The (Short) Long Goodbye
It feels a bit surreal that I’m sitting here in sunny California, writing about our departure from Stockholm. The whole experience has a dream-like quality. For all the curious: yes, we safely made it back to California, and so did the cats! If you’ve had an expat experience, what I will share will sound familiar. Despite the short time between when we decided to move (early October) and when we got on the plane (December 21st), it all felt like A Long Goodbye. Here’s how it went down:
After letting people know we were leaving, we embarked on a string of events, coffees, and meals with our good friends. There were so many people that we wanted to say goodbye to! When you are living in a foreign country, the friendships that you form are quite close. Many of our friends were also expats, and we shared many trials and tribulations from living in a foreign land. Here is me with one of my buddies at a Jacob Collier concert - which was a fantastic show:
We even managed to meet up in London with some good friends from the States who were visiting:
We caught the Mathilda musical and spent a day at the Harry Potter museum.
It was nice to visit London before returning to the US!
After London, our impending departure started to sink in. Our annual Friendsgiving in late November was extra special because we celebrated with many friends we will miss. It was hosted by one of our favorite expat families. Yours truly even got to carve the turkey!
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun took a well-deserved spa mini-break in Baden-Baden, Germany. There, she pampered herself luxuriously. I must say, she seemed relaxed when she returned home. She even managed to escape the rigors of the spa to check out the local Christmas market to squeeze in a little shopping for local goodies and Christmas presents!
Meanwhile, our oldest Cinnamon Stick performed a song she wrote at her final recital at Stockholm International School! We are so proud.
Not to be outdone, both Cinnamon Sticks performed in a play with their theater group called “A Midwinter Night’s Dream.” They were spectacular!
Their Uncle was right there to cheer them on.
Both of the Cinnamon Sticks got to perform in the St. Lucia school concert:
My brother and sister-in-law hosted us for a lovely waffle meal on the First Sunday of Advent - very Swedish!
When she returned from Baden-Baden, Mrs. Cinnamon Bun was full of energy. She single-handedly organized an open house at our apartment for some of our school friends and family. She even arranged catering during the most popular Christmas week! We didn’t plan, as most Swedes do, so it is truly amazing that she was able to pull it off.
The kids had a great time:
A mini Santa also visited us:
We visited with many friends that we will miss terribly:
We even managed to pass on some appliances that would not work in the US. A grand expat tradition that we enjoyed:
If that wasn’t enough, Mrs. CB hosted a cookie decorating party for the kids! Hmmm, maybe she should go to Baden-Baden more often…
It was a smashing success!
And to top it all off, we enjoyed one last Julbord - my favorite Swedish tradition - with my brother and sister-in-law, plus her family. We tucked away some fine Swedish food at the lovely Blå Porten.
We enjoyed so many visits with friends before we left: coffee, dinners, and, of course, Fika! Our youngest Cinnamon Stick even caught up with one of her favorite teachers, who took her out for a fika at Gateau in Täby Centrum after school wrapped! They spent two hours chatting and laughing - it was heartwarming.
Eventually, it was time to go. We sadly said goodbye to our beautiful apartment.
And said goodbye to the kitties as they were transported to their own spa vacation!
As the movers packed us, we said goodbye to some of our favorite Swedish spots:
All too soon, it was time to take the traditional Taxi Stockholm to the airport. Goodbye, Stockholm! We will return soon!
For those of you reading this that are part of our life in Stockholm, please know that we are grateful and humbled by all the friendship and love you shared with us. You have made our experience truly the adventure of a lifetime, and we will never forget our time in Stockholm or the good friends we made!
To be continued…
Love this blog post and miss you all terribly!
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