Four weeks after setting sail on the QM2, we are sitting in our two-month AirBnB under a heated blanket, listening to fireworks go off outside, and celebrating the fact that it is the last day of 2024.
What a year. From snowboarding, to biking around Maui, to eating pan au chocolat every day in Paris, to exploring what is now our new home, to seeing family and hugging friends, we, as one of our friends put it “sure know how to fit a lot into a year”.
I know that we have a lot to catch up on, but the biggest update is that we, Steve, Buoy, and myself, are all here in the Netherlands. We left on December 3rd, aboard the Queen Mary 2, without Buoy. One day, I’ll recount all of the details, but today let me just say this: The necessary documentation needed was not as specific as it should’ve been. We had what we thought we needed to get her aboard the ship and into the UK and then the EU. We were wrong. We were also heartbroken. Thanks to my aunt who picked Buoy up and my mom who brought her back to NC, Steve and I were able to join our (already stowed) luggage aboard the ship.
This was an experience I do not want to relive, nor experience again. So, let’s change subjects.
The QM2 was beautiful. Decorated for Christmas, we met many people who’d be onboard for two weeks, meaning they’d be onboard for three once we docked in Southampton. We met people who’d moved from the UK to the US. We took ballroom dance classes, ate lots of food, and danced many nights to the live band in the Queen’s Room. I got sick halfway through the cruise, so many tissues were used and many Christmas movies were watched. I think Santa Claus 2 and It’s A Wonderful Life came on everyday, so that was nice (and distracting). We missed our girl a lot.
While I felt helpless about the Buoy situation, Steve worked it all out with my mom and a pet travel company to get her to us. Two weeks after we left the states, Buoy landed in Amsterdam – Best day of my life. As soon as Buoy was with us, it all felt okay again. It felt like home.
Since then, Steve has signed an employment contract with a NL based company. We are currently working on all of our visa, BSN, and residence documentation.
We’ve gone to thrift stores and begun to collect a few things for our new life. We didn’t bring much with us, other than clothes, so we need everything. We’re planning on getting more once we find housing.
That’s another thing we’re working on, finding a rental! We’re working with a company that works specifically with expats. We’re hoping to find something in the next month!
Christmas was cozy. We bought a €4 “christmas tree” (really a small bush) and decorated it with battery powered twinkle lights from Lidl and my earrings. I made garland, stockings, and stars out of newspaper. We put up the few Christmas cards we had to make it feel a bit more like home. We even biked to a Christmas market near us and I bought a mug (no surprise there), my first mug of the Netherlands and my favorite one, too!
Almost every day we walk to the store to get things for dinner, except when it’s a holiday, where we stock up a few days beforehand because things are closed. We bought bikes, which makes us true “dutchies”.
Life is good, but don’t get me wrong, there are some hard days. Days when I miss my parents, days when we feel stuck in limbo, days when life just feels complicated. It happens. And then, we take Buoy on a long walk around town and see horses and ducks and sheep and all I can think about is how lucky we are to live somewhere like this. It’s funny, the way things affect you one day and then don’t seem to matter as much the next.
We’re really looking forward to next week. Steve starts his new job. The housing market will be picking up after the holidays. Life will be moving forward.
If you’re still here, reading along after all this time (and the change from a sailboat to living in Europe), thanks – truly.
I hope everyone has a lovely and happy new year. I simply cannot believe it’s 2025.
Cheers and gelukkig nieuwjaar!
Mentally Sailing 