First few days of Eindhoven

(the following was copied from an email I sent a bunch of people... just in case it seemed a little familiar)

The flight over was good, beside Frankfurt airport was ridiculous. It was hot and muggy, long lines, customs closed the desk we were lined up for (which was a full line up) creating mass chaos and annoyance for everyone. Then we walked across the airport to security, which was another long line, then redirected to another security desk where they did a very thorough search of our bags and electronics, then walked downstairs, across the terminal, upstairs, then started running for our plane. All this while we're carrying two heavy bags each. We were pouring sweat by the time we made it to the airport.

When we got into Eindhoven we dropped by to see the apartment we were interested in, and it was amazing! So we signed the papers and moved in the next day. We have all our bags (mostly my stuff however) unpacked and we bought most of the basic necessities besides furniture. Last two days we've been sleeping on an air mattress and eating while sitting on the floor, looking out of the window at the traffic below (there's floor to ceiling windows across the whole place).


Here's the current state of the living room... that's our air mattress in place of a couch or anything else. It's really the only comfortable thing in the apartment. I'm making one of the many lists of stuff you have to do when you move to a foreign country and own nothing but clothes. We've done nothing but shop and start the registration process for me since we've gotten here. My feet are tired from all the walking.
Those black squares are solar panels that generate electricity for the geothermal in floor heating and water systems. The building is pretty energy neutral and we don't have to pay for water or gas heating like most other places.


Our kitchen. From left to right there's a microwave-oven combo, below it a small fridge, then a steam oven with a dishwasher below. Then a flat ceramic cook top, corain (sp?) countertop that flows into the double (but still small) sink.
We used the steam oven today for some chicken and veggies and it's awesome.



Our room, which is messy. That white door leads to a walk in closet.


The main bathroom. We also have a half bathroom next to the kitchen.




Here's the view from our window. It's a busier street but our place is really quiet inside. We also have a balcony near the front door, and a roof terrace. The only other tenants in the building are the architecture firm that built it (the key arch lived in our apartment for three years and moved out for a bigger place), and a flooring company. So after 6pm we have the building all to ourselves.

So like I said we're off to Paris tomorrow for a music festival and back on Monday, and I'm really looking forward to it! When we come back we'll be getting a proper bed and some other furniture so it should feel more like home soon.