Day 1 of a new life

Well technically it's Day 2 but let's just say yesterday is probably best forgotten. We left Little Banchory with tears in our eyes and immense sadness in our hearts. If anyone had seen us, they would never have guessed we were willingly setting off on the adventure of a lifetime and a new life in Norway.

The Mulder cat was despatched to his own personal check-in at the crack of dawn and got picked up at SAS Cargo in Stavanger about 5 hours later. A 50 minute flight + a bunch of over-the-top bureaucracy. No surprise then that a seriously traumatised mog appeared at the other end. He was so bad that it took him a minute to realise who we were. SO bad that he willingly let me pick him up so that Customs could scan his microchip! In Mulder-world, that's pretty bad.

But we arrived to the most beautiful sunny day and a short drive later rolled up at our new home in an area called Hestnes, just outside Stavanger. Safely inside, we opened the "flight crate"...out came Mulder and promptly made for the only point of safety he could see - the far corner of the bedroom, under the bedside table - where he stayed for a good few hours. Ultimately the lure of food would prove too strong (he's a man after all!) and he managed to extricate himself for a bit of tea.

An early night and 3 emotionally exhausted creatures slept like logs. It's another lovely day and as I type this, I'm looking at a very Orkney'esque view over Hafrsfjord. Beautiful in other words. The house is a tad sparse on furniture thanks to the ineptitude of the removal company but our "stuff" arrives tomorrow morning and we're looking forward to populating the place with some familiar items.

As for Mulder, well he managed to explore/sniff every corner of the house to within an inch of its life this morning. Showing no sign of wanting outside (phew!), in fact very wary of pretty much every outside noise. But he's had his normal breakfast so I know for sure he'll be fine! As we speak, he's back under the bed. Small steps.

Mike's gotten a reprieve from work until Monday, so we can all spend some time settling in. We've managed to tune in to Radio 2 via an "app" called TuneIn Radio...not quite ready to let go of Steve Wright just yet!

So that's it - we're here! Fair to say still a bit shell-shocked by the enormity of what we've done but also very excited about the future. Every day is sure to bring another adventure...stay tuned for the next instalment!

Vi ses!