Because we are traveling for 8 months and our appartment is just too big and to expensive to keep it, we had to give it up. Marcel’s parents have quite a big house and with an empty apartment on the first floor, which we can rent. That’s really great, because we can set up a small apartment in advance, from where we can start our journey and return to in August. It couldn’t be better!
Preparation for moving
As I wrote earlier, we got rid of many things. Marcel and I have moved several times in the past. We counted and this is his 9th and my 8th relocation. So we knew how much work it is and how much stuff you have to carry. Usually, you throw everything in a box and unbox it in the new appartment. In the past, we had always set out to declutter before we move, but until now, we never fully managed to do it. As with our upcoming travels this relocation is a bit different, we really got rid of many things (e.g., almost all of our books, DVDs, our complete kitchen, drawers, houshold items, clothes, etc.). Our kitchen was sold and fetched already four days before we moved, which is why our remaining kitchen items were already boxed and placed in the new kitchen. Every now and then, when we went to my in-laws, we already took some boxes with us. It goes without saying that everything was packed in boxes; most of the moving boxes were already at my in-laws’ house.
So last Friday we pumped out our waterbed and picked up the van. Marcel and I put loaded the van and drove to the new appartment, where Marcel’s dad helped us to unload it. Lots of stuff was already in the new house. “This will be quick,” I thought, because the old appartment looked almost empty. I was convinced, that we would manage to unbox everything by Saturday evening and then enjoy some Netflix-time on our sofa. I could have bet on that… being a “relocation pro” and all. *cough*
Everything is relative…
Our old apartment looked pretty empty, but that was a bit deceiving. With a 180 m2 apartment it’s easy to misestimate – and we had a cellar, too. In addition, this time we had to rent a smaller van than usual; unfortunately our bedroom cupboard didn’t fit upright, so it had to be put down. In the new apartment, that big beast unfortunately did not fit through the staircase and had to be completely dismantled. Of course, this also took longer than expected. The last load consisted of metal shelves, plants and things that we had to take to Caritas or to the garbage dump. Marcel and I were both seriously shocked that the double garage was almost full. Where did all this stuff come from? We had already sold, given and thrown away so much…
We didn’t manage to tidy everything up on Saturday. Instead, we all sat down at my mother-in-law’s dinner table, had soup and pasta/potato salad and enjoyed some beers. We were really happy all our stuff was now in the new house. A big THANK YOU again to our great helpers who sacrificed their Saturday for us. And to my mother-in-law for the food 🙂
Home Sweet Home
Saturday evening Marcel and I had a nice time with our new landlords / neighbours (aka his parents) and then slept in a little on Sunday. It took a few hours until we sorted everything and put it away. Then we could finally get on the couch and enjoy some Netflix 😉 It was really nice and cosy with our little Christmas tree. Indeed, a really nice Second Sunday in Advent.
