We have moved!

We have rented out our house in Amsterdam, the cat is staying out and we have moved to Barneveld. Until we leave we live with my father. All our stuff is under the bed in my old bedroom and the motorbikes are safely in the garage.
The move was preceded by a lot of hard work.

The house is rented to a Brit who works in the Netherlands. Selling the house was not an option in this market, so this is a good alternative. We have rented out the house fully furnished, so the furniture and the appliances could remain in the house. We thought: “Great, now we do not have to store so much stuff.” Well, that appeared an illusion. It is unbelievable how many stuff was in that little house. You’d think we were preparing for an imminent end of the world by the amount of stuff we had gathered.

In preparation of the trip we went through our stuff very critically. Let’s face it, how many mugs and tea light holders does a person need? We have made many trips to the second hand store and the landfill to bring away all sorts of things.

Despite the big cleanup we needed over 35(!) boxes to pack everything. We also needed to clean out the garage that we had rented. We used another 20 boxes to pack all the stuff from the garage. And then there were other loose items, like our old motorbikes, Peters fishing rods, a mountain bike, a painting, grandma her old chair, and so on ….

And where to leave all those boxes? We could have called the moving company where the stuff from Peter his previous house is stored (yes, more stuff!). We chose to ask friends and family to store a box for us. The night of the party 16 boxes were taken home and put on attics all over the Netherlands and Belgium.

Mark, one of Peters cousins, thought that the remaining boxes could all be stored in his attic. Our cat, Sammy, could also live with him. After the party we rented a big van and went to Mark with the remaining boxes and Sammy. Not an easy trip, especially since Sammy places three fat turds in his cat carrier that smelled so bad that we could hardly stay in the car. Mark was a bit in shock when he saw how big the van was, but eventually all the boxes could be stored in his attic. A few days later he informed us that Sammy was doing great and has found a great new spot in the windowsill.

After a stopover at Jan and Mariët, the old motorbikes are now in a barn at Anja her farm. Without a battery and completely protected by a film of grease, they stand next to the travel bikes of Daan and Mirjam waiting for our return.

After all the stuff was moved, we cleaned the house very thoroughly with the help of Peter his parents. Empty and clean, the apartment could now be handed over to the tenant. With the very latest gear and our motorbikes we left to Barneveld. Here we will go through our gear for the last time, before we finally start with our RTW-trip.

A trip which, as you can see, is made possible by René and Sofie, Celine and Leon, Grandma Post, Bene and Eilke, Lizette and Joost, Yvette and Peter, Marcel and Marion, Danielle and Jarno, Dick, Jeroen and Klarinda, Ton and Marijke, Jan and Mariët, Anja, Daan and Mirjam and our main sponsor Mark. Thank you !

PS We are still looking for box #9. Does anyone know where it is?

Click here for pictures.