The first few days back in Sweden I noticed all the dads out walking babies and toddlers in strollers. Weekdays and weekends. I was used to seeing women with strollers. Even when the parents were out walking together the men usually did not push the prams. But because I´m Swedish I didn´t really find it weird; I did not jump to the conclusion that Sweden must attract an enormous amount of male babysitters; it was just such an unusual sight. Dads on lengthy parental leave was something I had never experienced. And here they came in groups.

Another child related observation was all the snow suits. We arrived in December and every single toddler was dressed in beaver nylon fabric. Even relocating from Switzerland this looked funny – I only really saw snow suits in the ski slopes there, but usually a two piece winter gear seamed more popular. The winters in Sweden are not always snowy and white but quite often just wet. So we made another acquaintance – fleece lined rain gear. When we lived in the US we could not even find normal rain gear in kids’ sizes. A nice grandmother had to carry it over on visiting. Because Swedish people go outside in any weather, which was confirmed by another first impression – zillions of people out walking in the rain.

Tomorrow I´ll continue down my list of first impressions upon returning to Sweden after expat life. Ciao!