And the Choirs of Angels Did Sing!

...and it was good! Our household goods finally arrived this Tuesday after a brief, 15 day, delay. Our guaranteed delivery date was November 26, but apparently there was some sort of mix up with the paperwork. Someone stateside didn't make sure the shipment was to continue on to Germany, so our gear just sat at the port in Belgium. The delivery date came and went...no furniture. A quick call from Jeni to Spangdahlem got the ball rolling. Since we officially moved in on November 9 (expecting to 'rough-it' for a couple of weeks), we've actually been roughing-it for more than a month now! (Jim & George - I know you hold the World Record for house-camping...we feel your pain) All this elation did come at a small price.

You should see the curb along the road!

Our replacement washing machine was due the same morning of the furniture shipment. The initial delivery resulted in a broken knob. Now these machines are small, but so are the spaces they occupy. The deliverymen unfortunately banged the unit into a wall, and rendered it useless. This was two weeks ago. We've been washing socks and underwear in the sink just to make due - can't believe I just admitted that, but I believe I've already explained there are no laundry mats in Luxembourg. I'll reiterate. THERE ARE NO LAUNDRETTES IN LUXEMBOURG! The replacement washer, as well as a spare refrigerator, arrived with a single delivery man...needless to say I had to help him unload. I also had to help him reload the refrigerator since it didn't fit through the little doorway. Upon heaving the fridge into the van (yeah, I was on the dumb end since the delivery guy was like 100 years old) , my fingers (five in all) were slashed with the paper-thin sheet metal at the base of the unit. I wish I could have taken a photo of my actual fingers, but alas it looked like a murder scene leading from the sidewalk to the apartment. Fingers were at a premium that morning.

Our household goods arrived that afternoon delivered by two super nice Italians, David and Luca. David speaks perfect English...I think he may have even dropped a "Y'all" in there somewhere.

Luca with the box and David to the right in the foreground - Thanks Fellas!

This is what we were left with...

...this may be why. 12 fondue forks and 6 sets of chopsticks!

Offloading went very smooth, and the furniture was in place in no time. Even though we've purged ourselves of 3+ alleyways of excess belongings, it appears we still have a lot of crap! David and Luca helped set up the beds and even offered to unpack the dishes and glassware, but I don't think there's enough surface area in the apartment to set everything out end-to-end. They are very hard working men, so I sent them on there way...back to Vicenza! They began their journey in Italy, went to Holland, then to Belgium to get out gear. After us the went on to Kaiserlautern to pick up a load headed back to Vicenza. This was over a 48 hour time span!

Wednesday morning...no Santa, but we're grateful nonetheless.

It's been a grind, but we think it's certainly worth it. Once the place is together, we'll post some final pics. In the meantime, I shall regale you with tales of the Christmas market in the days to come. Those of you not in the know...please do a search on Gluwein!