Home Sweet Home
Our sea freight finally arrived!!! Our belongings were packed up in May, so we are thrilled to have our own comfy couch and sleep on our luxurious queen bed. I know that a queen bed may not sound very luxurious to you, but in the Netherlands more often than not a queen bed consists of two single mattresses pushed together. And we had quite the ordeal getting that queen bed inside...
Because we live in a very old canal house, the staircases are extremely steep and narrow. There are 37 steps just to reach our apartment door. Thus everything came through our living room window! All of our furniture and boxes were moved into our apartment by large lift/elevator that would be loaded with boxes and then would move it all up to the 3rd floor which is the first floor of our apartment.
We found out at the end of the day that the stairs inside our apartment to our second floor were too narrow for the box springs and the window to that room wasn't large enough to use the lift. So we unexpectedly slept in a hotel that first night and tried not to worry about what we'd do if it didn't work out. We have quickly learned that "not possible" is a favorite phrase of the Dutch and they said that a lot regarding that queen bed! But good ol' American gumption prevailed and Brent figured out that if they took apart a window in the ground floor hallway of the building the box springs would just barley fit and then it could be lifted by rope to our back patio and then through our patio door. Phew!!
After all our stuff arrived we decided to go to IKEA for some storage units and it hit home how much of our life has already changed. We went with another expat friend who happens to live on a small canal with the water only a few feet from her window. So we left the boat there and caught the metro train and then had a 10 minute walk to IKEA. Because we had several heavy flat packed items between the three of us we took a taxi from IKEA back to our friend's place. There we loaded our purchases into the boat from her living room and drove the boat back to our place. You get pretty creative when you don't have a car!
We are very close to having all our boxes unpacked. Once we get everything settled we will post more pictures of our place. Ella, our kitty, is VERY happy to have her own furniture too. Until last week she would sleep in the corner of a closet, but now she is back to sprawling on our couch like she owns it! Her new favorite perch is the ceiling beams in our office...
It does feel like home now. Not just because we are surrounded by our own things, but we really have fallen in love with the city. It's beautiful and we are meeting new friends and feeling more connected. Ruth joined a club for expat American women and now plays in a mah jongg group each week.
We've met lots of other expats and recently went on a last minute weekend getaway with 4 other American couples. We drove 2 and half hours to Northern France and stayed at Château de la Motte in the historic city of Cambrai.
This castle was built in 1850 by a famous Parisian architect. Cambrai's claim to fame is that it was the location of the very first tank battle. We also spent a day in Lille, which Ruth really enjoyed. It's not touristy, but has a beautiful center district. It was so nice to have a change of scenery while enjoying wonderful French cuisine again.
Fall has definitely arrived in Amsterdam. The change of the season is bittersweet as we continue to adjust to our new life, but reflect on our family and friends back home as well. This time of year is also even busier for Brent at work (if that's even possible). Stay tuned for our next posting with pics of the fully decorated apartment and thanks for reading!
Because we live in a very old canal house, the staircases are extremely steep and narrow. There are 37 steps just to reach our apartment door. Thus everything came through our living room window! All of our furniture and boxes were moved into our apartment by large lift/elevator that would be loaded with boxes and then would move it all up to the 3rd floor which is the first floor of our apartment.
We found out at the end of the day that the stairs inside our apartment to our second floor were too narrow for the box springs and the window to that room wasn't large enough to use the lift. So we unexpectedly slept in a hotel that first night and tried not to worry about what we'd do if it didn't work out. We have quickly learned that "not possible" is a favorite phrase of the Dutch and they said that a lot regarding that queen bed! But good ol' American gumption prevailed and Brent figured out that if they took apart a window in the ground floor hallway of the building the box springs would just barley fit and then it could be lifted by rope to our back patio and then through our patio door. Phew!!
After all our stuff arrived we decided to go to IKEA for some storage units and it hit home how much of our life has already changed. We went with another expat friend who happens to live on a small canal with the water only a few feet from her window. So we left the boat there and caught the metro train and then had a 10 minute walk to IKEA. Because we had several heavy flat packed items between the three of us we took a taxi from IKEA back to our friend's place. There we loaded our purchases into the boat from her living room and drove the boat back to our place. You get pretty creative when you don't have a car!
We are very close to having all our boxes unpacked. Once we get everything settled we will post more pictures of our place. Ella, our kitty, is VERY happy to have her own furniture too. Until last week she would sleep in the corner of a closet, but now she is back to sprawling on our couch like she owns it! Her new favorite perch is the ceiling beams in our office...
It does feel like home now. Not just because we are surrounded by our own things, but we really have fallen in love with the city. It's beautiful and we are meeting new friends and feeling more connected. Ruth joined a club for expat American women and now plays in a mah jongg group each week.
We've met lots of other expats and recently went on a last minute weekend getaway with 4 other American couples. We drove 2 and half hours to Northern France and stayed at Château de la Motte in the historic city of Cambrai.
This castle was built in 1850 by a famous Parisian architect. Cambrai's claim to fame is that it was the location of the very first tank battle. We also spent a day in Lille, which Ruth really enjoyed. It's not touristy, but has a beautiful center district. It was so nice to have a change of scenery while enjoying wonderful French cuisine again.
Fall has definitely arrived in Amsterdam. The change of the season is bittersweet as we continue to adjust to our new life, but reflect on our family and friends back home as well. This time of year is also even busier for Brent at work (if that's even possible). Stay tuned for our next posting with pics of the fully decorated apartment and thanks for reading!
Comments
Love you both!
Amber