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.

House Huntin' Success

After weeks of fretting that we would unpack our bags upon arrival and sleep on the tile floor at Schiphol Airport, a living space has been arranged!

I arrived into Amsterdam at 7AM on Wednesday, rushed to my hotel, and navigated (poorly) to my new worksite. After meeting with a few of my new colleagues, I settled into my new cubicle. Microsuede walls, sweet!

On Thursday, the relocation realtor picked me up at 10:30 AM. She had an aggressive schedule to view 12 properties within the day. We zoomed off in her Peugot to our top neighborhood pick, Oud Zuid (owd zowd / Old South).

The first house had 50 steps at a 60 degree incline to reach our 2 level flat. That hike combined with a precarious roof terrace gave it the nix, though it had many nice features. Next, we went to a cluster of blocky apartments. I could tell that the facade would not meet Madeline's criteria, as it lacked all the character expected of Europe. The inside matched -- functional, but bland. Last stop in Oud Zuid was a third floor walk up. It moved to the number 1 spot due to the quiet street (with parking potential!), charming facade, and spacious, well-lit interior.

Next we moved on to Amstelveen. This is a quiet suburb with a large percentage of expats. Although this seemed like an ideal setting, the very selling points became detractions. It was in fact quiet, suburban, and full of expats. We visited 5 houses which each provided adequate living space, and even nice gardens in the back, but they lacked the critical quality of feeling as if we were living in 'old' Europe.

Finally, we drove out to Haarlem. This made the list as a smaller, but very traditional, community. Two row homes presented a very typical Dutch feel. The narrow, precarious steps were a major drawback with two wee munchkins, but the layout and architectural features had a lot of appeal. As the sun began to set (and the rains started) we saw the best house of the day. In the sleepy village of Heemstede stood a charming single family home. The kitchen was amazing, and the dining area had a peaked glass roof. The back yard was an endless jungle for the kids, and the living area had lots of great features. Our last stop was a similar house, but it didn't hold a candle to the previous.

After a long day (and 12 pages of notes plus 270 pictures), I returned to the hotel. I uploaded all the pictures and placed my notes in rank order. After many tries, I finally reached Madeline and we were able to discuss the pros and cons of the various options. The realtor had already made arrangements to revisit the top property, so I was pleased that we agreed which one that was!

The next afternoon we returned to the spacious boulevard of Minervalaan to validate the 'rightness' of the house. Many of the elements that had been clouded by a blur of 11 competitors clearly met our needs upon a second inspection. Even better, we discovered a playground less than a block away and ultra-convenient shopping just a bit further down the road! I departed feeling very confident that this was our new home!!