Yesterday evening, we arrived back home again. The journey went well, the little one once again proved to be a good travel companion. Just the last 20 minutes in the plane and the ride home by car was too much for her, but she was incredibly tired so who can blame her. We had nice people around us in the plane who all smiled at her and entertained her, which made us much more relaxed (note to every childless reader: if you are annoyed by crying children in the plane or train, please keep in mind that it’s not really you who is stressed out but the mother ;-)).

Being back home again feels great, but also a little bit odd. We were sad to say good-bye to our friends in Turku who became very dear to us. But we are also happy to say hello to our friends in Zurich again! Karsten’s parents picked us up at the airport, with a big red balloon for the little one (which she adored from the second she saw it). At home, the fridge was full, there was a blooming cherry branch with colourful easter eggs in a vase, a chocolate welcome in our letterbox, a flower welcome from our neighbours in front of our door, marzipan under our blanket…We feel very blessed.

It smells good at home. We have all our books around us again. The little cherry tree on the balcony is almost blossoming. On the window is still the christmas decoration. Karsten needed three attempts to find the cups in the kitchen. And this morning he asked: “Where do we keep our laundry basket again?”. The red kites are still cruising outside the kitchen window. The little one crawls everywhere and I am getting nervous – we left with a baby and came back with almost a toddler and the flat is not at all childproofed yet. There are so many things for her to discover. No wonder that she slept horrible tonight (consequently so did I). But we’ll take it slow today. Unpack. Say hello. Do some shopping. Check our garden. Play and discover!