Whoa.....where do I even begin to tell you all I want to tell you?
Just in case you are a new reader, allow me to quickly summarize the situation: I am in the process of moving from the German part of Switzerland to the French part. I have a new job here and I start TOMORROW! Chris also has a new job, but he starts a bit later.... I am now living in a temporary flat and am trying to familiarize myself with the area ;))
It's been a tumbling couple of weeks with "Goodbye's" and tomorrow a new chapter begins, one of "Hello's". Let me first focus on the last chapter and the goodbye's.
During my over 5 years with the great FMCG giant, Unilever, I said goodbye to it last Wednesday. It has without a doubt been the richest (work related) learning experience of my career so far! It is actually very scary to leave such a structured and opportunity rich company and my network there behind, but sometimes, when routine gets hold of me, I feel the need to yet again try my wings.....and hence, I'm now flying on to a new challenge!
I was surprisingly sad during my last couple of weeks.....but not because of leaving the job itself, all though I must say it has been great in so many ways.....it's just hard to say goodbye to the people and naturally, some are harder to say goodbye to than others.
At Unilever, I had my first real line manager job and the hardest goodbye was to my lovely team!!! We had a beautiful dinner together on my last day and no words can really describe how much I will miss these amazing ladies! I have been so lucky as if you think about it, I was managing a team of only ladies, 4 of them in fact (one is missing here), and that's not really supposed to work flawlessly, but it always did. We were really a TEAM, always supporting each other and cheering each other on.
...and now to the Hello's and the new chapter of my life!
We came to Rolle, where my new job is located, on Sunday evening and have been exploring the area since then. It has so far managed to exceed ALL our expectations and we are so so happy with this decision. The surroundings here are magical and all though we have chosen to live in a little village in the country side, it is still so close to everything!! 25 minutes to Lausanne and 35 minutes to Geneva - the perfect solution....
We found out that very close from here, there is, among many other shops, a big shopping outlet (already visited of course ;)) and an IKEA. Now both of these are potential dangers to my wallet..... If you are a Swede living abroad, you will probably realize that when I say IKEA, I'm not referring to its furniture, but rather the Swedish food shop!!! Now the cupboards in my temporary flat are fully loaded with Swedish goodies and food and I'm as happy as a clam!
Today I did the same route again with my bike and now I know that it will take me a between 1-1.5 hours to walk home from work and around 30-40 minutes by bike. It is NOT "a walk in the park" but a perfect cardio exercise that I can have every day when it's not snowy. It is only 6.8 km's, but with a climb of 345 meters and in some places it is very steap which I especially felt while on the bike! I can of course also extend the route..... Phhheeewwww ;))
I must say that Romandie has been showing itself from its best side so far. The weather has been stunningly beautiful, the people are smiling, laughing and have been really really friendly to us! I don't speak French (yet), but so far that has not been a big issue....but I fear this will be my biggest challenge in terms of integration ;)) I don't speak fluent German either, but at least I understand 90% of it..... Of French I understand close to nothing.....
Down by the lake here in Rolle, there are many nice little restaurants and we have found the most important things like groceries, bakeries etc. We also found the little harbor from where we can take the ferry to cross the lake. I must admit that after nearly 3.5 years since my last big move, I had forgotten how amazing it feels to have the luxury of being able to explore a new area like this, knowing you will be living here...having a life here and wondering what that life will be like....hoping....dreaming....enjoying and of course, experiencing!
Tomorrow, I start my new job and it's a mix of butterflies and excitement!! Wish me luck ;))
I will try to keep the updates coming frequently, but as I will probably have less time on my hands, it might be that you get more than one post in one evening and then nothing for a while again!! Apologies for this in advance....
Hope to see you here again soon!!
xox
 |
| The Tea team....through a tea pot ;)) |
It's been a tumbling couple of weeks with "Goodbye's" and tomorrow a new chapter begins, one of "Hello's". Let me first focus on the last chapter and the goodbye's.
 |
| Beata, Xiao and Oliwa <3 |
I was surprisingly sad during my last couple of weeks.....but not because of leaving the job itself, all though I must say it has been great in so many ways.....it's just hard to say goodbye to the people and naturally, some are harder to say goodbye to than others.
At Unilever, I had my first real line manager job and the hardest goodbye was to my lovely team!!! We had a beautiful dinner together on my last day and no words can really describe how much I will miss these amazing ladies! I have been so lucky as if you think about it, I was managing a team of only ladies, 4 of them in fact (one is missing here), and that's not really supposed to work flawlessly, but it always did. We were really a TEAM, always supporting each other and cheering each other on.
...and now to the Hello's and the new chapter of my life!We came to Rolle, where my new job is located, on Sunday evening and have been exploring the area since then. It has so far managed to exceed ALL our expectations and we are so so happy with this decision. The surroundings here are magical and all though we have chosen to live in a little village in the country side, it is still so close to everything!! 25 minutes to Lausanne and 35 minutes to Geneva - the perfect solution....
We found out that very close from here, there is, among many other shops, a big shopping outlet (already visited of course ;)) and an IKEA. Now both of these are potential dangers to my wallet..... If you are a Swede living abroad, you will probably realize that when I say IKEA, I'm not referring to its furniture, but rather the Swedish food shop!!! Now the cupboards in my temporary flat are fully loaded with Swedish goodies and food and I'm as happy as a clam! 
Yesterday, we went for a hike from Rolle up (yes, it's up the mountain) to our new home just to see how long it would take to get there and to explore the surroundings. We had an amazing day and it is actually quite difficult to fully digest the fact that we will live in these magical surroundings!!! We had a short break, sitting down in the grass, soaking in the spectacular view of Lac Leman and I snapped some photos to show you (here on the left side)....
Today I did the same route again with my bike and now I know that it will take me a between 1-1.5 hours to walk home from work and around 30-40 minutes by bike. It is NOT "a walk in the park" but a perfect cardio exercise that I can have every day when it's not snowy. It is only 6.8 km's, but with a climb of 345 meters and in some places it is very steap which I especially felt while on the bike! I can of course also extend the route..... Phhheeewwww ;))
I must say that Romandie has been showing itself from its best side so far. The weather has been stunningly beautiful, the people are smiling, laughing and have been really really friendly to us! I don't speak French (yet), but so far that has not been a big issue....but I fear this will be my biggest challenge in terms of integration ;)) I don't speak fluent German either, but at least I understand 90% of it..... Of French I understand close to nothing..... Down by the lake here in Rolle, there are many nice little restaurants and we have found the most important things like groceries, bakeries etc. We also found the little harbor from where we can take the ferry to cross the lake. I must admit that after nearly 3.5 years since my last big move, I had forgotten how amazing it feels to have the luxury of being able to explore a new area like this, knowing you will be living here...having a life here and wondering what that life will be like....hoping....dreaming....enjoying and of course, experiencing!
Tomorrow, I start my new job and it's a mix of butterflies and excitement!! Wish me luck ;))
I will try to keep the updates coming frequently, but as I will probably have less time on my hands, it might be that you get more than one post in one evening and then nothing for a while again!! Apologies for this in advance....
Hope to see you here again soon!!
xox
Hi Linda
ReplyDeleteWelcome to your new home. My wife and I lived in Rolle for three months last year when we first moved here from Australia. It is a beautiful, friendly village and certainly great hiking up the mountains and for escaping to France. We now live in Pully. If you guys are ever up this way we can show you some interesting walks along the lake and up through vineyards and villages above Lac Leman
All the best
Rob in Lausanne
Congratulations, Linda and good luck!
ReplyDeleteRob: Thank you!! We are loving it here so far =)) Would love to be shown some hiking routes in the area.....might come back to you on that one ;)
ReplyDeleteLydia: Thanks =)) x