I moved into my new flat on November 1st, and I think it went about as smoothly as it could've. I was mostly packed up by the weekend before the move, and only had a (relatively) few things to pack the day of the move. The night before, Ruth and I went over to pick up the keys, and then trotted over to IKEA to order my furniture (which we had delivered, thank goodness!) and to pick up a bunch of things for the flat.
On November 1st, we got up bright and early to finish packing. We squeezed a trip to Coop to pick up things like toilet paper and cleaning supplies before we went to pick up the car.
I had reserved a Swiss Mobility car, which is a car-sharing program here in Switzerland that is quite inexpensive if you aren't driving very far. Since my new flat is about 1 km from my old one, I knew that I wouldn't be driving that many kilometers. However, I reserved the car late enough that all of the transport vans were taken, so we
ended up with a Renault Megane, which was not exactly ideal. While I don't have a massive excess of things here, I do have enough that we ended up making about 5 or 6 trips between the two flats to get everything over. And, the slats of my bed frame were just too large to fit into the car, so we ended up recruiting my flatmate Stefanie later in the day to help us take them on the tram and the bus to the new flat. I love how it's totally normal to see people moving large things (eg. mattresses, tables, slats to bedframes, etc.) on public transportation. As long as you don't go during peak hours, it's normally just fine.
Anyways, driving in this city is not something I really ever desire to do again. Between the pedestrians, the skinny roads, the trams, the buses, and bikes, I was really a little stressed out. Add the fact that half of the roads I normally travel on are bus and bike only or one-way roads, and it was really overwhelming. Thank goodness the car was an automatic!
Once we got everything over to the new flat, we set to unpacking and putting stuff away. (And making a second list for things that we needed to get at IKEA.) Mid-afternoon, the IKEA delivery people came by with the furniture, and then we had our hands full with putting things together and sorting and organizing. I am so thankful to have had Ruth's help for all of this! She was really a trooper, and there's no way I could've done it without her!
After that first day, I have been back to IKEA another two times to get missing parts for things, as well as other important things, like a kitchen garbage can. Now it has been over a week, and I'm feeling pretty settled. I really like being on my own and having my own little nest. The place I have is a 1.5 room which means that you can eat in the kitchen, but it's basically a studio. It's still in my old neighborhood, so I don't have to change grocery stores or learn new running paths. The building is ever quieter than my old place. I just met a neighbor yesterday that has lived in this building for 44 years! Suffice it to say that I am probably the youngest person in my building by 30 or 40 years...
And, the best part in, I live on Tulpenstrasse, which translates to tulip street! It was meant to be!
Here's a little photo tour:
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| My entry way. |
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| View back into my entryway from the main room. |
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| Bathroom, which is to the right from the door. |
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| Main room. |
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| This couch is also fold out to be a guest bed! |
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| I'm so happy to finally have a comfy couch to sit on! |
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| Into the kitchen. |
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| My 70's-tastic kitchen! |
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| Balcony. |
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| My back yard, including Morris, the gnome. |
I do like having the wall of windows, and, since they face south, I get a lot of sun (when there is sun)! I'm so thankful to have made this move and to have a cosy place of my own. And I now have a real guest bed for visitors, hint, hint!
