Musings on our COLD beginnings in the Netherlands

We have arrived in the sunny Netherlands!  Sunny, yes, warm - not even close.  It is cold.  It was around 2C on our first morning.  Quite the jump for the 30+ C weather we left in Sydney.  Needless to say, we learned some things.

1. All hats are not created equal. Size matters.  I tried to wear Scott's hat (as mine was in the suitcase we left at the airport - Doh!), but it was too big.  Tried on several others, while some were pretty, they weren't warm.  I selected a new woolen one. It looked so warm and thick, but alas, it seems to have stretched quite quickly and the those holes in the knitting do not make for good wind resistence.
2. Gloves!!  It took two layers of gloves that I wore in Sydney to even have a chance of keeping my hands warm!
3. The sun is lazy here.  We were lying in bed thinking it was still early. Then we checked the time, it was 8am, and the sun still wasn't up.  The sun didn't really get going until about 9am. This kind of works out as it seems most shops don't open until 10 or 12.  Even breakfast places weren't open!
4. Sex workers are hearty souls.  We wandered down to the red light district in Amsterdam in the morning while we waited for things to open up.  While there weren't many women in the windows, there were several, and I certainly hope their little rooms are well heated.  Those girls don't wear much, for obvious reasons, but they made me cold just looking at them.

After this cold start in Amsterdam, we made our way to our new home town of Enschede. We were met at the train station by my lovely colleague from the University, Piet.  He has been so kind and generous with us. Definitely help make this transition easier.  Now, we went and picked up the keys to our new "furnished" apartment, and went to go check it out.  Again, many new things learned.

"41m2, 2 room furnished apartment" actually means a 5 room apartment.  It is actually quite large. Our bedroom is very spacious, and so is the living/kitchen/dining room.  The other three rooms are a toilet, an enormous shower room, and believe it or not a very large (and very warm) storage room. The furnishings are, however, rather sparse.  Let me explain.....

 Bedroom - two separate beds, two separate doonas.  A table acts as a desk. And there is some sort of fresh air intake thing on the window.  At least that is what we think it is.

 Also, please note the large wardrobes and chest of drawers! We actually moved one of the drawers from the living room.  So plenty of room... mainly due to the lack of items in the bedroom.

There is a lovely little hallway.  Oh, and I should point out, we were told that we were in Apartment 11. Upon entering the building we see a sign "11+12" and "13+14" on the wall. No sign on the 5 doors in front of us. We try and try with our keys. Finally after disturbing our neighbor, and jiggling the keys we get in.  And then see that our bedroom is #11, and our living room is #12. Ah yes, that makes perfect sense!

The toilet.  Not much to say, except there is no lid????

 The shower room.  Now a few things of note here.  Please note the height of the shower head. Also the width of the shower itself - it is massive. Then, note the size of our towels.  They barely dry me, how do they dry the Dutch people who are so much bigger??

The rest of the shower room. There is absolutely no storage space. Where exactly are we supposed to put our things?? Also, the height of the mirrors????  Seriously!!  I can only see my eyebrows and up!

 The storage room - or as we call it - the hot box. Also, please note our "hat rack" that was much discussed before we left.  This room also makes for an excellent place to hang our sweaty clothes!

  The living/dining/kitchen.  First some perspective with the rest of the house.

 Then two more table/desks.  And ultra stylish and comfy dining chairs.

 The living room part - Two more super comfy and stylish chairs. No couch.  Oh and don't forget our one painting that was supplied!

The kitchen - if you can call it that. Two burners, a bar fridge,  a coffee pot and......nope that's it.  No oven, no microwave, no storage. Oh, the wardrobe on the right, is a clothes wardrobe. It has hanging space!! In the kitchen??