Arrival in the Netherlands

We arrived here yesterday, February 4th.

There were minor glitches that made for some anxiety. Three friends came to meet us at the hotel to help transport our numerous pieces of luggage (thank you Amarilys, Devon and Grant!). Unfortunately, Grant's pickup would not start. Amarilys and Devon, however, were able to repack everything into their SUVs and we left a little bit later than our target time of 6:30AM. Another glitch was that when we arrived at the airport, we were informed that the cages for our cats were unacceptable for air travel. We had gone to two different PetsMarts and had been told that the cages were fine. One we already owned and the other was new. Both manufacturers had information on them stating that they were acceptable. Fortunately, United Airlines had cages for sale that were acceptable. The cage is called Sky Kennel. I don't recall having seen these at PetsMart. The major difference is that the cage screws together at the corners. We were informed that straps/bungee cords to further secure cages are no longer acceptable.

The flights were uneventful, which are always the best kind. The cats made it with no incidents. The girls were great and did not cry too much. While we walked to immigration after alighting from the plane, I heard an announcement. This is an example of the characteristic bluntness of the Dutch. The announcement was, "John Doe, please come to Gate 100. You are delaying takeoff."

We managed to get to our apartment in two vans. The landlord and some of the relocation people were here. The apartment is spacious and there is definitely plenty of room for guests. There is quite a bit of light. Our landlord ran out and got us flowers, cookies, coffee, tea, and orange juice, which was really nice. We also met our upstairs neighbors. They have a 3-year-old and 1-year-old twins. We went grocery shopping a few blocks away at Albert Heijn, the parent company of Albertson's out in Arizona. We even got a bonuskaart to take advantage of great deals. In the same neighborhood, I found a steakhouse that I believe a friend ate at last year. I can't wait to go there - it has a great ambiance.

Liliane was a bit tired yesterday and this morning, but she managed to sleep through the night. Amelie woke up and ad some problems going back to sleep. I worried about our neighbors being woken up, which is something I've never really had to worry about. I'll try to get some pictures posted later tonight.

Happy Super Tuesday!!!

The baggage, et al.

Amelie and Liliane waiting paitiently.
At Dulles, where we were stationed under the Amsterdam sign.