When we moved to the Netherlands we used a company to ship the motorcycle and the BMW (Marilijn) and it was a wonderful experience. Everything happened as they said it would and they met the contract obligations to the letter. Very professional company and experience for me.
Moving from the Netherlands to Calgary I went against my better judgement and used another company that others had recommended to me. It cost us about $2500 to ship the car and bike to the Netherlands in 2010 and these guys charged $2000 to ship the bike from the Netherlands to Calgary....or so the contract said. The contract clearly stated these guys were going to move my bike from their offices in Roosendale, Netherlands to Calgary and in addition it clearly states they will clear customs for us.
The first thing that happened is the bike arrived Montreal and we were contacted and told that is as far as they will move the bike because the ship can't go to Calgary so more money to move it by train...$266 to be exact and you can call it a ransom if you like. I guess they didn't realize that Calgary was not accessible via ship before...are you kidding me!!! After arriving in Calgary the bike was put in a warehouse and we are contacted again and told more money for handling fees...only $55 this time but you have to take it in the crate.....ummm, the crate is huge and would survive WWIII if it had to and what do I do with the crate.....we don't care but not our problem was the answer. Oh, and you need to clear customs before you can get it also...what!!!...are you kidding me!!!! What is going on here?!? Off to Canadian customs...easy job to do but still. I have to take it in the crate so off to truck rental places next and $259 later I have a truck for a day with a ramp so I get can get the bike off of the truck.
Finally I get the bike from these crooks and I'm heading home...yeah!!! I'm home and start breaking down the crate and what do I find but special headed screws that are 3 inches long and no shortage of them that built up the crate and do I have the tool....YES!..I finally find the tool in my bicycle tool box. Are you kidding me!!! You build me a crate to protect the bike and it will but what are the chances that other people will have these special tools? Unfortunately for me I only have it in screw driver form so it is big time effort to unscrew these things out of the 4x4 studs but I win and the crate is broken down and the bike comes out. My big bad boy starts right up and is so happy to be out of captivity like a dog when you come home. It just romps around in total bliss...this is why I keep this bike. Covered in saw dust but now safely in the garage.
The freight forwarder that did this....Marlog Car Handling. Will I ever use them again....absolutely not. The next time my motorcycle needs to be moved I'll rent a trailer and tow it to the US. Never again will others touch it and have it in captivity. It just isn't worth it but for an overseas move, what choice do you have? Make sure you pick wisely if you need to move a vehicle overseas, Marlog is not the wise choice.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Calgary flooding
As is usual for the news media pretty much all of Calgary is under water...maybe even several meters (yards) of water depending upon which news channel is reporting (Fox is the worst exaggerators). Any rate, the areas that were flooded were close to the river. The flooding was caused by snow melt in the mountains compounded by a bunch of rain on the mountains (speeding snow melt) as well as rain over Calgary and everything in between and when the water rush hit, imagine the flooding. The river dissects Calgary from West to East right about the middle and then after downtown it heads south through Calgary so downtown and lots of the southern parts were flooded. Keep in mind if you lived near the river, you probably got flooded. If you don't live near the river, you are probably ok.
In our case we live well north of the river and on top of hill. Our household stuff was delivered on flood day which should give you an indication of how safe we were. I think the water would need to rise another 100 meters (yards) to get to us...yes we are that much higher. With downtown flooded including the substations feeding it so there is no power, downtown is closed and that includes my employer's offices so I've had more time to unpack and organize instead of having to leave it to Penny. I lean on her heavily and she has been a huge trooper to get those kind of things done in the past, but this time I get to help. The bulk of the unpacking and organizing is done but still some to go and we've done it together which is pretty cool.
So fret not as we are ok. Do not believe everything the media reports since only a small part of what is reported is factual and be happy.
In our case we live well north of the river and on top of hill. Our household stuff was delivered on flood day which should give you an indication of how safe we were. I think the water would need to rise another 100 meters (yards) to get to us...yes we are that much higher. With downtown flooded including the substations feeding it so there is no power, downtown is closed and that includes my employer's offices so I've had more time to unpack and organize instead of having to leave it to Penny. I lean on her heavily and she has been a huge trooper to get those kind of things done in the past, but this time I get to help. The bulk of the unpacking and organizing is done but still some to go and we've done it together which is pretty cool.
So fret not as we are ok. Do not believe everything the media reports since only a small part of what is reported is factual and be happy.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
The sex change
One of the things we needed to do after arriving in Calgary is registering for the Alberta Health Care which is our medical insurance here. No worries about doing that but imagine my surprise when we got our health care cards and Penny has been doing the girl on girl thing...whoa! And she has liked it!!! I was listed as a female...surprise!!!
Apparently Penny got tired of the girl on girl and wanted a man so I was forced to head down to the government office to have the innie sewn up and then an outie installed. The worst part was having to prove the delicate procedure was actually done but I will say Canadians as a whole in our experience have been very helpful and nice through everything. So just a quick showing with all the stitches/etc. and we were off again. I'm a MAN!!! And Penny is very happy again.
Apparently Penny got tired of the girl on girl and wanted a man so I was forced to head down to the government office to have the innie sewn up and then an outie installed. The worst part was having to prove the delicate procedure was actually done but I will say Canadians as a whole in our experience have been very helpful and nice through everything. So just a quick showing with all the stitches/etc. and we were off again. I'm a MAN!!! And Penny is very happy again.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Ikea round 2
When we moved to the Netherlands 3-1/2 years ago one of the first things we needed to do was buy a mattress and some bar stools since we decided to camp out in our rental house while we waited for our household goods to arrive. It took us 5 hours to use public transportation to get there, order the mattress and schedule delivery and buy the bar stools and then return with the bar stools on public transportation.....argh!...and the locals live this way.
Calgary is very much North America so we drove to Ikea, bought a mattress and bar stools so we can again camp out in our new rental house while we wait for our household goods to arrive. This time we could get the mattress all rolled up into the car with the bar stools and drive it home so no delivery charges....yeah! It took just over an hour to complete the task. What a difference being in North America makes.
A beautiful day for a bike ride
Yesterday the sun was shining, the temperature was about 65 degrees with little wind, so it was a perfect day to ride around Calgary. There is a great bike path along the Bow River which we took, crossed the river at Prince's Island and rode north a bit. It was so clear you could even see the mountains off in the west.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Any Idea what these are??
Last Friday night we went to a great tapas bar for tapas and even had some really good Canadian Pinot Noir from the Niagara Falls area. One of the tapas included these in the salad - they are called fiddleheads, and from what I understand are baby ferns and a seasonal delicacy. So Sunday when we were cruising the various grocery stores, we found some to cook. They are meant to be boiled, but not too long or they will taste like brussels sprouts. They taste kind like a really earthy bean to me, but not too bad.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Settling in
So far our move to Calgary has gone very smoothly. The last few weeks in Den Haag were really busy, but we were able to get it all done. The movers arrived right on time the last week, and were really organized and efficient in the packing. On their final day, the shipping container arrived at 11:30 and was pulling away at 2:30 with all our stuff neatly packed inside. We were both really impressed.
For our final farewell to Dutch customer service, we had a nice surprise at TMobile when I wanted to end my cell phone service. I had visited the shop a few weeks before when we knew we were moving to find out how I needed to end the service and what documents were required. When I started the cell phone contracted they needed a copy of my passport, lease, lock of hair from my firstborn child,...
I was told that I needed to come into the shop with my phone, passport, and an uitreksel from the Gemeente - which is a form I would get from the Gemeente (city) when I deregistered.
Dutifully on Thursday before we left we went to the Gemeente and deregistered, and purchased several copies of the uitreksel for both of us, not knowing which one I would need at TMobile. Friday, in the pouring rain, no longer with a car, we trekked over to the TMobile store to stop the phone service. And the store clerk then told me that I can't end the contract in the store, I must call a customer service number, toll call of course. I told him that I was told I had to bring an uitreksel to the shop to cancel and he told me that all the store clerks know the proper way to end a contract, basically accusing me of lying to him. So once the steam coming out my ears had cleared, we were able to convince him to call the number on their phone in the store so I could end the contract. Of course there is no early termination - I have to pay the full amount through the end of the contract. And the 50 euros we paid for those uitrekels were a waste because I didn't need any of it to cancel the contract.
Since we have been here in Canada, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has been exceptionally polite, helpful, and very clear on what we need to do for our work permits, Alberta health insurance, card, new car registration, driver's license, you name it. Not only the cultural difference, but the lack of language barrier has made this move so much easier than the last one.
For our final farewell to Dutch customer service, we had a nice surprise at TMobile when I wanted to end my cell phone service. I had visited the shop a few weeks before when we knew we were moving to find out how I needed to end the service and what documents were required. When I started the cell phone contracted they needed a copy of my passport, lease, lock of hair from my firstborn child,...
I was told that I needed to come into the shop with my phone, passport, and an uitreksel from the Gemeente - which is a form I would get from the Gemeente (city) when I deregistered.
Dutifully on Thursday before we left we went to the Gemeente and deregistered, and purchased several copies of the uitreksel for both of us, not knowing which one I would need at TMobile. Friday, in the pouring rain, no longer with a car, we trekked over to the TMobile store to stop the phone service. And the store clerk then told me that I can't end the contract in the store, I must call a customer service number, toll call of course. I told him that I was told I had to bring an uitreksel to the shop to cancel and he told me that all the store clerks know the proper way to end a contract, basically accusing me of lying to him. So once the steam coming out my ears had cleared, we were able to convince him to call the number on their phone in the store so I could end the contract. Of course there is no early termination - I have to pay the full amount through the end of the contract. And the 50 euros we paid for those uitrekels were a waste because I didn't need any of it to cancel the contract.
Since we have been here in Canada, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has been exceptionally polite, helpful, and very clear on what we need to do for our work permits, Alberta health insurance, card, new car registration, driver's license, you name it. Not only the cultural difference, but the lack of language barrier has made this move so much easier than the last one.
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