Goodness it has been too long since I’ve written a blog post! It seems hardly fair to call this an Amsterdam Travel and Style Blog, but that’s all changing with this post! I have so many things to share and I’ll try to keep this from being a TLDR situation, but you might want to grab a coffee and settle in! Here’s what our first month in Amsterdam has been like…
All four of us arrived in late July to perhaps the hottest day in Amsterdam in recent history. The girls did amazingly well on the flight over and we breezed through their EU health checks better than we expected. That part of the process gave me so much anxiety. If you’re thinking of traveling or moving with your pets internationally, do your research. Then do more research. And when you think you’ve done all your research, do a little more.
The move…
The apartment was in a state of disarray, as the movers unpacked all of our things (yay) but left them piled up on pretty much any and every surface (boo). It was like walking into a home on the show Hoarders. Paul needed to go back to the U.S. for a week for work so I got busy organizing and unpacking. Holy piles of stuff, Batman! Every bed had a stack of clothes, pillows, and general knick-knacks piled at least 3 to 4 feet high. I’m not even exaggerating. Luckily for our marriage I excel at tearing through the mess and separating “crap” from “keep.” And there was a lot of crap! As Paul put it, “the neighbors probably wondered who this family of 30 was that just moved in!” Living here for the last month has really made me realize just how much needless stuff we have accumulated and it has felt good to purge and purge and purge. I have one last room to tackle and then the entire place will be complete.
The loss…
While I was making myself busy, our Bella decided that she had just had enough of this life. She made it all the way here and was fine, even enjoying her new garden space, but one day she just didn’t get up. And she stopped eating. And then she got very very thin. And then she was gone. It was the most swift of declines I’ve ever seen in a dog. And it completely wrecked us as a family for a few days. We are still not over it (are you ever?), but we are trying to make the best of it. We had 14.5 wonderful years with Bella and she lived her absolute best life. I considered writing a post dedicated to her but I just don’t have it in me. I can’t go there yet, or maybe ever. She lives in our hearts and will remain there always and forever.
How it’s going now…
Lola has been wonderful and has adjusted to life here very well. We couldn’t ask more of our little mini muffin! She loves walking through the neighborhood, going to Vondelpark, eating fries from Frietboutique, and hanging out with us in our garden. We’ve even taken her on a tram and a train to Haarlem as well as on a canal boat. She is up for anything as long as she is with us. I feel like she is growing up a bit, and while that is comforting it is also a little sad, as she’s always been the puppy to Bella’s old lady.
My parents came for a two week visit and I got to play tourist, too! We did museums and park days, saw classical music concerts, went to Haarlem for the day, and had rosé on a canal boat. We tried some delicious Indonesian food from Blauw, enjoyed some Dutch treats and beers at Foodhallen, and spent evenings in the garden reminiscing about the day. We rode bicycles all over town and had the most fun!
Now the house is quiet (with the occasional buzz from the washing machine as I’ve put off laundry as long as humanly possible). I’m working on a new crochet project that’s perfect for life here in Amsterdam. And I need to shoot and share the final two “countdown creations” I finished just before we moved. Things are calming down and we are beginning to settle into a routine again. Going to work, cooking dinner, shopping, wine on the patio, date nights… They all just look a little different than they did in the states. But I like the new look. No, I rather love it. I love it so much.
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xo – Erin
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