Posted on 29 September, 2022 in Danads, Family and Friends, Schools!

We are welcoming Fall and lower degrees

Time flies when you´re having fun!

Joy and Tim have been here for an amazing week and left for Sweden last Saturday. We have had a great time in lovely sunny weather and just now Fall seems to have embraced the city.

During the “sis-week” we walked around the city doing loads of things! We started our week together with a late dinner at the Dutch at Sullivan St.

During this week we had a coffee at the newly opened Tin Building by Sean-Georges at Pier 17, eaten Pastrami sandwiches at Katz´s Delicatessen and had dinners at Gelso in Little Italy, Shanghai 21 in China Town, Estancia 460 in Tribeca and Osteria del Porto in the historic South Street Seaport district of Lower Manhattan. We also got the chance to taste cool drinks in the Bar Room and a glass of wine at our “dive bar” Broom Street Bar.

During these days, Joy, Tim and I walked around the city doing a lot of things, like visiting the Met, walking Central Park from corner to corner the whole way up to Harlem, having breakfast at Balthazar´s on Spring St. and walking the High Line.

Since September means Pumpkin time, every grocery shop is filled of pumpkins. And of course Starbucks are also taking up the trend and Elvira has a new favorite “Spicy Pumpkin Latte”. 🙂

Joy and Tim flew back to Sweden around noon last Saturday and on Sunday morning we woke up to a chilly morning about 66 F (which Johan loves) and decided to power walk the Williamsburg Bridge, crossed the bridge and headed south into Bedford Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This was an experience, to see the Hasidic Jewish Community Then we took the Manhattan Bridge (guaranteed the least nice brigdes of the BMW Bridges) and landed in China Town on the Manhattan side and headed home.

A lovely lunch at the City Vineyard at Pier 26 followed the bridges trip. Johan´s friend Peter Martin had invited his New York friends (he himself had just participated in the OCR World Championships up in Vermont) for a get together lunch! So nice to listen to the experiences of other Swedes and besides, there was an American sitting at the table. 😉

Here I also learned about the moth-like bugs who have blanketed New York the last months, the Spotted Lanternfly – an invasive planthopper from Asia. They only look black and beige with their wings folded, but once flying they show the bright colors of red, black and white.

This week schools were closed Monday and Tuesday due to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Still, the best times for the kids are apparently no-school-times, but as from yesterday they are back in the class rooms. We have also found out that they will need some more doses of vaccine due to missing one or some according to the American immunization program… Olle and I will see Dr. Gloria Perez at the Gouverneur Hospital on Monday, with the mission of getting him fully vaccinated. Elvira is probably next in line.

Last Tuesday I met a new friend, Camilla from White Plains, a county north of NYC. She also has two kids in school (German school, but anyways!) We had lunch at the Tavern on the Green in Central Park. Such a nice place, and such a nice Camilla 🙂 She and her family just moved here from 18 years in Munich.

We hope so much for the kids to soon feel better and I think it would be great if they actually planned for some after school activities, but time will tell.

On to something more fun 🙂 Danads will host a Self-Serve Summit next week which spills over into other activities, such as an office warming party, drink at ours and an opportunity for me, Olle and Elvira to say Hi to Johan´s co-workers from all over the world who are coming here next week!

Posted on 16 September, 202216 September, 2022 in 9/11, Schools!, Settling in

A lot of crying, homesickness and back to school… tough times are here.

It´s hard knowing your children are not feeling well – it´s the worst. Hopefully time will help making things better and also must believe small steps in the right direction are taken. Schools started last Thursday and this whole school thing is still a bit of a blur…

This week we have explored the different trains to take to school and both kids have finally got their own MetroCards. They are still waiting for their Student ID´s, which will give them access to leave the school building during lunch time and also a more convenient way to check into the building in the mornings.

The American school system seems to be built on classes divided into periods of 45 minutes with 5 minutes between every class, just so the student has time to change books for next class. So there are no breaks in between or even for Olle no free periods during the day. All classes are almost the same the whole week from Monday thru Friday.

9/11 – a day of rememberance and also the Swedish Election day. This was a rainy and hazy day here in the Big Apple. It was very moving to go down to Ground zero to honor the victims who lost their lives 21 years ago.

Everything is not so sad, many positive things are happening as well!

A lot of really nice people have reached out with tips on how to tackle a bit lost and sad kids 🙂

I am starting my first in-person class in drawing next Thursday 🙂

I have got a debet card – no more cash 🙂

Tomorrow at noon we are going to help out at a Family BBQ at Elvira´s school 🙂

Joy and Tim are coming tomorrow evening 🙂

We have tried our first Cronuts, NYS´s most famous dessert, at the https://www.dominiqueanselny.com/ 🙂

Posted on 3 September, 2022 in Settling in

A week in Soho – featuring the Trio

Johan went to Sweden and Elevira and I went to the Fox and Jane Salon to highlight and cut some hair! I checked her out FOUR hours later.

On Tuesday we found a new grocery store, Brooklyn Fare, just a ten minutes walk from home. Love the range, but a loaf of Brioche costs $10,99 😲. This was a hot day, so we went down to the river and had a Coke and Cold Brewed Coffee at Drift In.

We have the luxury of having a cleaning lady, Alma, who kind of comes with the deal. She is here for 7-8 hours every second week and this Wednesday she came early, so the little family took the 1 train from Hudson St to Times Sq and then we walked into Central Park and found the AMC on Upper West Side where we had tickets for “Super pets” 😹. No stiff chairs, only comfy recliners!

Cilla has earlier talked about some webcams at Times Sq, so we tried to find the spot where I could be filmed. And HAHAHA, there I am, in a picture from Cilla´s cell phone in Sweden!!

We still have not heard anything about the schools, I have tried to call and email the FWC and now also emailed the actual schools without any success. It is Labor Day on Monday and schools start on Thursday, so…

Friday was an active day! I took a power walk down the river as usual while Olle and Elvira were still asleep. Down in our lobby I started talking to Chris, our charming and forthcoming daytime doorman (we also have Nelson on evenings and weekends). We came to talk about neighborhood safety and whether the kids should ride the train alone in off hours etc. His wake up comment “not to scare you, only as protection – I think it would be good for them, or at least your daughter, to carry mace or pepper spray” and him later on handing over a yellow post-it note with where to purchase it, made me order a couple of sprays. With the hope of never having to use them!

Then Olle and I took a run by the Hudson River, it´s the best! Water, sun, nice people and good music in my ears. 💪🎶🏃‍♀️☀️🤗

In the afternoon Elvira and I went to the gym and found a little machine. Hahaha, we will probably never be able to do even ONE chin- or pull up…😂

This day I waved to an earthcam on Mulberry St and Cilla took my picture once again 😂. So funny, and so excited about where I will appear next time! And Mulburry itself is a really charming street in Little Italy. It even has its own Christmas Shop – open all year round 🙃

Today it is Saturday and I have just seen Moa run both 400m and 400m hurdles in Finnkampen! 🇸🇪 💪 And then I took a walk up the river, so many people out on weekends!

Tonight Johan will come home after a hectic week in Sweden. We are planning to eat at some nice restaurant before he collapses into bed! I have googled for drawing classes and found the Arc Studio NY, which looks perfect. Would be so much fun and think I´ll sign up tomorrow!

And finally, look at these cute sunflower stems 🌻

Posted on 28 August, 202213 June, 2023 in Schools!, Shopping, Sports

Continuity in tropical climate and degrees above 89 Fahrenheit – and still no cold in sight

If the above doesn´t work out as planned, I actually bought some succulents – those will hopefully survive!

During these last days we have checked the schools out and did some shopping. On Tuesday me and Elvira took the 6 Train from Spring St to Astor Pl, just to try out one of the routes to her (hopefully) new school. She totally loved it, even though her first comment was “I´m gonna get lost here at once”. 😉

Between visiting the gym and doing some lovely walks down the River Hudson Park, Johan and I have also already done our duty and early voted in the Swedish parliamentary election at the Swedish Consulate at One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza.

About to annouce our presence – and take the elevator up to floor 40 for the Swedish Election.

I went down to the closest basketball court at Hudson River Park and found these two 🥰

On Thursday morning, like almost every morning, I took a power walk down the river and out on the piers and a wasp look-a-like came climbing up my leg! At least 1.5 inches (almost 4 centimeters – I am trying to learn all the American measurement scales just to have a chance in helping the kids in their upcoming home work…).

Finally, Elvira got to visit the Ice Cream Museum at Broadway, together with a not as happy big brother 😉 In the end, they both came home pleased after eating as much ice cream as they wanted!

And Olle has just bought a keyboard (at Guitar Center again) and the guy in the store asked, after talking to me and Olle “- Where is his accent?!” Must feel sooo comfy to hear! 🙂

Yesterday Johan got a new pair of cool sneakers from On Cloud, and I found a pair of running shorts from Lululemon, so happy for them! 🙂 At lunch we tried the Korean Rice Chicken just around the corner, a bit similiar to Chilli&Soy in Täby Centrum.

Today we visited the gym again, and then had lunch at the Boqueria on Spring Street and Elvira and I just got home after two hours of probing gray jeans in every store on lower Broadway… Still no purchase, but perhaps with better luck another day :-).

And I got some cute furry pictures from Adam – hurts not to have them around but know they are doing sooo well at home.

Apparently Amos wanted to get some sleep where Alfons was already lying!

Today the guys went to an NFL preseason game in Jersey. So Go Jets!! 3 hours later is seemed like the right team had won…

Tomorrow Johan goes to Sweden for a week and our little trio gets to see what the last full week of vacation has to bring! See you soon. 🙂

Posted on 22 August, 202213 June, 2023 in Schools!, Settling in

Having the best of times and at the same time curious of new routines to come!

Since Tilda left for Sweden, the little family of four is making it´s continued journey around this magic, mesmerizing and noisy city. We have now tried out our gym twice together, and I think we all are feeling severe muscle soreness. 🙂

Saturday morning started off with a fast walk down to the Seaside Walk at Pier 17 on East Side, where me and Tilda also went some days ago. “Until a few years ago, this was one of the most dangerous places in the city and HQ of illegal transactions. Now that it has been restored it offers all the charm of New York´s history on a single street!”

On our way down we took the opportunity to take some running steps at Lafayette St, due to the Bicycle Habitat (worked for runners as well).

“Bicycle Habitat was founded in New York City in 1978. We have expanded into several storefronts in Soho, but always maintaining our original location on Lafayette Street. In 2010, we also expanded into Park Slope, Brooklyn. Through all these years, our mission stays the same: More people on bikes, more often. We believe all of us on bikes is better for health, for the city, for the environment – and for quality of life.“

From here we kept on walking the East River Esplanade down to the Whitehall South Ferry Terminal and Battery Park and then headed home on the Hudson River Greenway on the West Side.

Today we also have bought a basket ball so now there is no excuse for Olle (or anyone else who wants to shoot some hoops :-)) to try out one of all nearby basket ball courts!

Monday morning and I took a quick power walk down the Hudson River Park. The kiddos were still asleep when I came home. This summer they have had their longest summer vacation ever (before retirement anyway;-)).

After a quick stop at our neighborhood grocery store Trader Joe’s for yoghurt and peaches, I went out to meet Malin, one of Marika´s little sisters :-). Malin is here on job this week, the cool and hip Swedish fashion house Acne Studios! We took a glass of wine at Prince St. and then strolled down to the Acne Studio at Green St. – and thank you Malin, we loooove this face hat 🙂

We are waiting for some kind of confirmation on our signed enrollment assignment letters for both Olle and Elvira (since schools start on Sep 8, feels like time flies). Here you also need to show proof of address, such as lease agreement, gas bill, pay stub or an American driver´s license… So much paper work before you get approved. But tomorrow however – me, Olle and Elvira will take the trains and test the best routes to the schools they have applied for.

Posted on 18 August, 202213 June, 2023 in Settling in

Summer in the City

Tilda is already on the plane on her way home to Sweden after eleven wonderful and joyful days and nights in our new city and home! It feels like we have managed to walk around all of Manhattan in sunny heat – and experienced a lot!!

Last Monday we went (by foot, needless to say) via Hudson River and the Piers down to Battery Park and took a left to the memorial Ground Zero to pay respect to all those who died on 9/11 in 2001.

On Tuesday morning, me and Tilda started off in what we first estimated a 60 minutes walk. We finally hit our apartment three and one half hours later, with an outdoor temperature of 100F (38 degrees Celsius) and broken knees. We Power Walked from SoHo all the way up to Central Park, via Times Sq and MSG. Finally reaching our building and lobby, we had an IKEA delivery to assemble in the apartment 🙂

Some cool info from Tilda about Houston street, the street dividing Greenwich Village and SoHo – The street’s name is pronounced “HOW-stən“, in contrast to the city of Houston, Texas, whose name is pronounced “HYOO-stən”. The street was named for William Houstoun, while the city was named for Sam Houston. Perhaps uninteresting knowledge, but I looooove it!

We also have found our local SOHO pub called Broom Street Bar; “the atmosphere is always low key even when celebrities stop in – which they do on a regular basis”. Sooo waiting for ANYONE from from the Friends set showing up! 🙂

Already Wednesday and we went to the gym, ran 3 miles and did some workout 🙂 In the afternoon all five experienced the ArtTechHouse (thanks to a present from my cousins with families!) THANK YOU ALL!! at the Chelsea Market. SoCool!

Heading on to Thursday – Cleaning Day, since we had to accept an agreement of having the apartment cleaned and vaccum cleaned every second week by a lady called Alma. Thank you Alma, who also solved the problem with our noisy and clogged “pet”, the InSinkErator. Now we know how to feed it properly with lots of water during the garbage disposal!

So this day, I, Tilda, Olle and Elvira took the Q-train to Coney Island in Brooklyn to see the Ocean and check out the amusement park Luna. We also tried to get a hot dog from the famous Nathan’s, but the queue would never move forward… 😉

Today me and Tilda hit the High Line together with the Whitney Museum and also strolled around at Chelsea Market – loooove this place!

Here we are about to grab a drink at the Broome St Bar 🙂

Last Saturday we walked to the Whole Foods Market at Union Sq and in the afternoon all five took the train to listen to the annual Blues & BBQ Festival at Pier 76, which has been closed for the past two years.

Hudson River Park’s beloved Blues BBQ Festival is back in person and live in the Park! There’s no better way to spend an August afternoon than with savory barbeque, delicious drinks and live music, all on our riverfront.

Monday morning and I went to the gym, first time all alone. 😉 Ran my 3 miles on the treadmill and found some nice machines. Came home and took Tilda to the Seawalk on East Side. 🙂

This evening we had dinner at our favorite Broome St Bar, and the food is just as good as the Spicy Margaritas. The next morning we decided to visit the Empire State Building! My goodness, what a view – as usual the pictures do not do the view justice!

We live in the middle, a bit to the right!

Wednesday, Aug 17 – Morning walk with Tilda and Johan coming home from Montreal, Canada.

This finale night with Tilda, we went to Piccola Cucina Estiatorio, an Italian gem in New York City! And also just a two minutes walk from our apartment. 🙂

Posted on 7 August, 202213 June, 2023 in Roadtrip, Schools!

First road trip to New England, enrolling in schools and hitting the gym!

Since last post we all have new American phone numbers, Johan has received both a debet card and a Social Security Card. In other words, small steps ahead.

We started off last Monday in our rental car, a Toyota RAV4, with first stop in lovely picturesque Newport, RI. Here we hade a late dinner and in the morning me and Johan tried out the “Cliff walk”.

Our rental car, impressive how Johan got us out of the Manhattan traffic chaos!

Our next stop was Cape Cod, MA and we ended up in a town named Yarmouth at a motel with both out- and indoor pools, with the feeling of being the actual Griswolds 🙂 Perhaps not the most charming place, but we had a fantastic dinner at the Skipper Chowder House and me and Elvira had a swim in the Atlantic Ocean (Nantucket sounds) the morning after.

Our 3rd stop is actually the destination which started this trip in the first place – Boston, MA!

Medals under bridge on Cambridge Parkway

Thursday morning and heading to New Haven, CT and the last night away this time. All four of us are happy to be home soon, probably because we still are so new to our apartment and our neighborhood. Nevertheless, it is a pretty nice feeling 🙂

Last Friday evening, Eloisa, the woman from the Family Welcome Center called and gave us three different choices of schools per kid and after checking them out, both Olle and Vira have decided which ones they want to enroll in. Both schools are within walking distance from home (20-30 min), but they will probably take a train or two, so we are soon about to explore the subway system…

But first we tried out our new gym, Planet Fitness. Here you can come as you are as long as you don’t wear jeans, sandals or boots. However, not changing from your outdoor running shoes is no problem 😉 A big upside is that you can bring a friend at any time, as often as you want.

And just now, Tilda is up in the air and will arrive at JFK tonight. Longing!!

Posted on 23 July, 202213 June, 2023 in Settling in

New York, New York!

Already three days in this lovely, hot and coooool city! We all feel that our apartment is really, really nice, roomy and bright.

At the moment there are some ongoing matters, like obtaining our debet cards, Social Security numbers and esim for the cell phones. And nowhere to find ordinary dish cloths. 😉

Today the temperature hits 99 Fahrenheit, around 37 Celcius so we are chasing the shadows. 🙂 Our misson for today was to find Olle a guitar, and we have looked up a shop called Guitar Center nearby. So with hopes of a singer/songwriter evening with our own troubadour, after dinner at 232 Bleecker.

Tomorrow is an important and exciting day, all four of us are going to visit the Family Welcome Center, in order to enroll Olle and Elvira to the public school system in NYC.

Posted on 15 July, 202213 June, 2023 in Preparing

Selling cars, buying suitcases

This little favorite ”lilla Blå” will now (hopefully) be sold at a car auction. With a small tear in my eye, I have said goodbye and hope that a really nice person now will take care of this little gem. 🚙

So for the last days in Sweden, we welcome the Suger cube – he is a well behaved rental.

I, Elvira, Olle and his friend Oliver have just come home from a trip to Röjeråsen, close to Rättvik in Dalarna.

Oliver, mom, Olle, me and Elvira at Styggforsen

Starting to miss them already 😻😻

Posted on 28 June, 202225 July, 2022 in Preparing

Count down…

We have as from today an actual date to relate to. Our flight tickets are booked to New York City for the 21st of July!! ✈️

A good bye present from my sweet colleagues. My last day at work is Friday, July 1.

TO-DO LIST

Contact tax authorities and Insurance Agency in Sweden
Get an appointment at the Family Welcome Center in NYC
Get four more suitcases…

Even though we have planned this for over two years, it feels so sudden to know that we are actually moving. There are so many friends and relatives I want to see “one last time” before we go, and it feels so good to know we have lots of dinners and dates booked for the weeks ahead. And also already hung out with friends, co-workers and close family.❤️