1.Mo 16.08.-13.09.20

So, so, now I have decided to always write a monthly report. Especially for me as a reminder. My new home is now in Djursholm, a suburb of Stockholm. By train in ten minutes in Stockholm East. Then on foot, for example, to Nybrokajen (ferry landing stage to me at home Ekudden), right next to it is Strömkajen. All the excursion boats depart from this harbor, from there I went to Vaxholm, for example (archipelago off Stockholm). Right next door is the castle and the old town (Gamsa Stand) of Stockholm.

About my new family:

Clarissa mother

Thomas father

Luise oldest daughter 16 years old

Wilhelm oldest son 14 years old

Maximilian youngest son 11 years old

Djursholm is a villa suburb of Stockhorn. There are incredible houses with huge plots here. Some are like small castles and country estates. The house of my family is also very stately and has a huge park. I have never seen so many Porsches and big Mercedes and BMWs as here in Djursholm. Thomas also drives a large Mercedes SUV and Clarissa a BMW. I also have my own car, a Hyundai Santa Fe V6 with automatic transmission. A really great car, I could get used to it. Thomas is on the board of a large investment company and Clarissa is a press officer at the German embassy in Stockholm.

The first week was about the same as in Norway. Except that the family is much neater. I don't even go to the upper floor, it is kept in order by the family itself. Clarissa brings me the laundry to the laundry room to wash. I hang up the laundry and fold the dried laundry. Everything goes into a basket which I put on the stairs, then it is distributed by Clarissa. In contrast to Norway and Australia, ironing is done here too, but not by me, but by Beata, the cleaning lady, who is here every Monday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. A gardener also comes to the garden every week. My main task is actually to walk the dog twice. Usually around 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Luise and Maximilian go to sports practice. Luise does athletics twice a week and Maximilian does football, tennis, karate and golf. Sports usually start around 4:30 p.m. They are usually picked up by their parents. Important: Cooking: we usually eat around 7:30 p.m. By the time we're done, it's usually 8:30 p.m. I usually also finish the kitchen. So it's almost always 9 p.m. when I disappear into my rooms. It sounds long, but it's not. This is a family life in the evening. Everyone talks about what they did during the day. First the children, and then the adults also talk about what's been going on. It's pretty interesting for me to listen to what a press officer at an embassy does. Also what's going on in Thomas' company. I really like how everything is always explained to me: who is who and so on.

The first weekend Thomas and Clarissa took Wilhelm to boarding school in England. Because of Corona, Wilhelm had to quarantine in England for two weeks. But there were also other boys there who had to do the same. For example, one boy comes from India and the other from Russia. Once again I notice that education can really be bought. In Norway, the parents spent a lot of money on additional educational facilities: international private school, expensive holiday programs, additional private music and drawing lessons. The children also go to the private German school here. Luise has also been to an English boarding school for a year. She used to fly to Stockholm every third weekend. That was of course planned for Wilhelm too. But now it's not possible because of Corona, as he would have to quarantine again for 14 days. I think it's tough to send a 14-year-old boy to boarding school in England in times like these.

The second weekend, unfortunately, it rained on Saturday. But I still went out and visited an island off our shore. There are several small islands here, some with only one house on them. This island that I visited, called Tranholmen, can only be reached by boat, helicopter or a small bridge in summer with a bicycle. When you see the great houses on the island, you wonder: how did they transport all of this. There are no cars on this island either. These houses on the island are simply a dream. On Sunday I took the boat from Strömkajen to the archipelago off Stockholm to the island of Vaxholm (by the way, Holm means island). It was a beautiful boat trip. Very cheesy. Just like in May in the Allgäu in Germany when the dandelions bloom and there is also an apple tree in full bloom on a hill and in front of it there are cows. Then I always say: cheesy times three. That's how I feel here when I'm traveling by ferry or by boat. Again and again, this island with a colorful house or an old summer cottage.

As I said, during the week it's always the same. My cooking is very well received. Clarissa usually leaves something out for me in the morning. Then I look on Pinterest to see what I can make out of it. Maximilian is very excited about my Spätzle. Although I have a bit of difficulty making them. I have the feeling that the flour is somehow not right. I also had trouble with the yeast dough (yes, there was plum tart made from yeast dough and it was really delicious, everyone loved it, even the Swedish guests). I have to check the internet to see what kind of flour I use here.

New recipes for me:

Fried chicken with vegetables

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Fill with two halves of onions. Cut vegetables, e.g. bell peppers and zucchini, carrots and celery, and place them in the pot. Place the chicken on top with the breast side up. Put the lid on and put it in the oven for one hour at 180 degrees Celsius. Then bake for another half an hour without the lid. We had rice with it. This family loves rice.

What else was new to me:

1. Zucchini pan with chicken and of course rice

2. Eggplant lasagna

3. Spinach lasagna: this was a recipe from Clarissa

very simple: mix frozen spinach with ricotta. Then put lasagna sheets and ricotta mixture in a dish. Finally, add a portion of lasagna sheets. Then pour two cans of tomato mousse on top. Finally, sprinkle two bags of grated mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for half an hour. Simply delicious.........

4. Delicious peach casserole (actually made with sour cherries)

peel four ripe peaches in advance, butter for the dish, 40 g sugar, powdered sugar for sprinkling. For the dough: three eggs, 60 g sugar, 30 g wheat flour + 0.3 L full-fat milk. Grated peel of half a lemon, then press the peaches into the mixture. Bake at 220 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes, also very tasty...

So now enough about cooking. On the third weekend, I went to the city of Stockholm. On Saturday, I just strolled through the city. Without Google Maps, I wanted to see if I could find my way back to the harbor. It worked!!!!!

On Sunday, I attended the service at the German Evangelical Church. By chance, I was at the church at 11 a.m. I think it has been years since I was in church on a regular Sunday. The church is very beautiful. Even not Lutheran but very magnificent. I also visited a Catholic church, which in contrast was really poor. Until the year 2000, 57% of Swedes were Lutheran, it used to be 68%. From 1527 to 1999, the state church was also the Lutheran church. By the way, at Christmas, Queen Silvia always visits the German church in Stockholm on Christmas Eve. Let's see, maybe I'll see it this year too.

what else I noticed:

At first, I always thought that Swedish girls and women are really particularly beautiful. Especially Clarissa, at the age of 47, and her daughter Luise have fantastic, evenly beautiful faces. Until I saw them live on Sunday morning. They are still beautiful, but their faces have imperfections, like others. Luise doesn't have such a great complexion. Luise even puts on makeup when she goes swimming!!!!!! Of course, also for sports, by the way, the mother too. I have the feeling that all women here are wearing makeup even when I walk the dog. But I have to admit, it's really well done. But somehow they all look the same. Just all beautiful. I think I'll go to a beautician and have myself made beautiful too......

I went to the hairdresser on September 8th. She cut it quite well. It cost 52 € to wash, cut and blow-dry. In June in Burhave, I paid only 35 € for that. At home, I pay 40 €. Then on Wednesday I had my eyelashes done. Last year in Australia, it cost me 90 € And unfortunately, after only one week, the first lashes fell out again and after 14 days there was nothing left. This time I paid 100 € and I'm curious how long they will last. In any case, the beautician took 1 3/4 hours for it. My beautician at home takes just under an hour.

On Friday, I didn't have to cook. I did the laundry in the morning. Then I took the train to the city in the afternoon and walked to the Ladugartsgardet TV tower. Unfortunately, the TV tower was currently closed. No, not because of Corona, but because of some inspection. On the way back, I looked at the German embassy from the outside. Unfortunately, it's not a beautiful building. There are really great embassies in that neighborhood. Ours has been newly built. The other embassies are in old mansions or town villas. In the evening, I treated myself to a glass of wine in the harbor. Let's not talk about prices......

Saturday was bad weather again. But I still went for a walk, to the shopping center in Täby.

On Sunday, the weather was beautiful again and I was on Djurgarden Island, where many museums of Stockholm are located. I walked around the island once, but didn't visit any museums. I already know some of them from five years ago. But I saw two galleries that I still want to visit.

Conclusion of the first month:

Stockholm is so different from Oslo, for example. Lots of old stones, really great old houses. Everything very magnificent and beautifully restored. Well, in the city there are also the large shopping passages and so on, partly in the old houses but also newly built. When I think that another four weeks have passed..... time flies by so quickly.