As many readers will know, it has been “crystal ball time” in our house for at least the past year (if not slightly longer!) And, as many a work expat will tell you, that complete limbo land of not knowing what on earth you will be doing/where on earth you will be living, can be a really stressful time for the whole family. But then, when a decision is eventually made, things tend to start happening very very quickly (as happened when our time was up in Copenhagen), and so here we are. We have six weeks to enjoy the rest of our time in Munich, overdose on real Christmas markets and the chance of a Bavarian white Christmas, before upping temporary roots and planting them back down again somewhere else…
We have spent the last week in Cambridge, a rather beautiful part of the UK that looks set to become our home for the next chapter of our lives. Home! How funny does that sound?! I am sure it’s going to take a little bit of adjusting after seven years away, but it will be nice to reconnect with England, and introduce the youngest member of our family to his country properly, before we are back at that “crystal ball” stage all over again…
Thankfully, after our week there spent searching for a house and looking at schools, I can say that we are all mostly happy with the decision, and (touch wood!) we have somewhere to live, and for the small people to learn something! Mr R is more than happy to be working for a really good English Firm once again (no more calls to the US in the middle of the night – yippee!), and the small people are super excited at the chance to be closer to family and friends, have clubs they can join out of school without having to worry about speaking another language, and (rather strangely I think!) being able to wear school uniforms for once in their lives (I am sure that the novelty will wear off with that one sooner rather than later!)…
As much as I will miss our lives in Munich, and the people that we are close to, I personally can’t wait to be near to friends and family again, and will relish the chance to live somewhere that I feel that I belong to for however long we are there. I totally took that part for granted before we left the UK.
I will keep Bavarian Sojourn as it is for now. That might sound odd, but it’s been a huge part of my life for the past five years, and I have always regretted leaving A Scandinavian Sojourn behind and starting from scratch again. Plus, we will still travel and explore as much as we do now if not more so, that’s never going to change! Who knows, maybe a new blog will spring up somewhere down the line…
Right now I hope you will follow our journey in the future, and please bear with us as we pack as much in as we can over the next few weeks! As was the case when we left Copenhagen, I still have a lot to see, and an awful lot of places and people to say goodbye to. x
Oh goodness, I only just saw this, how exciting!! I’m looking forward to tales of your repatriation (will it be a temporary one like the other moves, or are you properly settling back there?) and *not* looking forward to pictures of food and other things that will undoubtedly make me homesick! ;) I visited Cambridge for the first time in a very long time three or four years ago and it really is lovely. I’m sure it will make a wonderful home :) Lots of luck with the move!
Thank you Christie! It’s a temporary move, we will probably be there for two years I imagine… Which (as much as I am at risk of offending so many people here by saying this), I am really pleased about as I am not quite ready to end our expat journey just yet. Two years will be nice to catch up before we pack up again, and next time it (hopefully, I can’t say definitely, you know how these things work!) could well be somewhere a lot more exotic! :D Hope Washington is treating you well! x
I’m so behind on all the news but.. whoop for exciting new chapters! How funny, too, that we might’ve ended up in the same place – for our last move the choice was actually between Cambridge and the south of Sweden. As you know we chose the latter, but it wasn’t easy as Cambridge is so lovely! I hope the move goes smoothly and you get to take full advantage of having friends and family nearby again x
Thanks so much Emmy, and that is REALLY funny, as Sweden was one of the places I was hoping for, but we are having a slight pause at home instead! Thank you. Hope all is well with you xx
Good luck with the next chapter in your lives, a life full of adventure! The kids will enjoy whatever you have in store for them next x
Thank you Karen. They left when they were 4 and 2 so it will be like a whole new country to them! :D x
Wow, how exciting! It sounds like everything is falling into place really nicely. And welcome to my general neck of the woods! It’s quite nice here :)
Slowly but surely! I am very pleased to hear that area is nice! Thanks so much for commenting! :)
Good Luck with a little bit of jealousy thrown in.
Thank you Bass. I will make the most of it while we are there! :D
Am so so pleased for you, I know much as you love the travel, the pull of the UK and family is a strong one.
Cambridge is a beautiful city (and handy for Stansted, should you get itchy feet).
Enjoy your new home.
Thank you. It will be a temporary stay at home, but it will be lovely to be back, even for a short(ish!) while. x
Oh how exciting. I think you are a saint for being a trailing spouse. it is not something I could do. We very nearly fell into that lifestyle as the DH works in finance, but I gave my one veto!
It becomes addictive Jen! I don’t think I can settle back in the UK for long now! :D Thank you…
How exciting! Rather sad too I imagine. Cambridge will be a lovely place to put down roots for a bit.
Thanks Erica, it is always sad to say goodbye to the people that you have become close to. Especially as we have been here for a while now. It will also be nice to go home for a while though until the next move! :)
So excited you’re coming back to the UK! Maybe we’ll finally get to meet in person?!
That would be lovely! :) x
I’m sure there’ll be a lot you’ll miss, but it’ll be lovely moving home for a while – your family here must be over the moon! Start of a new adventure in a very beautiful place. Good luck with boxing things up – know how much of an upheaval it all can be, and yes, time to pack in a few Christmas markets and the like – they always look so good in your photos xxx
Thank you. I know you have probably done this kind of move a few times now so you really know what it’s like! :D xxx
Gosh, you’ve got a busy few weeks coming up! I hope you get to experience the full Bavarian Christmas before you have to leave. Best of luck to you and your family on your new English adventure.
You won’t believe how busy! Thank you Ness! x
This is so exciting! Had no idea when we met in Munich a bit over a year ago that life might be taking this turn for you! Will very much look forward to hearing about the interesting twists and turns of repatriation (temporary or otherwise) with small people and, of course, your further travels. As for us, we are thrilled to be renewing our visas soon for 2 more years’ leave to remain in the UK (of course, whether we will actually *stay* for 2 more years is in no way guaranteed, but at least we have the option!) Looking forward to meeting up with you and Trish sometime after the dust settles and can’t wait to meet the Smallest Person – in person! xxx
I am so pleased you will be there while we are at home! Yes, we had an idea that it would be somewhere, but we weren’t expecting the UK to be honest! :D Can’t wait to meet up! Emma xxx
Can’t wait!! You, me and MsCaroline catching up together xx
I cannot wait. It will be a real novelty not having to dash off and catch a plane afterwards too, just actually go home and put my feet up after catching up with you both! :D xx
I’m glad everything is figured out! We are in the “crystal ball stage” now and boy is it stressful!
Good luck with it all. That is the one part of Expat Life that I absolutely can’t stand!! x
How exciting…. for all of us readers anyway, LOL. I’m particularly interested the segue back into English life for you and the children as that’s something I think about often. I love Cambridge and I’ also looking forward to your photos from around the UK. Good luck with all the arrangements and the move. xxx
Thank you Rachel. Let’s see how it goes! If nothing else I can console myself with the wonderful supermarkets and being able to pop to see friends and friends a lot easier than I can here! :D xxx