A busy blustery day in the Netherlands!

Today we were off and running with Natasha at 9:30 a.m.  While we waited outside for Natasha the wind was blowing and chilled us to the bone...We both decided that when we go back to the U.S. we will have to shop for warm down coats!

Our first stop was the World Trade Center in Amsterdam. There we had to provide Apostilled birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc.  We didn't even know what the word Apostille meant till we started this process of relocating! We were provided with a BSN which means "Burgerservicenummer", which is like a U.S. social security number.  Because we don't have an actual address yet, we had to use Andrew's work address.

After we left the WTC we headed to Haarlem to look at some houses, one of which I had looked at two days ago.  As soon as Andrew walked in the door I knew he loved the house as much as I did! Here are a few pictures:

After we looked at this house together Andrew had to head back to Amsterdam for photos, the bank and a meeting at work.  So, off I went again with Natasha and her cohort, Olivier, to look at a few more houses for rent.  We looked at two more in Haarlem (both too large for our needs) and another in Ouderkirk aan de Amstel (also too large for us).  I had never been to Ouderkirk-it is a beautiful little town just south of Amsterdam. It is a little remote though, there are no trains, only bus service if using public transportation.

Our realtor will talk with the owner's realtors and we're hoping to be able to rent the house in Haarlem.  The owner was there when we went to see it, and it was such a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet with her and get a real feel for how much the house is loved. We should know in the next few days if we'll be able to rent it.

After looking at homes we stopped for something to eat, then Natasha and I went to have my picture taken at a card/tobacco/candy store. The next stop was the bank (ABN/AMRO), where we got our bank account opened and I applied for insurance.  Apparently banks carry insurance here, so I signed us up for liability insurance. The people at the bank made everything so easy.

Natasha and Olivier have been such a blessing. They have held our hands through this whole transition, making it pretty seamless so far!

Things I learned today:
1. Parking is a commodity and sometimes has to be paid for with a parking permit in the city you live in.
2. The cost of owning a car is astronomical. People pay approximately 40% tax on the vehicle (yes, even a used one), pay a road use tax (depending on weight of vehicle), and gas is about $7.00 a gallon.
3. The Dutch pay a lot of "extra" taxes: Euro 400 per year for local taxes, Euro 100 for dog tax, water tax of Euro 290 a year, etc.
4. It gets very cold and windy here, so we will have to dress much differently than we're used to coming from California, USA.
5. Winkeling means shopping...and there is plenty opportunity for that in Amsterdam, and in Haarlem!