Julie's Arrival, Move to Apartment
Trip Start
Apr 06, 2003
1
11
69
Trip End
Ongoing
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
Sorry to disappoint all those people who read ALL of Stephen's travelpod's, but this is Julie. I finally arrived in Amsterdam. I also enjoyed my business class flight. Since I am short I didn't really notice the difference in legroom.
Anyway, I arrived at 7 AM and Stephen was at the airport when I arrived. He was only an hour late in April when I came to visit. It was really anticlimactic to come out of customs and then wait around an hour for Stephen to get there. So, this time he was under strict orders to be waiting for me. And he was and he brought me flowers! We took my three suitcases on the train to Central Station (No, Stephen wasn't being cheap, it is easy and fast to take the train). Then we took a short tram ride to the nearest stop to our place. It is only a few blocks from our new place.
I was kinda nervous about the three flights of stairs we need to take to get to our unit. Luckily, they are not steep at all. Stephen had to carry the suitcases up. The apartment is great. Bigger then I thought from the pictures. Stephen did a really good job. Our furniture fits in well also. All our stuff fits no problem and we seem to even have room to spare. We got lucky that our place has closets. Most of the places we saw did not have closets or an oven.
I slept most of my first day here. I laid down on the couch and we opened our windows that face the canal. The breeze comes right in. I have never lived in a place that gets a breeze, it feels so nice and it feels like you are outside.
Stephen didn't have work on Monday, so we were able to do errands. We decided the most important thing to get was not a vacuum or a toaster or a kitchen table but furniture for our roof top deck. We went to a Target type store (about a 1/10 the size though). We bought 5 chairs, one that I can lay down on. We had to carry them all home. The walk isn't far, but when you are carrying chairs it doesn't seem all that close. After attempting several different ways to carry the chairs we figured carrying them on our heads was the easiest. I carried one, Stephen balanced the rest. I am sure the people we passed, while carrying the chairs on our heads in the pot shops were quite confused. Strong man Kantor got tired and I had to wait at a corner by myself guarding 2 chairs ,about 4 blocks from home, as he carried 2 chairs at a time home. We then set the chairs up and sat down and enjoyed a beer.
Tuesday, Stephen went to work and I spend the morning unpacking and organizing our stuff. I did several loads of laundry. Since I can't read Dutch, I am not sure what cycle I am choosing, but our stuff is coming out clean. You choose the temperature of the wash and then the cycle. The most annoying part is that you can't open the washer mid cycle. Even if you turn off the washer the door won't open, you have to let the cycle finish. Our clothes are coming out dry also, sometimes after a few cycles though. I don't know how to work that either. I just fiddle with the knobs until it starts to run.
Oh, the first load of washing we did was the cover to Joey's futon. Stephen said there were "Joey hairs everywhere". To those planning a visit, it has been sterilized.
I then went for a walk in Vondel Park. People have told me that is the best place to run. The streets and sidewalks are stone, not great on the legs for running while the park is pavement and gravel. The park is about a 15 minute walk from our apartment and 2.5 miles around. Outside the park an American tourist asked me if this was Vondel Park. I was very proud to answer, Yes! It is! If she asked me anything else, I wouldn't have had a clue.
I then walked to the BloemenMarket to buy some plants for our terrace. They have every type of flower there and it is cheap. Rose bushes are E8 and gardenia plants E10. I ended up buying four little flowering plants and two planters for E8.50. They were probably about 10 lbs a piece. I was dying when I finally got them home. I will probably go to the Flower market everyday and buy a plant at a time until our terrace is full and we have plants all over our apartment.
Finally, I went and got keys made. When I got home, they didn't work, what a shock, the guy who was making the copies had a lit cigarette dangling out of his mouth, I had a feeling they weren't going to work. So, tomorrow I go back, and I will suggest he puts down the cigarette while he tries again.
Tomorrow we going to the foreign police to register and become legal in the country.
I still have lots of chores to do. Stephen made me a list: it includes stuff I need to buy and places to call. I still have to make a trip to the grocery. Buying groceries is quite a process when you can't read the labels.
I do get to do fun stuff, like plan our trips. We want to go to Scandinavia in July and do a big trip in the fall/winter. We are thinking an African Safari and South Africa.
I'm sure I'll be writing more from the garden,
- Julie
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To defend myself quickly, I did arrive over 1 hour late when Julie was here in April but she knows she married an idiot so I can't be held responsible. However I feel as if I did redeem myself this time as I was there waiting for her with a bouquet of flowers, a very Dutch thing to do. To add to Julie's comments on flowers, they are certainly super cheap. I brought her a dozen Gerber Daisies for E8. In the States, I think 1 costs $4 so it was quite a bargain. I also had picked up 50 tulips for E10, which were waiting for her in the apartment. Crazy, huh?
I also wanted to point out that Julie has been having quite a bit of trouble opening the front door of the building. It's a very heavy, solid wood door with a pretty intricate design. It's pretty cool and adds some more character to the place but I suppose it does me no good if I continue to find my wife pressed up against the wood with all of her might every night when I return from work.
The weather has been great here and as a result, we have had the windows open almost all day. While I was doing this at my temporary apartment, it's nice to be able to do this without having a constant waft of marijuana seeping into my den, ala my sophomore year of college. The breeze has been fantastic however the swarm of flies that have claimed the apartment as their new home is a bit troublesome. I have bought 4 flyswatters and an assortment of bug spray but nothing seems to be doing the job. So far, the flies stay away from us and just hang around wood beams (for some reason) so we might have to just coexist.
The last thing I wanted to share was the workout I've been getting of late as Julie watches as I carry EVERYTHING single-handedly up 4 flights of stairs. On Saturday, prior to her arrival, I went with a Dutch friend, Adinda, to a town about 30 minutes away, Wassenaar. Wassenaar is a suburb of the Hague that is home to a very large amount of expatriates. It is also where the American School is. The school is ending soon so now is a great time to buy 2- or 3-year old things at garage-sale prices. I bought 2 really great TVs and a super-comfy black leather recliner-type chair for less than half-price. The chair has found it's home by the window overlooking the canal and I have already got my ass to work it's way into it nicely. SO COMFY! The point is, after schlepping 2 TVs and a chair up 45 stairs on Saturday, I must say I was not happy to be carrying 3 of Julie's suitcases, 2 suitcases full of my stuff from temporary housing, and 5 garden chairs up as well. I would look at Julie and she would give me puppy eyes so I would just do it. I guess I really did miss her...it's been really tough to tell her " no". I'm surprised she hasn't realized my temporary inability to tell reject her wishes and tricked me into going to the shoe department of the Bijenkorf, the big department store here.
That's it for now. Hope all is well in Chicago, LA, Madison, Florida, and elsewhere.
-Stephen
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