One more month

Moving date is closing in. Lots and lots to sort out before going...

Yesterday I had a day off. Took the opportunity to wake up early (?!?) to clean out the attic. I have saved all kinds of things up there. Especially things that doesn't work anymore. I have just been to lazy to go to a recycling station to throw them away. Instead I have put them in the attic in the meantime... To wait for the day to come where I would find my inspiration to throw them. Yesterday it finally came. It was a beautiful day... It rained cats and dogs! But now it's done.

Today I've found a home for my piano! My grandfather is willing to adopt it! Oh joy! I have also found homes for some books and some old CDs.

Feels a bit strange to clear my home out. At the same time it feels good to get rid of the old and in with the new.

Still not found a place for my billy book cases...

Last night in Muttenz

Tomorrow I'm going home to Sweden. This has been a very lucrative visit! I have actually got an apartment already! I sent an e-mail to my relocation-lady yesterday, saying that I would like to go for the fire place apartment. Today I the morning I got a mail stating that it was mine!! Happy day!! Feels like its so meant to be!

Close to my new home there's a tram, going directly to the office, a gym close by (...) and a grocery store. Could you wish for more? (Forgot to mention walking distance to the city centre) The next step now is to sign the contract and book the moving company!

I called my mother to tell the good news. She sure can pull you down to earth! "So nice to hear! ... Which year is the building from?" -no idea... "What's the stove like? Can you really use the fire place? There's nothing wrong? Have you checked the walls? Do you think there's a lot of crimes?" Hm... What to say? I was just happy! It seemed fine to me..

Well tonight I have been taking part in a farewell dinner for my pre-assessor. It was a really nice evening with nice people. Think I'm gonna like it here.

Late night report!

Again I’m writing late at night. Sitting in my hotel room and summarizing the day in my head. The day has been really good I must say, this whole stay in Basel has! I have made some big decisions actually. I have decided to go for the apartment with the terrace and the fire place. Can’t motivate the cost of the one with the fantastic view. I most certainly would like to go to some smaller trips to Alsace and to Germany, go skiing and maybe visit Sweden. So then I can’t put all my money on an apartment.


Had a meeting today with a really nice guy from PWC who gave me some tax advice. Think I have watched too much TV, I thought the tax was much less compared to Sweden. It is, don’t get me wrong! But not much less...

At the office I had some sort of pre-introduction today. Got to meet a lot of people, seems like a fun crowd! I also got my introduction schedule presented to me. Wow, it’s a lot, but feels good and serious .

Other things that has happened today is that my computer had a hard drive crash. Have a computer that I’ve borrowed from the office. Good that they had one! What would I have done otherwise?!!? I feel handicapped without a computer. Especially now when I have started Blogging and Twittering...!

Tonight I have taken tram nr 14 into Basel from Muttenz, to meet up with a friend of mine. Got some nice wine and some food. Really great! I found my way almost by myself. Actually tram nr 14 is my new best friend! I kind of know the tour it takes now!

Night time outside Basel

I must say that it seems like air condition is a no-no at my hotel. Last night I woke up almost once an hour. i thought that was because of my nervousness considering that the day would include finding my apartment to be, but now I'm thinking that it could be the warmth.

I am staying in a hotel outside Basel, in a place called Muttenz. Nice place (except for the air conditioning problem). In Basel, there's right now some sort of a contest which means that all hotel rooms in the city are taken. I have a nice room, a somewhat strange bathroom set up, and the room has windows facing the traffic... And to survive I have to keep at least one window open.

Well, today I have been exposed to apartments that could very well be my future home!!
The day started at 9.00 when the sweet relocation-lady picked me up. She gave me a schedule and off we went! The first apartment we saw was a furnitured one, in case I would need something while waiting for my dream apartment to get free. The second one was a three room apartment, big one, nice balcony and it was placed close to a small river (connected to the river of Rihne).

The ones that i really consider however are:
1) two room, Nice apartment close to the train station, fire place, nice area and a terrace (ok price)
2) two room, newly renovated with laundry room in apartment. 4th floor, amazing view of Rhine, close to city centre. (Very expensive)

Hm... The decisions to take!!
Tomorrow I will meet with PWC, hope they can give me some good advice!

During the day I have been exploring the city and the nice relocation-lady have given me some useful advice. I have found an Irish pub called Paddy Reilly's which is close enough to Paddy's back in Malmö. (I already feel like home!) In Basel there's a Swedish club that I could join, a choir that I found. Was thinking of attending a Rotary meeting in Muttenz today, but I probably got the days mixed up. Instead I went back to the hotel, fell asleep, missed the whole evening, and now I'm ready to sleep again!

Tomorrow will be a day at the office. Hopefully someone can fix my computer who seems to not wanna communicate with me in a proper mannered way anymore... :/

Arrived in Basel!

This week I will spend in Basel at something the company call a "look and see trip".
I must say that even if Switzerland is not so far away from Sweden it takes a lifetime to travel. Not only to here though... It's all this time spent at trains, in waiting halls and standing in line to check in or whatever! But the journey was anyway smooth! Met a colleague in the plain, she was going to the same hotel as me. We even decided to go to dinner together. I met another colleague at the bus from the airport to Basel city. She showed us the way and gave us a recommendation for a restaurant. Very nice! This has been a good day I must say! Basel is very pretty and I think I will like it here!

But I must admit that it's a bit scary too...

On the train

Took the train home after a lovely dinner in Helsingborg, celebrating a colleagues new job. It's amazing how some people have made a mark on you. We have laugh through the whole dinner sharing fun stories. It's not just colleagues, they are friends. Good that they work in an organisation with an
Office in Pratteln Switzerland! ;)

Tomorrow starts with a meeting at 8. It takes me 1,2h to get to the office... There's a possibility that I will be a bit late.... Quite likely actually.

Got a call from the relocation company today. There's not really a good market at the moment when it comes to apartments in Basel.. Hm.. Now I'm getting nervous. I will move in a bit more than a month. Well.. Tjoho! Keep your fingers crossed for next weeks visit to Switzerland!

Monday

This has been a pretty good Monday. Started with an efficient meeting at work. After lunch I joined in on a meeting with my future colleagues! Think I got a good start. But yet you never know.. Can't help analysing what I said (did I say something strange on the phone? Did I make a good impression? Should I have talked more... Or maybe less?!) well, it was an ok meeting.

The look and see trip is next week. However I haven't got the flight tickets and the hotel booking confirmed yet.. :/ but it will probably be ok. Will be nice to go to Basel with the knowledge of that I will actually live there!!

Tonight I have been at a Rotary meeting. And direct after we had a board meeting. (no, Rotary is not only for retired people...) always interesting meetings. Fantastic persons both in the club and in the board. This is another thing that I will leave behind. I will keep my membership for some time. But might transfer to a Basel
Club if I can find some. You know, Rotary is the organisation that is working to extinct polio from the world, we have a network of doctors (like doctors without borders) that we send all over the world. You get new knowledge from different lectures every time you attend. And it's a world wide business network. Oh my! Did you knew that?!
Well, I really enjoy today's lecture, made me think of what good we can bring to this world. It was about how to help people. One guy sold his house to
Buy an apartment building so that they could provide several families with a place to live. Wish I was more like that!!

Instead of selling anything to help I have spend the evening building my business network via linked in.

And I am almost afraid of admitting.... I have started to listen to Christmas music...