Occasionally, CW needs a time machine. Not simply for taking over the world, which would be incredibly handy, but simply to go back and enter blogs in their proper order. Since he doesn't have one of those, consider this a blast from the past!
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| Kitchen |
It's hard to believe we're actually in Geneva, but here we are. At times over the past weeks, CW felt like we might never make it. Why, you ask? Let's start with some background.
If you've moved before, this will be old hat, but at the time you schedule your relocation, the movers come and do an estimate of how much space will be needed. They measure this space in 'cubes.' The estimator walks through the house and presents an estimate of how many cubes you'll need to have for your container. In our case, we got the news that we had 2,590 cubes of stuff.
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| Dining Room |
Problem: the standard 40' container paid for by the company holds 2,300 cubes. The moving company suggested we needed part of another 20' container to hold everything. But at our cost, which meant about $10k. Not a good way to start the day unless you like feeling your blood pressure soar to 200/120.
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| See how tall it is? |
After it came back down and SoulSwisster stopped hyperventilating, we got creative. Firstly, we hadn't really pared anything down. So we resolved to get serious about simply not taking as much stuff. But secondly, SS discovered there's such a thing as a 40' tall container. And wouldn't you know, this size holds 2,600 cubes! Hallelujah! And was only about $2,500 more, which seemed much more reasonable. We were still going to pare down, but we felt much better because we figured we didn’t have to lose much at all.
You should also know we had four categories of stuff: on the plane (the 15 bags/boxes and 10 carry-ons), air (500 pounds), sea (in the container), and long-term storage (everything else).
The packers for air and sea arrived on Wednesday and went to work. We really can't say enough about them. Great attitudes and incredibly efficient. By the end of Thursday, everything was packed except the long-term storage items. We had a lot of boxes and we were starting to get a little nervous again. But they would be back on Friday to load and we'd know soon enough. Except they weren't. They couldn't get the container in time to come. But first thing Saturday, they were there.
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| Part of the garage |
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| Game room |
From the beginning, it was tense. On the one hand, we thought we were fine with the high cube. Except when it arrived, it wasn't that high—only about 9” higher. Now remember, that’s 9” x 10’ x 40’ (no, we’re not using metric yet), so it is quite a bit of volume. And on the other hand, we had a lot of stuff. And the packers were not very committal about fitting it all.
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| Extra baggage! |
And it didn't. It became clear when the container was half full and we still had mattresses, furniture, the piano, the grill, the patio furniture, etc. Snap decision-hold the piano. We had to have mattresses and the bedroom furniture. The other items weren't necessities. We triaged, but to no avail. The patient didn't make it. When the container pulled away, after a not inconsiderable amount of tears and stress, we were left with the piano, the grill, the patio furniture and some boxes that were supposed to go, but didn't. Of it all, the piano caused the most sadness. Ok, the grill was a close second. But the kids have all been taking piano for several years and this was a big disappointment. Still, for the price of the extra container, we can buy a piano. And a grill, and patio furniture. But it was very emotional.
Fortunately, the long-term storage folks came after the sea shipment. So there went the piano and patio furniture. Also my Christmas tree. CW had known that was a problem when we picked the house--the ceiling is too short. That's a huge bummer. But this, too, shall pass.
So that's just the saga of the packing. Of course, there's more:
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| Almost loaded (not) |
* Lots of goodbyes with wonderful friends (more on that, too)
* Last minute shopping
* Canceling all the utilities
* Getting Swiskers ready to go (a finely orchestrated dance)
* Shuttling boxes and bags back and forth to the hotel
* Oh, and that whole work thing, too--the whole reason we're going
Yes, it was a very long week. But we're here. And in a few weeks, the air shipment arrives. Then hopefully the car. Then finally the sea shipment.
What a way to go.
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| Our Dear Container |
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| Signed, Sealed--waiting for Delivery |
10 weeks (?) and counting!
And it did. SS and CW woke early, before dawn, to take Swiskers to Continental Cargo. Trust me, CW wasn't any more excited about it than Swiskers was. According to the rules, Swiskers needed to arrive 4 hours flight time. Four hours. That would have been fine for a flight after noon. But for our flight, he needed to be there at 6:45 AM. And we were even early! Good thing, too, because we were third in line. First, was Mrs. Dog Show. Have you ever seen the mocumentary “Best in Show?” CW thinks it’s all true. This lady was more high strung than her dogs. And clearly hadn’t abided by the 4 hour rule because she kept saying she had to go check herself in because her flight was going to leave and she didn’t want her dogs on the plane if she wasn’t. Lots of drama. The folks immediately in front of us had a well-behaved lab and were done in no time. Then it was our turn. And wouldn’t you know it, we got a trainee. Now the gentleman was very friendly and very thorough, but can you say “slow?” Tick tock tick tock. SS is hyperventilating because 7 comes. Then 7:15. Then 7:30. At 7:45, we were finally finished and ready to head back to the hotel to wake the kids. Fortunately, we were only 10 minutes away.
CW had to go return the rental car. He was sure that they couldn’t check in until he had gotten back and they were all together. So he rushed to the return place and back and was met with a pleasant surprise—Continental allowed SS and the kids to check in without me! That made (at least CW’s) life so much easier. 
In most US airports for international flights are free. It’s kind of that way here. If you count having to pay a refundable deposit free. Yes, if you don’t have a 2 franc coin, you can’t get a cart. CW believes it’s to prevent people from stealing the carts, but seriously, if you were going to steal the cart anyway, what’s a $2 coin? Fortunately, CW knew about this and had five 2 CHF coins. They were stacked as high as possible—All-American Boy and Sweet Swiss Teen had to navigate by the sounds of SS’s voice.
True to their word, the relocation company had gotten the rental furniture delivered and set up. So we walked into a ‘furnished’ house including a little food, which was wonderful. We off-loaded everything , set the drivers off, and were on our own to explore. Of course, the kids went right to the pool and began pestering about going swimming! Which they eventually did. But not before we did a lot of cleaning, vacuuming and unpacking.
