#des indes

Hello from Canada, where the weather is just as bipolar as Katy Perry's Hot 'n Cold song. In the past 3 days I have already seen people with hats, gloves, skirts, shorts, warm winter boots and slippers. Upon arriving it was 5 degrees Celsius and raining. Weather prediction for Friday is highs op 28 degrees. A lot to get used to.

A small side note, I will continue to use the superior metric and centigrade system as the Canadians apparently can't decide on which measurement system they prefer to use. Road distances are measured in kilometers, a door height in feet and inches. All weight is measured in pounds, but driving speed in kilometers per hour. Very confusing.

Last week Monday the movers arrived and cleared the house. This was a bit worrying as we lived in a furnished house, and thus had to make sure they would not take what did not belong to us. We briefly considered telling them to clear the house out, and losing our deposit. After all, our deposit was probably a 10th of the nice furniture in the house and it would solve us a lot of hassle of buying new stuff. Luckily all went well and we believe everything that should've stayed remained. Who knows, maybe in 2 months we will unwrap some surprise gifts from the 23 cubic meters, or is it 812 cubic foot 🤔...

So once the house was raided we got to stay in a hotel we could pick from a list provided by Naomi's work. Obviously, if such an opportunity arises you select the one for the coolest experience. We ended up staying in Hotel des Indes. While Naomi still had to work, I finished up the last jobs in NL and roamed around the old center of The Hague to soak it in one last time. Arguably, the best attribute of our hotel was that it was so close to Laura's work, which allowed me to meet up with her for lunch on multiple occasions.

Then Saturday came, and it was time for departure. It was great seeing Laura, Kevin and Lars come to the airport and wave us off. After some chats and tears, it was finally time to leave. The repatriation came with business class tickets, which is a game changer for long distance travelling in my opinion. Lounge access prior to departure with lots of free food! A seat that allows you the completely recline and stretch out! Proper cutlery 😱😱😱! Never did I think an upgrade would make such a difference. But I remain with both feet on the ground. This experience probably got me my one and only KLM house. Next time back it's back to peasant class.

Upon arrival Naomi's parents picked us up and drove us around to get groceries. A big thank you to them for all their help and starter care packages. Today we have finally settled in to our 40m2 (431 sq ft) apartment where we will stay till our shipment arrives, hopefully within the next 8-10 weeks. Location is superb, right in down town. It's a 10 minute walk away from Naomi's work, and about 20 minutes to the library where I will mostly likely spend my time the coming months preparing for the PCE exam. The picture below is from one of our walks, and reminds me of the beautiful nature this country has to offer. Rockies in the distance!

This past weekend was my last in The Hague, NL... Bidding farewell to the elegance of a city so perfect and so strange in its own way.

We are accustomed to changes as a family, it is how we operated for many years now! The nature of my fathers occupation has often kept us on the move.

One would think we'd be impermeable to the consequences of constantly shifting... Mentalities, moods, perceptions... One would think we would be used to goodbyes, to new beginnings, to leaving people behind... The truth is that we really are not! 

Change is a beautiful thing and yet so vicious and painful at the same time. New beginnings are always terrifying while they demand that you prove yourself again and again amidst an environment strange and odd.

Fitting in becomes even difficult when you return back home as change has now altered you so much that your piece can no longer fit the usual puzzle.

I got used by now, you see, to goodbyes and farewells.. So many of those I've had to experience over the years.

Some harder than others and yet all drowned in the sea of time... Faded, forgotten...

But the mind gets agile and sharp with this constant change ... It develops and evolves! Never stays still and always craves for more. Like a drug almost we now seek for new adventures ...

We travel the world and we merge into other cultures and practices. We let them teach us, inspire and influence us. We become open and diverse, we see no colours but minds and abilities. We transcend boundaries and we ignore artificial social constraints.

One could say we are free and with souls full of experiences and lusting for more... We even neglect how strong we become out of this and how much wealthier in character and skills...

This post is to commemorate the beauty and horror of change because it's oddly special... and what a better way than with a “royal breakfast”...

Sunday morning and we find ourselves in hotel Des Indes commemorating the last 4 years with a glorious breakfast under the high Dutch baroque ceiling of an old palace turned into a hotel...

Tradition, detail, emotion all is there celebrating with us... 

With a glass of Champagne for the appropriate toast and with a plate full of endless goodness i chose to close this chapter on my behalf...

Because at the end of the day, every book has chapters and when these chapters come to end, all we can do is to keep on reading ...