December 2018

15th Dec 2018

The Norwegian flight, coming from New York, arrived late at Arlanda Airport. We did not only start late (more about it you can read on the site for New York, scroll down to the 14th Dec 2018), but the atmosphere was also giving the pilote challenges. Anyway, we arrived and it was easy to enter my home country. Even the custom dit not bother me.

At the meeting point I was looking for my son Samuel, who had promised to meet me there. By the crowd I could not find hem, though I was going to a bench and send him a message. She soon came to me. When we were on the way to the parking space I saw, that my big suitcase was broken. Though we went back into the building of the airport and were looking for the customer care booth for the Norwegian. We did not find any, but was told, that this kind of errands was handelt by another company and where we could find it. It took time to meet an assistant there, but than all was handled quite smooth. When all the paperwork was done, I could choose a grey suitcase, which was smaller than mine or to go with my suitcase and the papers to a special company, selling suitcases, and choose there another one. I decided the second option, of course.

Finally we made it home to my Samuels home and family. I spent some hours with him and rented a car on the way home for the upcoming day. There was no GPS in that car, therefore Samuel did drive in front of me – I am not used to find my way by car in Stockholm. He did directly return to his home, when we reached my place.

At home I did unpack my suitcases. I put my clothes first on my sofa, a lot of them were there the next morning as well, but when I took out the last items of the big suitcase I was very disappointed, because my beautiful souvenirs

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were not so beautiful anymore. Fortunately all my souvenirs in my little suitcase were whole.

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16th Dec 2018

I was early awake and tried to leave home by car at 8am, but it became 8:15am instead. I was on my way to Helsingborg, Scania, where I was going to meet my son Marcus for his birthday party. Actually he was born 17th December, but that is on a Monday this year and he had invited people, who could not attend on a Monday. Earlier I had written to him and my other children in the South of Sweden, that I won’t visit them before Christmas, but I could not deny Marcus to see him on his birthday party.

It takes between five and six hours between Stockholm and Helsingborg. It took six this day, because of the weather, though I was one hour late. Anyway his other guests had been waiting for me. Among the other guests was also my daughter. When the others left, I drove my daughter to a girl friend, who lives in the same town and returned to Marcus until my daughter send me a message to pick her up. Marcus ask me to see my photos from Mexico. We started with it, but because I have very many of them, we could not see all of them. The good thing this day was, that I get to know, that there is a female assistent, which has a good connection with my son and there is hope, that his apartment will be a little nicer to look at after a while. She also make walks and visit shops together with him.

When I picked my daughter up this evening, I was driving to her home in Malmoe, Scania. She has moved in at her boyfriends home and given up the apartment she had before, because the area, where she lived before is not safe anymore. I was staying with them over night.

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17th Dec 2018

We had some time together in the evening as well as the next morning. Then I left to visit my son Daniel. He told me about his plans to take a license for sailboats and showed me the books he used and a chart. He also explained the chart for me. I am so happy, he has a hobby. He had an appointment, though I did take some of my belongings with me in the car from his attic before he had to leave his apartment. I still have things there. I did not get all of them into the car, even I had rent a combi, but it was a little one. Though I need one more trip for picking up the rest of my belongings and a little bigger car for it.

It was around 0°C, when I was driving and partly there was snow and partly rain, sometimes even heavy rain. I do not really like to drive in such a weather, but I was in time to leave the car, but not more than half an hour before the final leaving time. Unfortunately I had lost my keys to my apartment. When I came back with the car this afternoon I had to ring my landladies bell, that she could let me in. She lives next door and has spare keys. From the car rental I called my son for the other spare keys and he did not only come with them, but also drove me home. He even had Swedish ginger bread for me, which my daughter in law had backed. I did gave him the souvenirs I had for him and his family. Btw I had given such souvenirs to my other childrens as well.

Before I was going to bed I tried to get my home pretty again, therefore I was not to bed before 3am.

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18th Dec 2018

I was awake around 9:30 am, even I was to bed so late last night. I booked online an appointment with an doctor. I did tack the first opportunity I could get, it was the 22nd January 2019.

Later that day I was to a nurse at our polyclinic, because I do hear very bad since we landed in New York. It feels like I would be under water. The nurse could not really see anything, though she called a doctor and he told her, after he checked my ears, that I have liquid in my ears and told me, that I have to buy a special nosespray against it (I can already tell you, that it helped, but it took two weeks before I could hear as usual again).

After the visit at the polyclinic I was to the grocery shop. I only have had crispbread and such things at home, which can be saved for a long time. Now I had a lot of food to buy, but it also will last for a while, because most of the packages are for four persons and I have to freeze a lot of that.

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19th Dec 2018

I had to buy Christmas gifts for my grandchildren, therefore I was going to the city center of Stockholm. I also took my damaged suitcase with me to change it into a whole one. There were problems with the change of the suitcase even I had all the necessary papers and the suitcase with me. The expedit had not had such a case before. She were calling her boss and than asking me for coming back later, because she had to check with the flight company for which amount I was allowed to get a new suitcase, even it was stated on the papers and I had the receipt with me. I told her, that I live outside Stockholm and therefore will wait at the shop until I have got a new suitcase. At the end, she got an amount in SEK of her boss – the 239 US stated. The suitcases were much cheaper or much more expensive. I chose a cheaper one, I think it was as good as mine. I had nearly the same colour, but was a little darker. I had chosen a turquoise one in New York, because I wanted one easy to recognize. I would have liked a green one, because it is easier to tell in Spanish that my suitcase is green. Actually I did not see another green suitcase in Mexico, but my backpack. In Sweden I saw a lot of turquoise suitcases. It seems to be the colour of the year.

The next shop was one of the “Naturkompaniet”, a shop for outdoor gears. I bought two more woolen underpants there, because this winter seems to become cold. Afterwards I was looking for a toy store. I did not find any, but a department at another shop. I bought two different boxes of Lego for my grandchildren and was lucky, that one of them had reduced price. The last thing I was looking for were special curtins for Christmas, but I did neither find such curtins nor the shop, where I would like to look for some. I looked in other shops, but they did not have, but fabrics. I cannot sew them.

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20th Dec 2018

I had to buy other necessities this day, though I did that before I started with my files and other paperwork. I also was answering couch surfing request. Unfortunately I had to explain, that it is not possible to come here on late evenings and go to the airport on early mornings. I have it written in my profile, but people do not read profils carefully. Also most of the people asking to be hosted are new on CS, has no references and often they have not filled their profile well. I am open for offering my place even for newcomers, but they need to have a carefully filled profile. How should I other know which risk I take or if there is no risk. I also wrote respectively answered e-mails.

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21st Dec 2018 to 23rd Dec 2018

Those days I spent most of the time to safe my photos on my laptop. I never found the missing ones. The 23rd I also decorated the Christmas tree. It is traditional to make it the 23rd. In Sweden we call this day “Lille julafton” – the little Christmas Eve.

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24th Dec 2018

I spent Christmas Eve with my son Samuel and his family. A brother of my daughter in law and his wife with their little baby, a sister of my daughter in law and Maria, my daughter, were there as well. Her parents were there for a while, but were going home soon.

I was lucky with my gifts for the grandchildren. Nobody had bought the same things and they were happy about them. My daughter actually had bought similar LEGO for the youngest of my grandchildren, but a smaller box, though I think he did not realize, how similar it was and one can never have enough LEGO. The boxes are much bigger, than there are bites in it, which made me disapointed.

I was staying over night there and shared a room with my daughter. The others were sleeping in other rooms.

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25th Dec 2018

I had forgotten my medicine at home, though my son did drive me home around noon. I have got new couch surfing requests again. I also did read all my references in the app. It helped me to remember all the kind people. Furthermore I still was working with saving my photos on my laptop.

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26th Dec 2018

Time for IKEA. Actually I had asked my son the evening before, if he could drive me from IKEA home, if I will buy a shelf there. He did tell me, that he has to ask his wife, because he do not have the schedule in his head. He had not called back, though I thought it was OK and was going to IKEA by bus, underground and bus. I hade to pay twice, because one ticket is only valid for 75 minutes and it takes longer from my place to IKEA. That is the same if I take the public transport all the way to my son’s place. I think, that is bad policy, because the size of Stockholm. If you can go all the way by underground you have no problems either.

I had found and bought the shelf and took a snack, when I called my son. Unfortunately they had a day off from the children, will visit a spa and sleep at a hotel. Anyway he came by car to IKEA to pick me up. We were going to his home, where I took my daughter with me and was allowed to take the car. He and his wife were going to the city by public transport. By the car I also went to another shop looking for a special blender, the one I had seen at my friends in Tijuana, but the shop did not have the make anymore.

My daughter helped me to carry all the parts of the shelf into my apartment, afterwards I drove her back to my son and left the car there. I could have stayed there overnight, but had to go back home before my couch surfers arrived. I had put the parts of the shelf under my bed, thought that was not problem.

My couch surfers were a couple from Colombia and we spoke Spanish with each other. They were also good in English. The view times I did not find the Spanish words, I told them in English and they told me, what it is in Spanish. I was very happy about these couch surfers, they were wonderful. Because it was a couple, I made my bed for them and was sleeping on my couch. That is not a special couch for sleeping, but I slept very well on it.

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27th Dec 2018

I was on pricerunner looking for the blender and did buy it online, because it was for the cheapest price. Anyway I thought, it was very expensive and I did not understand, what was included, because it was only written with shortenings. I also found Christmas curtins. I know, it was late, but I usually buy Christmas things after Christmas, because they are for sale – half price.

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28th Dec 2018

Samuel and Maria have been here and put together my shelf. I am very happy about their help and my shelf as well.

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I also have got an emergency couch request, but he cancelled later this day, telling me, he will stay at his friends place.

In the afternoon I was listening to ABBA (CD), working with my files and more photos.

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29th Dec 2018

I was up as late as 10am. Even this day I was contacted by a “couch surfer”. It was a young man from somewhere in Africa. He tried to chat with me via the couch surfing app, but it is no messanger. He was really annoying and after we had chatted a while he asked me, if I am a rasist, even I have hostet travellers from all over the world. I told him, I am not and closed this subject as soon as possible.

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30th Dec 2018

Even this day I was up around 10am. In the late afternoon I was to a CS meeting. We meet at Expresso Haus, Drottninggatan 90A, Stockholm. We were not so many people. Sometimes we can be around 30 CS. Anyway these meetings are also open for people, who just want to meet locals or other travellers.

A should have had a couch surfer for a week from 1st of January 2019, but he cancelled. He wrote that he is sick, has a cold and won’t come to me. I thought it was a little strange, but it does not matter for me, that I do not need to host.

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31st Dec 2018

I celebrated New Years Eve with my son Samuel and his family. I arrived there around 5 o’clock. My son had promised to pick me up at the Metro station, but I had forgotten my tablet at home and could not call him, though I changed to the bus and walked from the bus stop.

About the fireworks with midnight you can read at “1st Jan 2019”