Our last morning in Stockholm was a special one, with three celebrations. It was the first day of the advent and so, at one end of the table the first of 4 candles were lit. It was also Lydia’s naming day and in her own unassuming manner she quietly acknowledged the receipt of a small gift from her parents.
The third celebration was for Simon’s birthday. This was enjoyed with great fanfare including a pyrotechnic display that our Australian government overlords would never allow us to have. I did suggest to Megan that I should be presented with the Australian flag at each of my future birthdays, to which she replied “good luck with that”.
After a couple of exciting days exploring Stockholm and knowing that we needed to be ready and packed for our trip to Frankfurt, we reluctantly decided to have a quiet morning at the house rather than taking on further exploration. This provided the opportunity for the children to complete their Gingerbread house designs. The boys completed the house on the left – characterised by a rushed, chaotic design. Amelia and Isla completed the design in the middle – well thought out, showing an unsteady hand but including the obligatory penguin. Lydia patiently produced a solo design that had a simple elegance and was my favourite.
The decision to stay at the house also provided an opportunity for Ylva’s parents and brother (Bo, Margareta and Krister) to visit. Although this was my first time meeting Bo and Krister, I had the pleasure of meeting Margareta when she attended our wedding with Ylva in 2002. Although brief, it was a great chance to catch up and our only regret was that we did not take any photos.
Ylva kindly drove us to Arlanda Airport for our trip to Frankfurt. Arriving in plenty of time (Megan and I have a thing about being at airports early) we enjoyed a relaxed coffee and hot chocolate, watching the teams of vehicles keeping the snow and ice off the tarmac. This should have been a warning sign but we are still getting used to a northern winter. Heading to the gate we quickly realised that there would be a delay – quickly confirmed by the patient and funny gate agent with the classic line, ” … there is a greater chance of the delay being longer than of the delay being shorter …”. We must be getting better at managing these delays because I think we were the only ones who laughed. When we finally boarded, we all made a point of thanking him.
Arriving in Frankfurt we knew that we would be arriving to snow – in fact this was the primary cause of delays back in Stockholm. What we did not realise until later was that this was the first snow of the season, although we did realise that it was the first snow our kids had ever seen layered on the ground. They wanted to play in it as soon as we got out of the terminal!
Ulli picked us up and got us to Juggenheim in short order. I love the autobahns. It makes me wonder why we are limited to 100km/h on most of our freeways. Ulli and Uta live at the top of a narrow, steep driveway which, with the recent snow, had become somewhat more challenging than normal – a situation made worse by the puncture in one of the winter tyres earlier in the day, necessitating a temporary use of the spare summer tyre. Although I’m sure Ulli knew he could make it up the drive, he did warn us of the possibility that we might have to walk the final leg. Alas, his driving was perfect and we made it.
I was sitting in the back seat with the child lock on the door. When we arrived I asked Megan to let me out, but on seeing Uta she soon forgot me and rushed over to greet and hug her. Megan eventually rescued me and the introductions and hauling of bags was completed. Although late at night (around 9pm), Uta had a beautiful casserole prepared. The kids eager to see the snow, borrowed some snow gear and went out to play.
We stayed inside chatting, in the warm.
We went to bed, looking forward to the new day and to meet the kids (Paul, Greta, Carl and Juli).