Our home

We moved into the house Wednesday of last week and it has been busy trying to transition in. We have rental furniture until our things arrive and have been living with the basic necessities. It's nice to have more space to spread out in - and the area around the house is so charming. There are a few bakeries, cheese shops, antique dealers along with the necessary grocery store, dry cleaners, shoe repair shop, etc... A mix of old world and new.

I wanted to wait until our things arrived from the US to take pictures, but I have gotten so many requests that I will be happy to oblige!

A little bit about the house...

It was built in 1883 in an area of The Hague called the Archipel. The Archipel was one of the few areas of The Hague that was not destroyed by one of the world wars. The street is Surinamestraat. Many of the streets are named after Indonesian cities because of the sheer influence of the Indonesians in this area. I don't know anything about the man who built the house, but I do know that the man who bought it from him in the early 1900's was a diamond dealer and built a small hiding room in which he stored his diamonds. The tenant just before us is the Russian ambassador to The Netherlands. There are many ambassadors on this street and in this area because the embassies are nearby. The landlord has promised me some materials on the history of the home. I feel very honored to live here and be able to take care of the place.

I love that the landlord has kept many of the original features of the home, as many homes here are gutted and modernized - with only the exterior being preserved. With that; however, comes a few unpleasantries, none of which are a major problem. The house is four stories with 5 bedrooms, 4 toilet rooms and 3 full bathrooms with showers. It is an ordeal to climb the full lot of stairs - they are quite steep. Here's hoping to a good looking rear end by the time we leave!

Enough said - you can see the pictures here:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=846208254408%3A1189991969&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer

The Tortoise and the Hare

I am finding the pace of life here to be much slower than what we are used to. Probably an amazing thing... but a bit frustrating all the same. I have heard and read that the Dutch (especially the children) are the happiest in the world.

The working hours here are typically 9:00 to 5:00 with most stores opening around 10:00 to 11:00. I have gone to visit a few gyms and they all open around 8:00am with the exception of one or two days where they open early at 7:00am. I cannot get a cell phone until I have a residency card. We applied for one 2 weeks ago, hopefully it will be here soon. In order for our things to be released from the port of Houston, The Netherlands requires a customs clearance which I applied for last Wednesday. It will take three weeks for that to even process. SO in the meantime, our things are sitting in a container on the Gulf of Mexico. I called last Friday to set up internet and cable in our home that I get possession of tomorrow... it takes about 10 days for that.

The days are really short in the wintertime which may contribute to some of the ways of life here. It finally starts to get light about 8:00am and it is pitch dark around 5:30. The grocery store closes at 6:00pm on Sunday, so you need to get the kids stocked for school before then. Most businesses are closed on Sunday and open late on Monday.

I love the "city" feel of Den Haag - even though it is quite small. I love to walk around. It's a great way to see everything. I found a Dutch school right by our home, so I will probably sign up for classes after we move in. I have finally driven 3 days in a row, and "Champa chameli", my GPS lady has become the person I speak with the most during the day. We ate at a fairly decent Indian restaurant right outside of our street last weekend and was happy to know that there was one nearby. I am waiting to hit all of theses gorgeous boutiques - they have great sweaters and dresses!

It is expensive here. As an expat, it is a little easier to afford some of these things. As a local, I don't know how they do it. Food, clothing, dry cleaning, and other basic items are about 50% more than what we are used to paying in the States. I have said it before.... most people in the US do not realize how lucky they are. Affordability is taken for granted. Most of the rest of the world pays double what we do in gasoline for cars. Most people here in Den Haag do not own a car. They bike everywhere. Public transportation is amazing.

Maybe some of this laissez faire attitude will rub off on me in the near future. I considered myself a pretty laid back person... until we moved here ;-)