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It's been exactly one week since I arrived in Stockholm (and much longer than that since I last posted) so I thought now might be a good time to finally update everyone on my life as a Swede once again.

It feels so nice to be back in this beautiful city that truly feels like home to me. I've said it before and I'll say it a million times...there is no place more beautiful than Sweden in the summer. In some ways it feels like I never left and that my year in New York was all a dream. But in other ways I can really feel how I have changed over the past year and how things this time around are different. I feel ready to settle in one place for more than one year and it feels so right that Stockholm is where I have landed.

I haven't stopped going since landing on Swedish soil last week and have no plans to do so anytime soon. The first few days, Klas helped bring me back to life here. We went to the bank and got my bank account up and running again, fixed my cell phone so that I could have the same Swedish number I used to have and went on long walks so that I could re-aquaint myself with the city. We then spent the weekend up in Sandviken (three hours north of Stockholm) at Klas' mom's place where we celebrated Midsommar. Midsommar is the greatest holiday ever. It is a day to be with family, to dance around and sing funny songs about animals and sunshine, and to eat all the best foods that Swedish summer has to offer, including pickled herring, fresh potatoes and dill, and wild strawberries with cream. Klas' mom has a summer cottage in a quaint village by the water where we spent the day and stayed the night. It was when I was laying on the hammock reading a Swedish book in the Swedish countryside that I felt as far away from New York City as one can possibly be.

I am definitely in a new world, but one that feels so familiar and comfortable to me. It's been nice to hear Swedish all around me again and yet challenging at the same time. I've gotten a little rusty and am still in the process of turining the switch in my head from English to Swedish. I'm looking forward to getting back into studying and practicing every second of every day. Lifting the Midsommar Pole.Klas' mom danced in the festivities...And Klas played.Klas and his mom on the chair swing at the cottage before our Midsommar dinner.Two of the small cottages.
Down by the water.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

My wanderlust has struck again. I'm leaving New York and am moving back to Stockholm in two weeks time! I guess there is more to blame than my wanderlust this time though. There's the man of my dreams who has waited patiently for my return back to Sweden and my own longing for that country in the north that feels so much like home to me.

What an amazing year this has been for me. Such an opportunity of a lifetime to live and work in New York City at my age and stage of life. I can hardly believe how quickly the time has passed and just how much I have done since moving to the Big Apple. To think that I actually moved here without a job or a place to live...what was I thinking?!? I suppose I knew deep down it would all work out just as anything you want enough and are willing to work hard for will. Not only did I get a good job, but we ended up in the most perfect apartment too. They say if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere and it is kind of true. I feel a bit invincible myself, to be honest, like I could move anywhere from here and survive. Like I could move anywhere and thrive.

I admire people who not only "make it" here but those who can stay here permanently because, I'll tell you what, I'm exhausted. New York is an overwhelming and over-stimulating city like no other place I have ever been and after one year, I am somewhat anxious to escape the crowds, the traffic, the crazies, the sirens, the subway, the concrete...everything that makes this place incredible also makes it a difficult place for someone like me to really call home. Someone who likes to think of herself as a city girl but actually enjoys the peacefulness of the countryside when it really comes to settling down.

New York will always feel like my city in some ways. I know my way around, I know where all the great restaurants and cafes are and I even know which places to avoid. I so look forward to coming back and visiting this incredible city with all the fond memories of the time I spent living here. So, in my final days here I have taken every opportunity to soak it all up. Picnics in the park, a trip to Coney Island, a visit to the MoMA, one last meal at all my favorite restaurants, nights spent up on our roof looking over to Manhattan...all things I will miss dearly.

It is bittersweet leaving New York behind. I know I will miss the pulse of the street and the sirens outside my window but I am also so excited about this next phase of my life. I'm heading to the paradise of Swedish summer and am making a stop in California first. Who wouldn't be excited about that? I promise to keep you all updated as the days move on and as I settle back in to life in Sweden.