Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I thought I better write this post before the end of January. Four months have already passed since our last post. In some ways it feels like we just finished travelling but in other ways it feels like it was so long ago. Believe it or not, we actually did take another trip but a much shorter one - just five days - to Tasmania, which is the southern island state of Australia. We had a good excuse to travel again because some of Klas's family visited us. 

Some people have asked how does it feel to be done travelling? Do you think you've changed as a person? How does it feel to live in Australia now? 

I would say that the word that summarises how I feel is "satisfied." Before travelling, we had the unique experience of being able to study, live and work in a foreign country, America, for 12 years and form strong friendships with many people. Then we had 18 wonderful months of history and culture lessons. I think Klas and I have seen the places that we really wanted to see. There are still more places we'd like to visit in our lifetime but we've hit our priorities.

Have we changed as people? Absolutely. Otherwise I think there would be something wrong if we didn't change as a result of our travels and taking a break from the usual day-to-day life style. We definitely know what's important to us personally and professionally. The saying "Don't sweat the small stuff" is true for us - we've always been planners but we adapt even quicker now when events happen that aren't in our control. It's also amazing how living out of a bag for so long made us realise that we don't need a lot of things in life. I could give you a whole list of how we've changed but then this blog post will be way too long.

How does it feel to live in Australia? I've been reconnecting with old friends and enjoying family get-togethers. Klas joined a floorball team one week after we finished travelling. Floorball originated in Sweden - it's similar to ice hockey but is on a gym floor. It feels like home even though we're not completely set up yet. We're still looking for employment but we're confident that if we're patient enough then we'll secure the right jobs for us.

I've posted some photos of our travels that we didn't share before as well as highlights from the last few months.

Klas asked you in the last post what we should do about this blog. Thanks for your comments and suggestions. Our friend Stephanie said that the "18 months [of travelling] was a once in a lifetime experience, and it deserves its own blog." We've decided to finish this blog for now but will let you know if we decide to start another blog in the future to help us keep in touch with our family and friends overseas.

When we finished travelling, I wrote to a friend in an email that "Now it's back to the real world." I liked his response:

"Out there is the real world. The day-to-day is just that."

Cuddling with a Koala at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo

 

Close to Kangaroos while Hiking in South Australia

Arrived Home Just in Time for Brother/Cousin Rafe's 21st Birthday Party

  

Caught Up with Old Neighbours, "The Williams", Thanks to Facebook

Klas's Family Visited

Klas's brother Pelle, Asa and Vendela visited us for a few weeks. They spent a lot of time at the beach. We also went to Tasmania.

   

Celebrated the Marriage of Skip and Tina

 

Caught up with high school friends

Dinner with the Cousins

Not all of the cousins could make it but we had fun

Celebrated Grandma's 80th Birthday

It was nice that my sister, Kylie, and her husband, Jon, flew in from America for this celebration
  

 

Aussie Christmas Day

  

To our family living in the northern hemisphere - "Look at the blue sky"
  

Celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary

New Year's Eve

 

Cousin Jake's Birthday

 

Klas Playing Floorball

 

Caught Up With Mark and Cheryl From L.A.

All Good Things Come To An End

Our travels came to an end this past Tuesday night. The past three months travelling around Australia have been awesome but it is nice to have a bed to sleep in and not have to set up the tent any more. The tent held up to the end although we had to use some duct tape to keep it together towards the end (I guess setting the tent up 57 times in 91 days probably took its toll) . We are also very happy to take a break from driving since we have driven 27000 km (16780 mi) since we left Sydney, which on average is almost 300 km (185 mi) per day.



Since the last post we checked out Adelaide and Mt Gambier before heading to Victoria. We spent 2 days exploring the Great Ocean Road with the Twelve Apostles being the highlight of the many beautiful spots along the drive. We next spent 3 nights in Melbourne where we were able to catch up with Melissa's high school friend Michael. The city of Melbourne is great for tourists with free sightseeing buses and trams. Eating out in Melbourne seemed to be a lot cheaper than any other place that we have been to in Australia.



We also spent 2 days at Wilsons Promontory before heading back to what is now our home state of New South Wales. 'The Prom' is a beautiful national park with good bush walking as well as great beaches. A bonus was that we finally got to see some wombats. The wombats would roam the camp site starting at dusk.


The last night we spent in Merimbula in New South Wales. We treated ourselves to a B&B. It was great to sleep in a bed again and have a hot breakfast in the morning.

Right now we are happy to be done travelling but that might change once we start the job search and have nowhere to travel to in a month. It will be nice to catch up with family and friends in Sydney. We are also looking forward to spending time with some of our family who are visiting over the next few months.



So what should we do with this blog? We've thought of two options:

1. Finish this blog so that it just contains posts about our last 18 months of travel, or
2. Continue the blog about our journey as we settle down in Sydney.

We'd love to know what you think. Either way, we'll write at least one more post to summarise the past 18 months of this amazing experience and share some photos and videos that we weren't able to post before. In the meantime, enjoy the photos below.

On the Way to the Great Ocean Road

Blue Lake Mt Gambier

Great Ocean Road

The Twelve Apostles (now there are only six)

Melbourne

From Melbourne Observatory

Shrine of Rememberance

City skyline

In St Kilda with Michael

Wilsons Promontory

New South Wales Coast

Merimbula and Tathra

"Home" for the past 3 months

We even had a heater in the tent (coldest morning in the tent was 5C or 41F)

Home Sweet Home