I didn’t know how to respond at first.
Life has been so busy (jobs, new day-care, new city, travelling, new house, etc) that we haven’t had much time to think about our big change from a city of millions to one with 100,000.
Upon further reflection that night, the answer started to formulate in my mind. One of the best benefits has been the luxury of going to our country home on weekends. We are grateful to have a quiet village getaway to free our minds from the hustle and bustle of the city. If we still lived in Stockholm, the best we could have hoped for was a visit 4-5 times year. Since moving late last year, we’ve already visited 10 times with a short 50 minute drive.
I had no idea that getting away from a typical “weekend routine” in the city and into the fresh county air would be so relaxing and calm; in some ways magical. The house is located in a small village full of beautiful nature - with a one minute walk to a lovely sandy beach. For walking or jogging, it’s a true paradise whether one does it on the beach or the soft earth paths.
This past winter was cold although the warmth of the crackling wood fireplace provided a cozy atmosphere. Despite the heavy snow, the scenery was often spectacular with glistening ice on the trees and beach.
The kids love the change of scenery on weekends as much or more than we do. When we arrived on a recent Friday night, my young son sprinted to his room with a joy that was infectious!
So how do we like our new life in the south of Sweden?
We are enjoying our new surroundings immensely as life is much simpler and easier than Stockholm in a variety of ways, not to mention the close proximity to Copenhagen, Denmark. I wanted to make the move to the south years ago so I am thrilled that it has become a reality.
My first couple of answers to the question that festive night consisted of the aforementioned “easier life” although after my epiphany, my standard response quickly changed to this one:
“Life is very good. Our country house “alone” has been worth the move from Stockholm”.
Happy Gswede Sunday!
1 comment:
Hi George,
I enjoyed reading about our new life in the South.
I especially liked the description of changes in weather as viewed from the beach, and the picture of Lennart running to his room was just fantastic!
We are all doing fine here in Stockholm.
We havent been spending as much time as we would like to at our country house, just 40 minutes south of Stockholm, but we are hopeful that we will be able to spend the entire summer there. Our house is also located by the sea, and in a very small village with 5 year round neighbours and 10 other families that come for the summer months.
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