Our Move from England to Den Haag
japra | Jul 09, 2009 | Comments 20
I am finally getting around to catching up from the last month! Here are a few pics from our move…
Our small and quirky rental. This was our second house in England, our third address. Kind of strange architecture, huh? The front door is on the left side of the house. The house itself looks like it should be a “semi” (semi-detached house). It was just one house, though. We picked this rental for its location more than anything else, as it was four minutes from Roxi’s school :-)
Here’s our postie’s (postman’s) bike. I remember being totally enthralled with these postal bikes when we first moved out to the countryside. It made me think of Mr. McFeely from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. I took this photo as we were driving out of our neighbourhood. Before we left our house, one of our neighbours came out to say Cheerio (literally) and to wish us happiness.
Our last time to get stuck at this level crossing–Haha!
Looking down into the Eurotunnel tracks. That’s our train on the right. It looks solid, huh?
It is a pretty tight turn into the train car. There is a steep up (well, it was up for us) as well. I was glad we didn’t have a standard transmission car.
After my lovely carwash incident in May, I was afraid I would feel really claustrophobic on the train. I was ready to close my eyes and will myself to sleep during the 35-minute journey. I am happy to report I had no problems and stayed awake the entire time. BTW, we did our crossing on an overcast and cool day. I understand it can get quite hot and stuffy in the train cars. Just so you know. We’ve also crossed the channel via ferry and that was quite nice. I like the speediness of the train, but crossing by boat makes it seem more like a holiday.
I knew we were getting close to the Netherlands when I saw this: an 18 wheeler with a bike in back…
And the windmills…
And the words “Den Haag” on our Sat Nav.
And then we reached our destination (about eight hours total for the trip). No, that’s not our new house–I wish! That’s the beautiful Steigenberger Kurhaus hotel where we stayed for a couple of days before our stuff arrived from England.
More later…
Filed Under: Blog • Expat Life • Featured
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
Great photos and I know you’re glad that’s behind you; moving is always traumatic, even when it’s something you want to do.
Jane, you are right, moving is hard work! Even with our pared down stuff, we still have lots of little things. I am glad we didn’t have to move the other two storage units back in Texas too. When we move back, we might need to rent a really big trash bin…
I am still intrigued by the postal bikes. My post lady is really nice too and always has a treat for my dog.
Very nice pictures. Have a great time in The Netherlands.
Kat, I love how some people carry dog treats around. I once was on our little town’s high street with Trudy and a man offered her a dog biscuit. Trudy was a little shy about taking it (I raised her right, lol), but I thought it was nice. I also thought it was funny how people would come up to us, talk to Trudy, give her a pet and then walk away without one word to us! Too cute.
What a journey! I like taking the Eurostar to Paris from London, but that car train looks scary. I hope you are settling in well to your new home.
Sarah, the Eurotunnel train was like a really long boat. At least that is what I kept telling myself–haha! I love taking the Eurostar too. I prefer taking trains to flying.
So glad you made it. Moves are such a pain—exciting, but a pain. We just moved the last of our stuff from Tahoe to the Sonoma wine country and the house is filled with more boxes. I look forward to following more of your adventures. Cheerio!
Tricia, I think it would be so lovely to move to the Wine Country! I need to stop by your blog and see if you’ve posted pics of your new home. I still have a few more boxes to unpack in the main part of the house. I’m still procratinating about my art studio, though. I probably won’t get to it until Roxi heads back to school.
I never even knew that driving your car into a train was possible. That is just amazing. And that hotel looks fabulous!!
Lucylucia, the Eurotunnel is pretty cool. It’s amazing that we can zip right onto the train in England and drive off in France. And that hotel WAS fabulous. Their dining room is gorgeous.
If you thought it was a tight turn getting on the train in a car you should try it on a coach! WHOAH!
Akelamalu, I must say that the coach drivers in England are about the best drivers I’ve ever seen. They can drive those beasts down the narrowest roads and turn on a 10p coin! Roxi took a coach to Normandy in the Spring and she said the same thing about the Eurotunnel. WOAH!!
the car train photos are amazing…my son K’s question is, why didn’t you just drive the car on the road? Interesting, though.
Christine, I was trying to imagine what a mess it would be if people would be allowed to drive in the Eurotunnel, especially if there were an accident or a car broke down.
Here’s the Wikipedia link for your engineering-minded son. Maybe it will inspire him! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel
thanks, Japra, can’t wait to show this link to him. I’d be quite petrified under there the whole time.
Hiya! I just wanted to let you know I’ve nominated you for a Neno Award over at my blog. I don’t usually do these things but I did like the nature of this particular award.
I’ll be back to comment properly on this post on the weekend!
I’m back! I loved this post! It makes me feel like a trip to the continent, by car, is possible! I do hope to make it one day.
The train is so… ugly! No pretty markings or branding?
So you did it! Yippeee! Looking forward to reading all about it.
Just curious. Did you buy your car in the UK or did you bring it in from the States? Everyone in Europe drives on the right and steering is on the left, right?
American in Britain, you are correct, it is right-driving, left-steering here. We bought our car two years ago in the UK, and yes it is right-hand drive. It only gets tricky when we need to pay a toll or get a ticket for parking. The rest of the time, it’s okay. There is some stuff we need to do to our car to make it Europe-friendly, but that is another post ;-)