Noah had bought the flowers with pappa in the shop and had insisted to carry them all the way home himself. He had also practiced to say "var så god" meaning "here you go" when passing over the flowers. But in all excitement when reaching the top of the stair and giving me a hug, instead he said "tack" = thank you. And he also decided to keep the flowers for himself :-).

Easy going weekend

Still lots of snow... Good weekend with a sunny sky and about -5. And another weekend has almost passed. It's been a fairly quiet one with some cleaning, a work out, shopping and catching up with friends. Shopping = storage solutions. Feeling like vintage at the mo. God bless IKEA but it's nice to blend it up a bit :-). Both Shawn and I are thrilled about this piece.

Noah loves being out and about in Göteborg and when we woke up this morning and asked what he wanted to do today, he answered "Åka tåg. Och buss". Well, we must agree, the trams and buses are running very smoothly here. It´s that convenient with the public transport system that we are considering apartment living even when we purchase a home later on.

Tonight will be an early night as tomorrow it is time for preschool again as well as Swedish class for Shawn. I believe a classical meal will be served tonight, Swedish meatballs, easy as.

Need Warm Toes and Feet?

Check this website out - here you can will a pair of extremely cute pair of slippers of the colour of your choice! http://frenchpressknits.blogspot.com/

1st Morning of Daycare

On the way to preschool this morning, I asked what he though of us going there. "Kul!" he answered back. Whether if I agreed that it was fun I'm not so sure, mums tend to be nervous about these things. But Noah was thrilled this morning, first because we had to travel by tram to get there and secondly, the place we were going to was to be full of new friends and cool toys.

In fact, this morning it went so well, that after 30 minutes the teachers asked me to leave for 45 minutes to see how he coped without me. He was so excited that he didn't even notice that I left! The teachers were impressed that he was so social. The poor kids has pretty much been alone with us for the past few months so no wonder really. They reckons that this in schooling will be easy. For him :-)...

"Serious Talk"

The last few weeks Noah's language skills have really developed and he tries to make sentences when he speaks. It's really fun to listen to and even though the Swedish is more dominent, he mixes English and Swedish all the time. He has also started to communicate more what he wants and needs, anything from that he needs to empty his bowels to what type of food he prefers or if he wants more of something. Here are some examples from the last week;

The other morning, when cuddling in bed, I asked Noah if he wanted breakfast. He was fast out of bed, looked at me and said: "Mamma, come on!".

When in the mood for a snack, he opens the fridge, points at the yoghurt tub, with the brand Yoggi and says "Vill ha Yoggi nu." meaning "Want Yoggi now."

When hungry and wants another sandwich he says; "Macka ost mer" which means "Sandwich cheese more".

When reading a book where kids bake with their grandmother he points accurately in the book and says; "Det är pa-ka bord." which states "It's gingerbread cookie table."

Since he loved baking gingerbread cookies in December, the other day we decided to bake banana bread and Noah happily helped with the pouring and stirring. When it came to the vanilla sugar, he must of felt the lovely smell of vanilla because suddenly, he quickly put the heaped teaspoon in the mouth. To his surprise, it was very sticky and the roof of the mouth was sealed to the tounge. After a couple of seconds, when able to speak, he said with the mouth full with a stunned face: "Stuck. Dricka!" = "Stuck. Drink!". He looked so funny and both Noah and I were laughing out loud :-)!

Today on our way home from fika with Aunty Annelie, Noah was babbling on as usual. Most of the time, he speaks about the buses, trams and cars driving by. After a while, I heard he was repeating something over and over again. With the noice of the city in the background I was wondering what it was that he was saying and leaned over the pram to hear better and heard: "Tappa sko, tappa sko". I looked under his blanket and to my surprise, I found that- yes, he had lost his shoe! I looked back down the street and a couple of hundred meters down the street, I saw his little shoe.

This is a new part of our lives and it is so NICE to be able to understand him, to be able to keep conversation and have a good laugh together. And today, we also managed to not have to fork out money for a new pair of shoes!

Dagis

We have listed Noah for day care (dagis). There are around 15 day cares, all walking distance from our apartment. Fantastic I thought at first, however it turned out that the waiting was until August (!) - quite stressful as I was hoping to go back to work way before then! So I contacted the International Preschool here in Gothenburg, an English speaking day care. It is one of the few private daycares here, yet it's the same price as the public ones ( less than 200 AUD a month which also equals the Governmental payment all families get every month) so I gave it a shot . And guess what, I had the luck with me that day when visiting them and we got offered a spot - Noah starts in schooling already Feb 1st!! Now of course, the emotional journey begins, to leave our boy in hands of others, scary thought! I'm sure it will be fine, he longs for friends and age appropriate activities and it's time for him to try his wings a little bit. Even though he will make new friends, there is one girl that always will hold a special place in heart - miss Heidi ;-).

What a lovely view

This morning our shipment from Australia arrived! The men unloaded the truck within 30 minutes and suddenly the whole apartment was filled with boxes.

It was an surprisingly emotional experience to see the boxes being carried into the apartment. It was like it sunk in again; we are going to live here now, for real. I actually shed a tear and thought about everything in Australia that we'll miss out on.

I must say though, that it was lovely to watch Noah unpack his boxes together with us, he was sooo happy to see his own bed and all the toys. And I was happy to see my kitchen gear, jewelery and hand bags - up to now I've been carrying things in a Woolworth's green shopping bag under Noah's pram, can you believe it!?!

Anyway, today we've spent 12 hours unpacking and we still have about half the boxes to go! But there is no rush to unpack the rest - first we need to purchase some storage solutions and I think we know the right place to go for that....IKEA, sweet IKEA ;-).

Our Birthday Boy

After watching a puppet theater in the morning, we headed to Annelie's place for lunch and "kalas" (birthday party). Being new in town, by 2 days, means that most likely you will be the only child attending your own birthday party. Luckily, he has a mother, father and godmother who happily play silly games with the decorations and loves to eat yummy pancake-birthday cake ;-).

Only child at the party or not, Noah seemed to have lots of fun on his birthday and that is all that matters! He loved his presents and ate as much cake as his dad!

Thanks heaps Annelie for making us feel so welcome in Göteborg and for making Noah's birthday so special!

The First Night at Home

Ahhh...moving again! With everything stuffed back into the suitcases and with a few of my boxes that's been kept at my parents all these years, the car that we had rented yesterday was filled to its maximum capacity! Driving on the right hand side again in a new city in winter conditions is probably not what I would recommend to anyone but it actually went really well! The big freeway outside Lundsbrunn runs straight to Göteborg so there was not many turns before we rolled up in front of our new "home".

Since we don't have any beds yet, we have borrowed mattresses from Annelie which we have padded with unfolded moving boxes underneath, to make it a bit softer and warmer. We are also very lucky; since the guy we are renting from was moving abroad, he decided to donate a few pieces of furniture to us! He left us his kitchen table, some office furniture, a sofa and living room table - how sweet!

We slept really well on the floor last night and just the thought of that we finally have our own place eliminates any thoughts about wanting more fashionable furniture or better comfort! It's cosy in here - with Noah sleeping comfortably in the portacot and with the candle lights we've spread out around the room it feels...nice!

Tomorrow is another big day - Noah turns 2. After the recent events of Christmas, he now has practiced the "unwrapping technique" to perfection and I'm sure the gifts will be opened in seconds!

Good night, sleep tight...

The Scoring of an Apartment...

Yes, you read it right, we have managed to get hold of an apartment in Göteborg, yay!!

It is not like Australia when it comes to rental properties and it is almost impossible to find one here, people sometimes line up years in advance. After endless of hours searching online for a place and trying to get hold of the people renting the properties out without any luck, this one suddenly it popped up - with the right price and location and to be rented out ASAP! We saw the ad online only an hour after being posted so we emailed, sms:ed and rang and left a message. Desperate? Oh yes :-)! We nervously waited all day and in the afternoon he rang us back. Each ad normally get a few hundred responses so that he actually called us back was a very positive sign! As he was leaving the country for work in just 3 days, we needed to come to Göteborg and meet him and have a look at the apartment. After much talking on the phone, he decided that if we liked the place, we could have it since we "seemed so NICE"! Thank you, thank you, thank you - that's the news we've been waiting for!

So on the morning of New Years Day, January 1st, we headed for Göteborg, filled with hopes that it wouldn't turned out in disappointment. And we couldn't have been happier, the place was just what we needed - little and cheap with shops and amenities just around the corner and only 3 tram stops from the Central station! And that's that - we signed the contract for a year and are to move in next weekend!!