The Big Push

We finally got everything moved! Wednesday night we took the train to the East side of the NL to rent a huge moving van and pick up a ton of furniture from Naomi's mom. Thursday we tried on our wedding attire and loaded up the van. Then we drove it to her Dad's to get some more things. Then to Rotterdam. It was a long day. Friday we unloaded it all and filled it up again with the stuff from the Wolfert House. Good thing we got those days off of school...because it was during the week we got a 50% discount on the van!

Saturday Naomi's mom and significant other came with a trailer filled with more furniture which we dropped off and picked some beds up from a colleague and some stuff from the Wolfert house. They spent the night and the next morning, Sunday, we packed everything up that was left and hauled the final load over. They left around 4 and we ended up working until 1 in the morning to prepare things for Naomi's birthday (today) which is also Queen's day (a national holiday) and the day my sister comes to visit! Things are taking shape but there is still a lot to wrap up. For the rest of the day we will enjoy ourselves in the sunshine. The mess can wait for tomorrow.

Wrapping Up

Another hectic week. The painting is almost finished...only a couple weeks behind schedule. Hopefully we can wrap things up today. Naomi's dad is helping us out. Naomi and I are both pretty tired and ready to be done with all the work. Things are starting to look pretty nice though!

Break Time

Upstairs Bathroom

The Hall

Hard to Reach

Thursday I went for the fourth time to get a drivers licence. Each time, they tell me I need something new. This time it is a medical exam. This is getting ridiculous. It is supposed to be a very simple transfer and they are making it unbelievably complicated and expensive. I don't even know where to start when it comes to finding and going to a doctor for this. I guess I just won't have a drivers licence for awhile...

Working Hard

My hand is sore from painting. We are getting there though. Crazy to think that we plan to be moved in in two weeks. Seems rather impossible...hopefully we can find a few people to help us out. Now I am printing out wedding invitations while Naomi continues with the painting. Not too much time to update a blog...and not much to talk about! All our free time is spent either fixing up the house, sitting on the couch, or preparing for the weddings. At least I won't have a full week of school anywhere in this consecutive 7 week block that we find ourselves in the midst of. I guess things at WolfertPRO take a back seat these days...

Easter Sunday

Sure doesn't feel like one. The weather is about right - 40s and partly sunny. The trees seem ahead of schedule - plenty of green around here - and the tulips are out, but no family and no church service. Strange. Naomi's dad is here though, so that is nice. He is helping us out with the house. His significant other will come later today as well. They don't celebrate Easter though.

In the last two days we spent over 5,000 Euros. Ouch. The plane tickets for next summer were ridiculously expensive. We also bought one for Naomi's mom, but she should pay us back. I found a deal for Naomi and her mom - and ended up getting the last two tickets. For an extra couple hundred Euros they will be able to fly from Brussels, to LA, then rent a car and tour the Southwest, followed by a flight out of Las Vegas to Marquette. They will return to Amsterdam. This journey involves 8 different airplanes!

Yesterday we were able to go to the Praxis (similar to Home Depot) to get more paint for the house and light fixtures. We also took an unexpected journey to Rotterdam South (glad we don't live there!!) to buy a washer and dryer. Naomi couldn't sleep during the night, so she came across an add for a shop that sells second hand appliances. We ended up getting very nice 10 year old machines - a Miele washer and dryer (dryers are not common here) delivered for less that 500 Euro. Now all we have to do is figure out to get the 100 kilo washing machine up a rather dicey set of stairs. Hmmm.

Last night Naomi and I went to the wedding of one of our colleagues. She is Turkish. I have never been to such a wedding before and it was quite the experience. There were about 1000 guests. They filled the largest wedding hall around. The food was good and the traditional-ish Turkish music was too loud, but they danced in a huge circle the whole time which was rather interesting. The end was very strange though. As loans were taken out to fund this event, it is customary to get as much money as possible from the guests. So at the end of the wedding, the guests lined up with cash in hand and congratulated the bride and groom. The man with the microphone announced the family name and how much money they were giving. I guess it turns into a bit of a competition...

Half of the reception hall.

The grand entrance.

The first dance.

More dancing.

The Robbery

I came across this video recently. It is a news report about an attempted robbery in the bar right across the street from our new house (you even get to see our house toward the end!). It requires a little translation. Essentially, this guy walks into the bar wearing a mask and waving a gun. Everyone ignores him. They keep ignoring him. He gives up and leaves. A marathon runner chases him out and wears him out after about two kilometers. The police show up. Typical Rotterdam. End of story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeTq7nFFokg

We should also take some pictures, but yesterday I lowered the sidewalk so a car can park in front of the house and we cleared out the space and put a bunch of bushes in pots. Today is more inside work. We prepared to paint all morning and a colleague will help us finish painting after lunch. Our weekends and nights are certainly full, but we have made a lot of progress already. Now we have to look into whether or not we have to start paying utilities since we did start paying rent...but we aren't living there yet. Too many things to do!