Despite how long it's felt though, it's been a largely positive week, even from the moment we arrived. Two friendly older gentleman running the Swedish border control examined our newly minted UT cards (akin to an American Green Card), and we expected to get grilled. Instead they chatted us up, me about my job in videogames, and Aja about her blue hair and how one one them once had blue hair in his younger years.
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| You know you're somewhere new when you don't recognize any of your pocket change |
Once we officially set foot on Swedish soil it was a whirlwind of events. The good news is that we have survived, found an apartment and got all of out things delivered all within the course of the first few days of arriving. This was shockingly fast, and honestly, really just damn lucky timing.
Our new apartment is in an old building right in the heart of Gothenburg, and literally a one minute walk from my new office. We have more space than back in Paris, about 50% more, which is nice, and the commute is unbeatable. However, the new place isn't without it's drawback either.
The place is a few hundred years old, so there is tons of character, but not all of it good. All the floors are slanted towards the rear of the apartment... and not just slightly either. It's a noticeable slant, as though the building is too cool to stand up straight and would rather just lean against the building next to it and look like a badboy.
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| Just like James Dean, our place is too cool to stand up straight |
But despite the angled floors, it's still a great place to live. We are on the top floor (a whopping 2 floors up), and directly below us is one of my co-workers (who is graciously lending us wi-fi access for a couple weeks, and is how I am able to post this inaugural post). The only other apartment in our section of the building is home to a friendly American who is the niece of our landlord, and all-around a helpful sort of fellow (he lent us the chair I am currently sitting on, as we only have one chair until we get our first paycheque and can afford to get more furniture).
So obviously we already feel pretty welcome in our little abode, but even beyond the wall of our little Swedish retreat the city has been a wonderful place to explore thus far.
Being in the heart of the city, we are in a very nice area. Unlike many North American cities where the downtown core is the worst part of the city, the opposite is quite true here. Our street is a cozy side-street, cobblestones and all. Vehicle traffic is rare on the street surrounding our house, save for morning delivery vans stocking the numerous interesting boutiques. Rather it is foot traffic, cute shops and places to grab a bite to eat all around.
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| Found at the bakery downstairs from the new apartment: a bread lobster! |
And lets not forget the people. The atmosphere here is very familiar to a Canadian city, casual and relaxed, with people happy to help you if you need directions. It's been very easy for us to explore and poke around without fear of being out of place, as everyone is very relaxed and happy to help where they can. There is rarely a language barrier and never any sense of being looked down on because we only speak English.
It's very refreshing.
I've also been happily snapping pictures with my work phone, which they were kind enough to provide me without even being asked. While I feel like a bit of a hipster, instagram has been my main outlet for photos. I will likely continue this trend for the near future, as my crushing workload currently prevents me from doing any serious sight-seeing or photography.
In the mean time you lot are all stuck with vaguely hipster photos. I promise I will do my best to keep the hipster level to a minimum. :)
Well time to pass out, the jetlag still has a few more days before it's completely passed.
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