An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
Sep 5th 2018, 7:00 pm
#46
Gloves off
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Location: Narnia
Posts: 7,263
Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
I now have my official Belgian registration number, so just need to meet with the nice policeman, and then provide proof of health insurance and a bit more spondoolies documentary stuff.
Today was 'trucks' incoming, we were on-site at 07:13, the first truck arrived bang on time 2 minutes later, A team of six from their side, we were OH, sis-in-law and myself. Truck #2 arrived just after midday. We worked on unpacking and sorting for eight hours solid, then all three of us called it a day. The only major problem was that we were missing half a bed. Yup, one half of one bed base didn't make it,
OH 'phoned our bed people (who are delivering other stuff tomorrow) and they promised to send us a bed base. Not sure if this is on loan, or whether we have to buy it, but either way, it won't be mega-euros. The house - at least downstairs - looks full already; we're just throwing things in cupboards, the final placement will take weeks/months...
The bloody brand new freezer won't 'boot up', we'll check with the electrician on Friday before raising hell with the kitchen supplier. Also have a potential 'bad one' with the washing machine; ours was geared up to run at 360 volts in CH, which is not an option here. We're hoping that there's a switch 360/250 inside the machine, again to be confirmed on Friday.
We get a small lie in tomorrow, don't have to be on-site until 09:00
Today was 'trucks' incoming, we were on-site at 07:13, the first truck arrived bang on time 2 minutes later, A team of six from their side, we were OH, sis-in-law and myself. Truck #2 arrived just after midday. We worked on unpacking and sorting for eight hours solid, then all three of us called it a day. The only major problem was that we were missing half a bed. Yup, one half of one bed base didn't make it,
OH 'phoned our bed people (who are delivering other stuff tomorrow) and they promised to send us a bed base. Not sure if this is on loan, or whether we have to buy it, but either way, it won't be mega-euros. The house - at least downstairs - looks full already; we're just throwing things in cupboards, the final placement will take weeks/months...
The bloody brand new freezer won't 'boot up', we'll check with the electrician on Friday before raising hell with the kitchen supplier. Also have a potential 'bad one' with the washing machine; ours was geared up to run at 360 volts in CH, which is not an option here. We're hoping that there's a switch 360/250 inside the machine, again to be confirmed on Friday.
We get a small lie in tomorrow, don't have to be on-site until 09:00
Sep 6th 2018, 6:13 am
#50
Gloves off
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Location: Narnia
Posts: 7,263
Sep 8th 2018, 8:18 pm
#51
Gloves off
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Location: Narnia
Posts: 7,263
Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
We're in, we slept here last night, for me over eight hours for the first time in weeks. Needless to say, it's total chaos, but liveable in a knee-scraping, box-dodging kind of way.
Team renovation spent the whole day here, finishing up on lighting, filling in holes in the driveway, sorting out the washing-machine 'non-issue', and a few other things besides. OH has given them a couple of days off, as there's nothing critical left for them to do. Still some residual stuff, but that can wait a few days.
We ate out last night and tonight, tomorrow I'll check out one local supermarket open in the morning, if I get inspired then I may break my cooking duck, always assuming that I can locate the manuals for the hob and oven.
Team renovation spent the whole day here, finishing up on lighting, filling in holes in the driveway, sorting out the washing-machine 'non-issue', and a few other things besides. OH has given them a couple of days off, as there's nothing critical left for them to do. Still some residual stuff, but that can wait a few days.
We ate out last night and tonight, tomorrow I'll check out one local supermarket open in the morning, if I get inspired then I may break my cooking duck, always assuming that I can locate the manuals for the hob and oven.
Sep 8th 2018, 9:17 pm
#52
M.O.V.E.D. !
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Charente Maritime
Posts: 9,346
Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
We're in, we slept here last night, for me over eight hours for the first time in weeks. Needless to say, it's total chaos, but liveable in a knee-scraping, box-dodging kind of way.
Team renovation spent the whole day here, finishing up on lighting, filling in holes in the driveway, sorting out the washing-machine 'non-issue', and a few other things besides. OH has given them a couple of days off, as there's nothing critical left for them to do. Still some residual stuff, but that can wait a few days.
We ate out last night and tonight, tomorrow I'll check out one local supermarket open in the morning, if I get inspired then I may break my cooking duck, always assuming that I can locate the manuals for the hob and oven.
Team renovation spent the whole day here, finishing up on lighting, filling in holes in the driveway, sorting out the washing-machine 'non-issue', and a few other things besides. OH has given them a couple of days off, as there's nothing critical left for them to do. Still some residual stuff, but that can wait a few days.
We ate out last night and tonight, tomorrow I'll check out one local supermarket open in the morning, if I get inspired then I may break my cooking duck, always assuming that I can locate the manuals for the hob and oven.
No ghosts in the house (yet) ?
Settling in will take months ... I still have packed boxes in the garage (should throw them out without opening, obviously not something I need).
Enjoy your new life, will come and visit if and when I visit my family (you're very safe at the moment, no trip in the planning and not likely to come up neither
)We can all relax now, thank you
.
Sep 9th 2018, 7:08 pm
#53
Gloves off
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Location: Narnia
Posts: 7,263
Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
The end of the journey ...
No ghosts in the house (yet) ?
Settling in will take months ... I still have packed boxes in the garage (should throw them out without opening, obviously not something I need).
Enjoy your new life, will come and visit if and when I visit my family (you're very safe at the moment, no trip in the planning and not likely to come up neither )
We can all relax now, thank you
.
No ghosts in the house (yet) ?
Settling in will take months ... I still have packed boxes in the garage (should throw them out without opening, obviously not something I need).
Enjoy your new life, will come and visit if and when I visit my family (you're very safe at the moment, no trip in the planning and not likely to come up neither
)We can all relax now, thank you
.
I thought that we maybe had a ghost last night; there was a big crash, a vase of flowers had fallen over, luckily the vase didn't break.
We'll be open for visitors printemps 2019, you will be very welcome, we have enough space
And we should have gotten rid of most of the boxes by then...Tomorrow I go to fetch the cats from their hotel and bring them to their new home, I'm a bit nervous about this, as we will still be having quite a few people in and out, however if all respect the 'double door' rule, we might get away with keeping them in for the required 3-4 weeks.
It felt so good to be able to go to shop on a Sunday morning for jus de pommes, kip curry, filet americain, and, and ...
Sep 12th 2018, 5:34 pm
#54
Gloves off
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Location: Narnia
Posts: 7,263
Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
Just had a the visit from our friendly local policeman to verify that we are indeed installed, and that we are who we say we are. He's happy, but says that it will be another 2-3 weeks before we can hope to see our ID cards, which means that we'll be slightly buggered on the transport front, as I am due to drop off the rental car this coming Sunday, and we need OH's ID card to pick up her 'new' car...
He did however say that he thought that the provisional ID numbers already assigned to us might be sufficient to get hold of the car; OH has just emailed our insurance courtier to confirm.
Otherwise, I'll fly down to Geneva Sunday and bring my car up on Monday...
PITA but cheaper than extending the car rental for another 3 weeks...
He did however say that he thought that the provisional ID numbers already assigned to us might be sufficient to get hold of the car; OH has just emailed our insurance courtier to confirm.
Otherwise, I'll fly down to Geneva Sunday and bring my car up on Monday...
PITA but cheaper than extending the car rental for another 3 weeks...
Oct 3rd 2018, 3:39 pm
#55
Gloves off
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Location: Narnia
Posts: 7,263
Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
Three and a bit weeks in the house now, we have broken the back of the moving process in terms of unpacking, but there’s still a load of stuff in boxes, nothing that we’re desperate to find though.
Everything from the renovation company seems to work just fine except for the outdoor lighting, but we knew about that and it’s not urgent. The alarm installation however has been a complete shambles (our electrician agrees) we’ve had three separate visits, I’ve lost count of how many hours various people have been working on it, but on Monday it was declared finished. We had already decided that we wanted nothing more to do with these people, OH had sent out emails for quotes for maintenance and control room monitoring etc. One supplier came yesterday, looked at the installation quote, checked the system and then asked when the missing bits would be installed. OH became furious (understandably), stopped me just in time from paying the last chunk of the invoice, then we discussed with the new supplier how to proceed. He gave us step-by-step guidance, and it looks like he will get the contract once we’ve sorted out the crap with the original company.
Bureaucracy is still with us, but there’s a difference now from CH, the people at the town hall – in fact everywhere – really want to help. We’re registered as residents, but don’t yet have ID cards. The problem is to do with ‘proof of regular income’ which I don’t have, (not going into that now) but I pointed out that there are loads of people in the same situation, and the lovely person at the town hall, said ‘yes, indeed, I understand, we don’t have that knowledge, I’ll ask Brussels’. The major issue with the ID cards is that we can’t get health insurance without them, so have been forced to re-enter the Swiss (spit, hiss, spit) system until this is sorted.
Haven’t found a language teacher yet.
I love the supermarkets, there are more chains, with more choice, arguably better quality than CH, sooooo much cheaper, and one can shop on Sundays. The government rule is that a shop must close for 24 hours straight at least once a week, so the various chains have worked out a rota between themselves, brilliant. Ok, seems nothing to UK & US residents, but it’s a great improvement for me.
Despite the fact that supermarkets are open, it seems that the majority of people don’t cook on Sundays, so make that restaurant reservation in a timely manner.
The weather is ‘interesting’, but I’ll put that where it belongs.
Recycling is very complicated here – OH hasn’t fully got her head around it yet – and it varies from commune to commune, so sis-in-law can’t always answer our questions.
Enough, I’m boring myself now. Photos of pretty bird nesting boxes to follow.
Everything from the renovation company seems to work just fine except for the outdoor lighting, but we knew about that and it’s not urgent. The alarm installation however has been a complete shambles (our electrician agrees) we’ve had three separate visits, I’ve lost count of how many hours various people have been working on it, but on Monday it was declared finished. We had already decided that we wanted nothing more to do with these people, OH had sent out emails for quotes for maintenance and control room monitoring etc. One supplier came yesterday, looked at the installation quote, checked the system and then asked when the missing bits would be installed. OH became furious (understandably), stopped me just in time from paying the last chunk of the invoice, then we discussed with the new supplier how to proceed. He gave us step-by-step guidance, and it looks like he will get the contract once we’ve sorted out the crap with the original company.
Bureaucracy is still with us, but there’s a difference now from CH, the people at the town hall – in fact everywhere – really want to help. We’re registered as residents, but don’t yet have ID cards. The problem is to do with ‘proof of regular income’ which I don’t have, (not going into that now) but I pointed out that there are loads of people in the same situation, and the lovely person at the town hall, said ‘yes, indeed, I understand, we don’t have that knowledge, I’ll ask Brussels’. The major issue with the ID cards is that we can’t get health insurance without them, so have been forced to re-enter the Swiss (spit, hiss, spit) system until this is sorted.
Haven’t found a language teacher yet.
I love the supermarkets, there are more chains, with more choice, arguably better quality than CH, sooooo much cheaper, and one can shop on Sundays. The government rule is that a shop must close for 24 hours straight at least once a week, so the various chains have worked out a rota between themselves, brilliant. Ok, seems nothing to UK & US residents, but it’s a great improvement for me.
Despite the fact that supermarkets are open, it seems that the majority of people don’t cook on Sundays, so make that restaurant reservation in a timely manner.
The weather is ‘interesting’, but I’ll put that where it belongs.
Recycling is very complicated here – OH hasn’t fully got her head around it yet – and it varies from commune to commune, so sis-in-law can’t always answer our questions.
Enough, I’m boring myself now. Photos of pretty bird nesting boxes to follow.
Oct 11th 2018, 6:10 pm
#56
Gloves off
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Location: Narnia
Posts: 7,263
Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
This one's for BEVS:
These are next to the kitchen door. OH says that she's seen visitors, I haven't yet.
The squirrels bouncing around the garden seem unperturbed by the cats sharing their turf.
The alarm system is finally sorted, the last issue was fixed remotely, and we’ve tested the whole thing to our satisfaction.
The town hall has come back with more precise requirements on documentation needed in order to get our ID cards, and it seems that we only need a statement of ‘intent to insure’ for the health insurance, so we’ll be giving that another try tomorrow.
Recycling just got a whole lot simpler, thanks to an Android ‘phone app! As well as a full calendar of when and where to take what - that bit is still complex - it can send a reminder out on the evening prior to home collection should one wish.
These are next to the kitchen door. OH says that she's seen visitors, I haven't yet.
The squirrels bouncing around the garden seem unperturbed by the cats sharing their turf.
The alarm system is finally sorted, the last issue was fixed remotely, and we’ve tested the whole thing to our satisfaction.
The town hall has come back with more precise requirements on documentation needed in order to get our ID cards, and it seems that we only need a statement of ‘intent to insure’ for the health insurance, so we’ll be giving that another try tomorrow.
Recycling just got a whole lot simpler, thanks to an Android ‘phone app! As well as a full calendar of when and where to take what - that bit is still complex - it can send a reminder out on the evening prior to home collection should one wish.
Oct 11th 2018, 6:29 pm
#57
M.O.V.E.D. !
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Charente Maritime
Posts: 9,346
Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
This one's for BEVS:
These are next to the kitchen door. OH says that she's seen visitors, I haven't yet.
The squirrels bouncing around the garden seem unperturbed by the cats sharing their turf.
The alarm system is finally sorted, the last issue was fixed remotely, and we’ve tested the whole thing to our satisfaction.
The town hall has come back with more precise requirements on documentation needed in order to get our ID cards, and it seems that we only need a statement of ‘intent to insure’ for the health insurance, so we’ll be giving that another try tomorrow.
Recycling just got a whole lot simpler, thanks to an Android ‘phone app! As well as a full calendar of when and where to take what - that bit is still complex - it can send a reminder out on the evening prior to home collection should one wish.
These are next to the kitchen door. OH says that she's seen visitors, I haven't yet.
The squirrels bouncing around the garden seem unperturbed by the cats sharing their turf.
The alarm system is finally sorted, the last issue was fixed remotely, and we’ve tested the whole thing to our satisfaction.
The town hall has come back with more precise requirements on documentation needed in order to get our ID cards, and it seems that we only need a statement of ‘intent to insure’ for the health insurance, so we’ll be giving that another try tomorrow.
Recycling just got a whole lot simpler, thanks to an Android ‘phone app! As well as a full calendar of when and where to take what - that bit is still complex - it can send a reminder out on the evening prior to home collection should one wish.
Sounds like you are settling down to the Belgian way of life ! Well done.
I'm a bit amazed it is so different to your previous life but then my last trip to Swiss was about 30 years ago ...
It's good that shopping on a Sunday makes you happy
Been to the ''Vogeltjes markt'' already ? Even though I understand that's not the same as it used to be ... too many foreigners
(Dutch).Do not miss the Xmas market in Antwerp and eat some waffles on my behalf please
I haven't lived in B since I left when I was 16 but I do know recycling is a bit of a minefield. Whatever you do, don't put it out too early
Nature will be very happy with you with all these palaces you put up (sorry took the pic out to make this shorter).
Keep up the good work
Oct 13th 2018, 5:16 pm
#59
Gloves off
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Location: Narnia
Posts: 7,263
Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
Still no luck with medical insurance. We did however get the insurance agent to speak with the people at the town hall to discuss, the suggestion being some 'temporary' ID card which would be enough to get the insurance. The town hall passed this request back up the chain, then emailed out last evening that it's not possible. They did however suggest trying a different insurer, so we've an appointment that's fixed for next Wednesday.
There remain two other possibilities, the tenuous one being using our re-found Swiss health insurance, but it is doubtful that that would be accepted here.
Plan C (which we only discovered yesterday) would be to take out short-term private health insurance here. This would be a last resort, as it's considerably more expensive than 'standard' health insurance, besides we already have that from CH. But if it provides a means to finally obtaining our official ID cards then we'll go down that route.
There remain two other possibilities, the tenuous one being using our re-found Swiss health insurance, but it is doubtful that that would be accepted here.
Plan C (which we only discovered yesterday) would be to take out short-term private health insurance here. This would be a last resort, as it's considerably more expensive than 'standard' health insurance, besides we already have that from CH. But if it provides a means to finally obtaining our official ID cards then we'll go down that route.
