This week was my first day in the office in 13 months! Crazy to think when I packed up my desk on March 12, 2020 that the next time I would be in the office would be April 2021 and in Amsterdam!! I thought I wouldn’t survive working from home for 2 weeks and look where we are now 🙂
The office for my work is based in a suburb called Diemen. Also, my office is for the broader company, but no one from my department actually works there. I would never be required to go into the office, but it is nice to have the option. It is a little on the further side from my apartment with a 15 minute walk, train ride, and then another 8 minute walk. The other option is a 30 minute bike ride!
I can’t complain too much though as it is a gorgeous walk on each side of the train ride! Plus, as you can see in the picture the train was quite empty.
The office here has a very different feel from being in Chicago. In Chicago, I was on the 27th floor and the 28th floor had a lounge where we could eat lunch with gorgeous views of the city! Here, Nielsen is in an area with many other office buildings with green space and I get the vibe a lot of people drive to work.
With COVID they only allow 12 people in the building everyday. There are 4 floors and normally about 140 people so this is quite reduced. I was able to go to the office to meet with HR and get a monitor to bring home from IT. The other bonus was that they had a great coffee machine! Not quite the cold brew from chicago, but with lattes and cappuccinos I think the Netherlands wins.
Overall, it was nice to be in an office again and I realized I kind of miss the commute to separate work and personal life. As long as it is nice out and not raining I am going to try to go in once a week!
Other wins this week:
Like I said, it is the small things this week! We got our residency cards, my debit card, and health insurance cards this week. Plus, maintenance (finally) came by to install fire and carbon monoxide detectors. (A little concerned the apartment didn’t come with those things….).
Tomorrow we are excited to get ebikes again as the tulips are suppose to be in full bloom right now! 🌷🌷🌷
❤️ Melanie
Smiles from Miles Away 