The Move - One Week On...

Moving is one of my least favorite activities (right up there with washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, and having to deal with crowds). However, there were several compelling reasons for us to move, not the least of which is bébé. So move we did.

Our lovely little apartment was simply too small to accommodate stacks of packed boxes for any length of time. So the weekend before the move, Troy and our friend Josh took six car loads of stuff over to the new place -- stuff that was too fragile to trust to movers or was just easier to move ourselves. Then last Thursday morning, the movers arrived to handle the big stuff -- furniture, hanging wardrobe boxes, heavy dishes, etc...



Over the balcony and headed down to the truck below. I still find this kind of thing to be dramatic.



These shots also show you what a busy street we were living on, complete with construction site across the street. Belgian bureaucracy leaves a lot to be desired, but occasionally it can work out in your favor. The aforementioned construction project actually commenced work shortly after we moved in 3 years ago, but then the company got sued (allegedly over a 16cm variant in the foundation depth) and the whole thing halted...for 2 years. They started up again late last fall, and just as we were losing our view of the little park and Tree, we moved!



Now, talk about dramatic. This is the new building and that exterior elevator is going up to the top floor -- 6th European/7th American!



Our new building is a 1936 Art Deco beauty, albeit with its charming forms a bit hidden beneath the seemingly-requisite layer of soot and dirt that adorns many a building here in Brussels.



What is that mystery object riding up six floors? Oh wait, IT'S A PERSON! Apparently these movers do this all the time. I don't mind heights when I'm in a building, but riding up on a completely exposed platform? No. Way.



Though I wouldn't describe moving as fun, this one went swimmingly I must say. The truck arrived pretty well on time; the movers were cheerful, polite, and well-kept; nothing broke or was even scratched. Plus, the big win of the day was that they were just able to slide our armoires, sans doors, in the windows without completely dismantling them. (There was literally 3cm of wiggle room.) The Belgacomm guy arrived about 30 minutes after the movers left, and before you knew it, we had cable, internet, and Vonage once again. Finally, on Friday morning at 8:15, our little shipment arrived from the US (well, technically from Antwerp where it had been sitting in storage since January) and soon the dining room was full of stuff we hadn't seen in 3 years!



Our new apartment is long and rather narrow, making up one angle of a flatiron-shaped building overlooking a rondpoint and the Parc Tenbosch. Here's the view from the living room.





Even the bathroom boasts interesting views -- I love the wisteria and other flowers blooming in people's back gardens.



Troy has been working extremely hard with this move and all the unpacking, ensuring that I don't lift much of anything and making me rest. He definitely deserves the Good Hubby Award for this one (well, actually always). By last night, we had gotten our kitchen set up enough for me to cook a really good meal. We enjoyed it in the dining room, lit by candlelight and the sunset (we don't have many lamps or light fixtures yet). And wow have the sunsets been spectacular this week. A sign of good things to come in our new home...