Our shipment has arrived, we’re in the new apartment, and we’re loving life. We were anxious to receive our belongings that we’d shipped from the States almost two months ago. There was a two-night window where we were in the new place but did not have our things. We slept on a combination of scarves, sweaters, using a pillow and blanket we’d snagged from our eight-hour flight (greatest idea of all time).

It wasn’t the most ideal situation ever but it sure was memorable! As time passed, we began to forget what we’d even packed. We felt like giddy children the night before opening Christmas gifts, somewhat unaware of what we’d get but thoroughly excited. We’ve tried to stay as prepared as possible throughout this move so we of course had created a packing list and took some photos of our beloved items before sending them on their way. Unpacking was a breeze. We anticipated it to be easier than a typical unpack since it was only eight cubic meters after all. To our surprise, the moving company unpacked it all for us, making it that much easier! The list came in handy when we checked to insure we’d received everything, which we had.

We’ve felt incredibly lucky throughout this transition. We found our new apartment not only quickly but in the most ideal location, we received our shipment two days after we moved in, our suitcases have consistently been right under that 50-pound mark when traveling, we’ve been well informed of the necessary steps to take and have run into no major problems!

Now that we have unpacked and organized our things, we have begun to collect the items we were unable to bring with us. Tom and Brittany, a couple from Minneapolis we met through PWC who after two years of living here are headed back to the States, were gracious enough to hand down a lot of the things on our list. Again, we feel lucky. We’re still missing some things but it’s nothing a solid trip to IKEA can’t fix!

Filling the place with furniture and sprucing it up with our photos does make it feel a lot more like home. We’ve made good use out of our balcony so far, spending a few minutes almost every night looking out. The weather has been on the warmer side (80 degrees) so the nights are perfect for patioing. One of our favorite spots we’ve stumbled upon so far is Jetée de la Compagnie. Its super inconspicuous, having to walk through rows of mobile homes and semi-trucks to reach it. Its situated right on Lake Geneva, complete with a food/beer truck, sun deck to catch rays, and quite the view! We shouldn’t forget to mention they offer yoga on the deck in the mornings and live music at night… pretty fun spot. Sometimes it’s the things you’re not looking for or expecting that end up being your favorite things. This is proving true more and more each week here in Switzerland!