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Friday, August 29, 2014

Well what do you know..

Playground
You know when you are working on a puzzle and it seems like it is taking forever but then you get this one piece figured out and everything falls into place. Well that is how August has been for us.

If you will indulge me for a second:

1. The residents card for G and I got lost in the mail.  Without this we couldn't get our personal identification number which means, we couldn't apply for daycare, get a doctor, apply for swedish class, etc.  You really can't do much of anything here without that number.  

2. The ship with our stuff got delayed, then delayed, and then delayed again.  So we had this great apartment in Vasastan but nothing but the bookshelves.  Luckily we were able to stay in our temporary housing but our Ikea showcase apartment in Nacka was starting to wear on us.  

Well in order to get our residents card, G and I ventured out to the migration office to get printed and photographed. This time though we got the card sent to the migration office with a phone number to call to see if the card was ready.  And this is when things started to fall into place.  A week later I called and our cards were ready.  Third trip out to the migration board.  To make it interesting I decided that G and I should venture back on the light rail.  We did find a very fun playground and G spent most of the time squealing and laughing at all the Swedish kids.  

With this we were able to go apply for our number on Monday. The same day that we did this Marc got an email saying that our stuff is in Stockholm and will clear customs this week. Our stuff would be delivered on SOON!
our stuff is off the truck ready for the 5 flights of stairs!
See what I mean about the puzzle.  It seemed as though once we got our card everything else seemed to fall into place.  And to make a long story shorter, as the movers moved our stuff into our apartment, the mailman came and delivered our personal numbers. AND if this isn't enough G and I went to one of the 1000000000 daycares/preschools near our house. They have openings and we are going to go do an "in-schooling*" on Monday!!! 

Well, tonight is our last night in our Temporary housing.  Tomorrow we move into our place.  It will be interesting since the movers unpacked most of the boxes and so every vertical surface is covered.  I figured 1. we won't have to deal with the boxes since the movers took them away,  and 2. it will be motivating to get things organized.  We are pretty excited though and it will be nice to start our new normal.  

*in-schooling is a period of time that allows the parent and child to adjust to being in daycare. Parent and child spend 3 days at the school together for short days doing the routine together. This period lets the parent know what is going on in the school and the child starts to learn the routine while still having the comforts of mom.  




Friday, August 15, 2014

BUS!


Well...we are still in our temporary housing.  Maybe our stuff has arrived and we might get it next week but maybe not.  The hope is that by next weekend we will be in Stockholm with all of our stuff, getting a good workout. For now we are hanging out, enjoying the cable and trying to have daily adventures (they wear out G and she sleeps like a baby ;)).

One of the positives about starting out our adventure in Nacka-Boo is we really get to experience how well the public transportation system works.  For the most part we journey back and forth to Stockholm, for this journey we take a bus to the Slussen where we can either get on another bus or get onto the subway.  Here are some of my general impressions


1. That a majority of the population needs public transportation

I feel that what makes the system work so well is that they assume that everyone needs to ride the bus. Assuming that, there needs to be a good quantity of buses at a regular frequency and these buses need to have varying routes in order to make it convenient for passengers to use.  At our initial stop there are at least 5 buses that leave every 15-20 minutes and 1 commuter bus that runs during the morning rush and the afternoon drive home.  Each route ends in the same place and have several stops in common but they vary in amount of stops and directness.  The commuter bus for instance stays on the highway until our stop which makes the trip efficient.  

What time does the bus come?

2. Clear communication for the riders

Each stop has a reader board letting passengers know how long until their bus arrives. Another amazing wayfinding is the change of paving at the bus stops. Where the bus stops on the street is marked with white pavers that run the length of the bus next to the curb. Where the door opens the pavers are changed to 2 textured pavers perpendicular to the curb and a black paver that aligns with the white pavers. This clearly marks where the door is going to be which leads us to 3.
Where the bus is going to stop

3. Queueing 

The one thing that can be said about Swedes is they love their queues and getting on the bus is no exception and this can be seen most evident at high traffic times. People line up to get on the bus as soon as more than 3 people are waiting for the bus. 

4. No cash

Buses don't accept cash, you have to have an Access Card that has one of the many passes on it, travel cash or you must buy a single ride ticket at a kiosk in the metro or the gas station. Another method is to go onto the SL website and buy a ticket that is then loaded to your phone. It makes getting on the bus that much quicker not having to wait for someone to look for the last dime.  
Priority Seating

5. Priority Seating

Each bus has priority seating for the handicap and strollers. It is a special area were 3 good size strollers can be parked with a little bit of room for standing. I should mention here that you enter at the front of the bus and pay and in order to exit the bus you use one of the backdoors. WELL, if you are traveling with a stroller, no matter the size you get to enter at the back, getting a free ride so you don't have to leave your kid to pay. This makes it easy to get on and off the bus, plus there is no need to remove the kid from their seat which if you're lucky the baby will be fast asleep like most good Swedish babies, but that is for another post.
G taking a snooze 

These are just 5 reasons that I like the public transportation system here and I haven't even delved into the subway or light rail. But that I believe is for another day.  

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Waiting...

Soaking up the rays

Not much is new in the lives of Team Green-Beitch.  The shipment with our home furnishings was delayed 1.5 weeks, which means rather than moving out of the temporary housing like we wanted to this week we are here for a little bit longer.  The plus side to all of this is that for at least the first couple of months, I don't think we will mind the stairs because having a bedroom for G and our kitchen stuff will outweigh any stair we have to take.

We tried to go to Ikea last Sunday so that M could reel in my impulses and provide muscle but sadly our trip was thwarted by an accident in the Tunnelbana.  BUT never fear once we move it will be much easier for us to get to Ikea, there is a Ikea bus that takes you directly from central Stockholm.  I already plan on making this one of G's and mine outings.


As I reread this all it sounds like nothing is going well for us right now.  But really these are just a few minor setbacks and for the most part I am trying to lay low while we are still out in Nacka, so we haven't done much in the last week.  G and I have our daily routine, wake up, play, nap, lunch while watching Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals, go for walk and play some more.  We went to the nearby mall and found the better play center, went for Tapas and meet a friends of a friend which was lots of fun.  Slowly but surely we are getting into a good routine and settling into life here.  Also we tried shrimp on pizza last night.  I tried to get M to get one with bananas on it but he vetoed that for now...hahahaha



Saturday, August 2, 2014

Week 1-(ish)

Well it has been a little over a week since G and I landed.  Not much has been happening. We have been adjusting to our new time, checking out the new city and enjoying our very compact living.

For the most part G and I have been staying close to our temporary housing while M is at work.  As amazing as the transportation is, I don't think either of us were adjusted enough to make that trip too often without totally wiping us out.  We go on several walks during the day, exploring the different routes and trails near the apartment, occasionally we search the local grocery store but mostly we just hang out at home.

On Thursday, we got the keys to our apartment.  It is going to be great! From the rumors and watching too many episodes of House Hunters International, I was expecting that we would be living in something smaller and no storage.  Well M found us a great apartment.  There is a closet in every room, I think G's room is actually bigger than her room back in Seattle, and built in exercise.  Hopefully we will be able to move in next week but our stuff isn't scheduled to arrive in Sweden til Monday and it will take a few days for it to get through customs.  

first of many trips up the stairs
When we do venture into Stockholm proper, I will admit that we are excited about all the places to explore, and the beauty of the city.  This weekend is Pride weekend. As with any good Pride celebration there was a parade that ran through the city:

At our first look out spot, only G had a good view. She did enjoy the dancing and the clapping. (Everytime I tried to get a video she would stop.) After a while we started walking back towards to bus home and saw the rest of the parade going in the opposite decoration.  It was a fun parade, very similar to the one in Seattle. I will admit that the people watching was probably the best part.  It seemed that everyone old and young came out to support the parade. The cafes along the route where bursting with people enjoying the sights and sounds.  
If you noticed on the map every 7-Eleven is highlighted.  They were one of the sponsors of Pride and had a drop in wedding chapel at one of their store locations.  Who knew that 7-Eleven was so progressive?