Sunday, June 21, 2020

We made it to Lund!

What's it like to relocate during a pandemic?
To be honest, today was one of the most pleasant journeys we've made as a family.
We hit: 4 airports (Ottawa, Toronto, Frankfurt, Copenhagen), 3 flights, 1 train (from Copenhagen airport to Lund Central) and 1 short taxi ride with three actual taxis in order to fit all our suitcases in.
By the end of it, the kids were so confused with having transited 4 countries with 4 different languages and 4 different currencies, they were just glad to be in Lund!
The journey went super smooth. We had so much help from all Air Canada employees since there were so few travellers and they all wanted to help!
We got to stretch out on every leg of the journey and there were more than enough seats in the terminals and on the train.
There were handwashing stations everywhere, 95% of the travellers and staff were wearing masks.
It was the best time to travel in the worst time in history.
Once we got to Lund, we met our gracious host/landlord, Andrea, and then we walked to get some food and groceries.
It felt like just finishing an epic passage on our Anjulia Sue: relieved, tired, hungry and accomplished.
The kids were asleep by 4:15 pm local time.
I'm not far behind.
Tomorrow we explore the town and get some bikes!
PS. Happy Father's Day! Might try and stay up to watch the Liverpool game with Matt. Maybe.


Getting our fill of poutine before we leave Canada was absolutely mandatory.

DIY luggage trolley to get us from Ottawa to Lund. But that's only about half our luggage

Thanks to all the friends and family who came to see us off from a safe distance at Ottawa Airport. It meant a lot to us to see you all there.

Goodbye at Ottawa airport.




Final wave!

I found This Is Us Season 4 on the airplane entertainment console.
Only 4 episodes but I'll take what I can get… In other news, the kids
played chess with each other on their personal screen.

Just a little selection of hand made masks that were gifted to us by friends.

Found this little card burried in our suitcases, given to me by Guy last year.

Lots of room and no need to fight for a window seat.

Empty rows of seats.

Got some Swedish Kroner at Toronto Airport.

Every passenger on every AC flight gets this little hygiene pack:
mask, gloves, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, bottle of water, ear phones.

What I missed about Europe was their awesome delicatessens
and bakeries... Even at the airport, they're delicious!

Minecraft, quarantine style.

Made it to Copenhagen! Now we have to get this lot on the train, hope it's not crowded!

Buying train ticket to Lund from Copenhagen/Kastrup airport.

Our life in bags.
TOP: Moving from Canada to Sweden (June 2020)
BOTTOM: Moving from England to Canada (May 2014)

Ready to board the train.

Going over the Øresund Bridge which connects Denmark to Sweden.
If you've ever seen the drama-thriller The Bridge, you'll know exactly
what I'm talking about. If you've never seen it, get on it! Really good.



Managed to get all our bags, on and off, within 90 seconds.

LUND! We found Lemon Fanta. Mind blown.

Pizza dinner. The kids are hiding.

Linonberry jam!!

Look what Matt found in the local Coop here! Like I said, we
only bought the essentials at the store today.

Stadsparken in Lund. Playgrounds are open :)

Our view out of our short term rental apartment. Taken at 10pm!
Summertime light definitely takes some getting used to!



Moving to Sweden During a Pandemic



So I wrote a thing.
About a month ago I was Googling "moving to Sweden" and
The Newbie Guide to Sweden website came up.
It's a great, comprehensive website that helps newcomers to Sweden navigate many settlement questions, from looking for work and accommodation to making social connections.
It also features guest bloggers who write about their experiences in Sweden as Newbies.
So over the next few months I'll be writing about my version as a Newbie in Sweden.
Share your thoughts and tell me what you would like to know about my experiences here. Gathering ideas for the next blog....

At Lake Simcoe during our 2 week quarantine when we arrived back in (chilly) Canada.