I have become a master of the black or white. There are no in-betweens for me. You either see a well-put-together master of disguise or a shockingly, unraveled woman coming apart at her seams. I am definitely broken.

My wedding picture caught my eye today. It left me wondering, had we known the future, we would have still gotten married….

Since we have been together, Johan and I have lived in four different cities, in four different countries and on three different continents. We have almost always lived “away” from our families. Life is exciting, but holidays become a big balancing act. Somewhere along the line, we stopped making everyone else happy and focused on us.

Yesterday at our Thanksgiving lunch, we went round the table and shared one thing that we were grateful for. It was amazing how many times we clapped, cheered, clinked glasses…because, the reality is, we have a damned good life…

How a guilt trip from my youngest turned into a fun Tokyo day trip…and then I had some realisations about being a mother!

I am not sure exactly what motivated me to add camping to my bucket list…but I can tell you now, now that I have done it. The best reasons to go camping – to be cold and damp, to not sit down once in 72 hours and to come home with pains in places that I never needed to know existed – simply boils down to 3 crazy truths.

When you ask Lulu, Friso or what they love the most about their new home, and if you listen carefully, you will hear something unexpected in their words. They speak unmistakably about culture and the transformations they are experiencing. Living aboard has made them quite reflective about their own culture and who they really are.

We have had that little apartment in Klosters for almost eleven years now. We’ve spent each and every winter weekend there, Christmases, New Years Eves, Winter Breaks and every other free day in between….but when you have the chance to see your old home thru the eyes of a tourist, something unexpected happens.

If you live in Tokyo, or are just visiting, surely you will stumble upon the Tokyo Sky Tree. When you do, here are 4 quick tips to enjoy the visit. 

Coming from Switzerland, we are very used to snow. Everyone drives four-wheel drive automobiles, the trains and trams leave and arrive on time all winter long and families own multiple shovels. I cannot remember school ever being cancelled in the years we were in Zürich. That is why the past twenty-four hours have felt like a magical holiday for us.

As an expatriate, one of the most typical and frequent questions I am asked is “Where are you from?”. This is a natural and open question, but it always causes me to hesitate.

It is not only obvious differences between city and suburb or Asia to Europe. There are real and vast deviations that our children have to navigate. For them, life is exhilarating and, a the same time exhausting. And this experience is as personal as it is individual.

I believe that we should all have a bucket list, or three. You know the saying that hindsight is always twenty-twenty? In a (very) weird way you are creating that retrospective look into your past.

You can take a class, research on the Internet, get advice from locals - but whatever, however, you should have a plan. It is not fun and it is an scary topic, but here's what we've done to prepare ourselves. How does this compare to your plan?

The visit of Johan’s parents, our first house guests in Tokyo, seemed so much more important. It felt like a chance to take stock of all we have gained through this move.