The Post Office post...finally!

 I have been wanting to write this post for months, as many of you know I have been negotiating a purchase for a 1952 Post Office in Sauðákrókur Iceland since February this year.
Well my 4th offer has finally been accepted. From the moment I stepped in to the building back in Feb I knew the place was to be mine...it just felt so right when I walked through it and I do believe it has very patiently been waiting for me to have tied up my affairs in Australia and for me to return.  It has been a lengthy process and at times extremely frustrating but finally the contract arrived in the mail over Christmas,  it certainly has been a lesson in patience (hope I have learned something) but I am sure it will be worth the wait.

 A huge thank you to Sigga who has helped me enormously in making this happen,  her patience and pragmatic approach to the situation I know played a major part in the final positive outcome.  I will always be eternally grateful for the enormous effort she has put into this project for me.  Also big thanks goes to Kristinn who has graciously provided accommodation in her home to me for the last 3 months. I am so indebted to this mother and daughter team and words just don't relay how appreciative and grateful of their good will I am.  Hopefully over the next few years I will be able to repay in kind someway/somehow.

It has been a momentous year,  at the end of 2009 I was on a plane to Iceland to spend Christmas and experience the winter and darkest period to see if it was for me, needless to say it is and I spent that couple of months reflecting on the outrageous idea floating around my head of moving here permanently.  I returned to Perth at the end of Feb 2010 and proceeded to get my affairs in order, to sell my house and make this move happen and on Oct 9th 2010 I finally landed back in Iceland.

Whilst it is not the cutest place in Sauðákrókur this old post office is a building of huge potential.  It is situated in the centre of the main street, directly opposite the church.  The building comprises of 3 levels, the ground floor is what used to be the public entrance (this was an active Post office 2 years ago) and this is the area that will need major transformation but I think there is space for at least two self contained holiday accommodation rooms for tourists/artists plus also a retail/gallery area...once settled I need to talk to an architect and find out what is possible.  The basement runs the breadth and length of the building and consists of at least 7-8 rooms...some will be for storage/laundry but others will definitely be art studio spaces so that I can finally re-acquaint myself with my creative side that has been hibernating for sometime.

The top floor is an apartment where I will live, quite spacious, certainly enough room for me, definitely needs a neutral paint job which will be the very first thing I do, starting today.   I will document the whole process so quite a few before and afters pics will undoubtedly show up on this blog.

So today, the last day of the year, I collect the keys and say goodbye to the old and welcome in the new.

Happy New Year!