Confusion and wine!

Today I have enjoyed the "wein messe" in Basel. It's a dream! You walk around, everywhere you go there's people offering you great wines! There were wines from all over the globe! Some great ones and some.... Well yeah... I met up with some friends around 4 pm and we stayed until they closed at 7 pm. After some tasting I got quite light and happy, and we all agreed to order some wine. Hm... I am counting my orders now. I don't have to buy more wine this year with that generous amount! Well, it is an interest... But to be honest, I don't have more space! At the last place we ordered I got one wine as a gift (beautiful Swedish girl etc etc...) and that took up the last space in my wine drawer. Well, I'll figure something out 😉

The rest of the weekend was also great! Apero Friday at some friends and birthday/luxury dinner Saturday! It was great to see all friends again after almost two whole weeks spent in Sweden (or at a plane flying back and forth) wow, it's been an intense period of time. 

The feeling of getting back to Sweden is always a bit strange, it's Luke my Vasel life is fading slowly and I'm just taking up my "old" life. But when I go back to Basel it's as natural but I need some minutes of adjustment and the Swedish life is not fading as much. Funny...

Well, it was a great and inspiring time back "home" but I'm glad to be back in Basel. Look forward to go to work by bike tomorrow morning. And today we even got one more hour from changing to wintertime!! OMG, was I confused this morning?!? My iPhone was automatically adjusted, but of course not the rest of the clocks! And since I had no idea of the time change when I woke up I didn't think of it until it became time to meet all friends for the wein messe. I all of the sudden saw that I had only 5 min until I was supposed to meet up with everyone!  And I couldn't understand how the time could just have gone so fast... Took me sw time to realise what it was! 

Well, now I will go to sleep and enjoy the extra hour tomorrow morning! 

Moments of brilliance!

I'm proud to state that so far I have gone by bike to work every day of this week. And the fantastic thing is that I have made it to meetings starting already at 8.30!! Wow.... That's almost not human! I mean, for me that's just too early nowadays! 

Today I have had my first meeting with my wine club. Finally I'm gonna learn more about wine so that I can show off whenever there's an opportunity! Yey 😁 

We tasted wines from the US, didn't know so much before but with some splendid education from the host I have now come one step further on the way!

Yesterday I was out on adventures, biking home from work and taking a detour to one of the Basel wine shops. I was aiming for a bottle from New Zealand, a really cool one. I actually bought the bottle Saturday... But then I accidentally dropped it on the floor... In another wine shop. It broke. It smelled fantastic, we all agreed to that. Including the poor guy that had to clean up after me. Now it's in my keeping. For how long is hard to say... But a few days more at least!! ;)

Dawn... Dawn?

Waken up really early, I mean really early. It's now 06.33 and I've only been sleeping for a couple of hours. Don't know what was waking me, but it's a great feeling, knowing that I can go back to sleep and stay asleep for as long as I like! 

Outside the city is also waking up. Cars are starting, people are walking by; on their way to work? On their way home after a night out? A couple were walking by singing. 

According to my app, the sun won't rise for yet another hour. So dear friends. This is my day off. I'm for sure going back to sleep. It's been an intense week and I'm not ready for today to start just yet. 

Spoiled in Switzerland

So, autumn is it coming? 

Ha! Not in the same way here as it did in Sweden! While I get reports from Sweden of how nice it is with gloves in the morning, the temperature is rising again in Switzerland. Tonight it was 24 C while I was walking home. 

Life's good! 

I have gotten used to some new things lately. I am taking the bike to work more often. Really does wonders for me! Even though I still have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, it's working! (Well not so well this week ... But most other weeks 😁) 

I have also gotten use to a Swedish form of... Eh.. Circle training? Called "friskis & svettis" which I really didn't think of as my cup of tea, but it apparently is! So almost every Wednesday I go, run around in circles and picking stuff from imaginary trees and so on. Today I didn't go, but it was for a good reason!! 

Today I joined the first meeting of my book club! It was lovely! Good company, a promising book and a proper Swedish meal!! Home made pea soup Swedish style! OMG luxury for an expat! 

Can't say anything but life's good! 

Bedtime stories

I often get my inspiration to write just before bedtime. So even this time. And to make this time an extra cheesy one; I'm listening to Madonnas  album "bedtime stories" as I'm writing! 

I've had a week of recovering after sickness and allergy chock. It feels like I've mostly been tired and hungry... Which is not the best combination, and not the best place to be in terms of keeping motivation up for doing practically anything. 

But one thing that I did have motivation to do this weekend was to go with the Swedish group to discover something else than Basel. It was super! We went to schaffhausen to see the largest waterfall in Europe. And then we kept on going to Konstanz and Bodensee. 

I figured out just short before the weekend that I had taken the wrong allergy pills. In the beginning of the summer I invested in some for my hay-fever and I got so tired from them. After a while I tried some other brand and felt sooo much better. Well...Of course I chose the wrong ones when I got my allergy reaction from the penicillin... So today I made up for all couch camping and went out for a run/walk. 2,30h all together! I'm proud! (No!! I just ran for half an hour... I'm not superman!) so now I will go to sleep pleased with my performance. 

Sleep well all of you! 

    

This is sick!!!

So, back in Basel! Lots of things has happened as usual. But there are some disturbing things that I need to share.... 

Ok, here we go: 

1. My Swiss phone is broken. Not so that I can't use it, but the glass is cracked. I'm writing this in my phone and I can't see properly. Very disturbing. I dropped the phone before my vacation when I was out running (yes, it sounds good, doesn't it?!) and I thought that I would be able to fix it quite cheep in my home town. No, didn't happened. It was expensive, yes, everywhere I looked. Now thanks to a phone guru I have located a place in Basel. So that will be solved! 

2. When I got back from vacation I caught a bad cold. That lead to a throat infection, which lead to an ear infection. "Ear infection" -  you might think "isn't that like a child's disease??" - and I would answer "exactly". I was sick for a week. And after some struggle and some tears I was able to figure out how the process of visiting a doctor is working in Switzerland. And it's of course a lot of differences to Sweden... I got penicillin. 

3. Again, I got penicillin. "Great" - you

Might think, well.... No. I have got rashes all over my body. Nice. I googled and found some nasty diseases which scared me to visit the doctor again. It turns out that I'm allergic to penicillin... And that these itchy things will last for 5-7 days. 

Beautiful 

In the air

I'm in the air after an amazing vacation in Sweden. I thought three weeks would be enough time, but now it seems like it passed by too quick. But OMG I have done so many fun things and met so many if my friends and I've simply had a great time! 

The first week I made a report after cleaning the roof. That was actually fun and that activity I think set the tone on my  vacation. There has not been too much sleep or relaxing or reading like it normally is for me. This with moving abroad and visiting your home country for vacation and weekends only is a strange thing. In three weeks I haven't even been able to spend all the time I would like to with the people "back home".  

Today I've dreamt a lot and not slept so well. Excited about coming back to Basel and the life I have there and sad about leaving friends and family in Sweden. What a mix. I particularly blame a friend of mine for all if it, he asked me to buy some "fjällbrynt" for him and bring to Basel. I of course forgot that and had to pick it up today, before leaving for the airport 😉. 

When arriving to the airport I only hoped that my extremely heavy bag would not exceed 20kg, which is the easyjet limit for  bags to check in.... It turned out to be 4kg too much. I had to repack at the scene.... Well, I did and almost managed.  There I got a bit stressed. And then I just haaaad to look through the different stores at the airport (I really like Copenhagen airport!). When I was just two minutes from The check in they called my name from the loudspeakers.... Yeh, I made it. Without too much shopping made. 

Now I sit on the plane. We've been in the air for almost 30 min. I'm starting to relax. 

Reflecting back on the three weeks I've been at home I'm making the same conclusion as I make every time. I have to realise I can't meet everyone and do everything I want. There have to be more time that is not booked and where I prioritise myself and relaxation. 

My parents has been amazing. The time spent in the summerhouse has been great and they are so lovely! Everyday we've been into the sea. No matter how cold it was in the beginning. 

As always in Sweden you often meet people over a drink or food. But that you do in so many cultures and countries so that is not too unique. But in Sweden you also meet over candy! The Swedish candy I sometimes miss. Not too often any longer though, but still. When there'scandy in  front of me I eat until I get sick. Why you might wonder... Well yeh... I don't know. Not too healthy really.

 

 One thing I really do miss when talking about food is the seafood that you very easily can get a hold of in this country with so much coastal area. This summer I have eaten lobster, shrimps and cray fish. Soooo good! 

I can't pick one event that was the highlight of the vacation, there's so much. But I do want to say to my friends and family in Sweden that they made my vacation to the great period of time that it turned out to be. 

But now it's time to come back to Basel! And it's great to know that I have fantastic friends there as well that is making every day into an adventure!!😎

So now I'm looking forward to all the fun that we will have!!