My first week in the Netherlands
I arrived in The Netherlands on the 3 April 2023. I was welcomed to a beautiful sunny spring day with all the Dutch Flora showing its first signs of life after the long winter. Ir Olav arranged for Sonja’s, husband (Peter) to come pick me up from the airport. Peter was extremely friendly and a great first Dutch encounter. Peter and the Ir Olav team (Lynsey, Diane and Sonja) had plenty of welcoming gifts to help me settle in. All these little gestures do add up to make the first day seamless and less stressful.
I had arranged that an IKEA bed be delivered upon my arrival so that I at least had a bed my first night in my new apartment. After spending about an hour assembling my bed and having a quick lie down to test it, it was time to put on my running shoes and go explore some of the nature around Amersfoort. Amersfoort has some lovely forests to go and run and exercise in.
On my second day in The Netherlands, it was time to do some more exploring and go see the old town of Amersfoort. The architecture and historical buildings are beautiful, and it feels like the center of town is stuck in time. I also did some shopping to start filling out my apartment and make it functional. My IKEA home desk also arrived and needed assembling. I think my new hobby is assembling IKEA furniture.
My third day was my first day in the office, and therefore, my first trip to Amsterdam. It was a short 30min train ride and I was at Amsterdam central. I then just needed to navigate the thousands of people roaming the streets of Amsterdam to get from the train station to BudgetThuis HQ. There I was greeted by familiar friendly faces and my professional career had officially begun.
My first weekend in the Netherlands was the Easter long weekend, and I had every intention of taking full advantage of the easy travel in Europe. I took a flight to Geneva and was on my way to Chamonix for the weekend. I spent the weekend running some mountain miles in the Alps and by Monday evening I was back in Amersfoort, ready to carry on with my new Dutch life.
Kyle Herring, Software Developer
