We arrived at Amsterdam Airport in time. You have to be there in time as it is so big. This gave us enough time for some shopping. We had a proper look around. We bought mainly booze and cigarettes as they were so much cheaper than in Scotland.

The flight went straight to Aberdeen Airport. This was nice. The previous months during our engagement I regularly ended up in Glasgow or Edinburgh due to the weather conditions. Roberts car was in the car park. We went to his flat.
It was so nice that this was our home now.

The next morning he had a surprise for me: my wedding present. It was a small Alpha Romeo, not new- but a good second hand is what we thought. Later it turned out to be a disaster. The steering wheel came loose one day. This happened while being parked, so no harm done. But I would never look at this brand again.

Later that morning I decided to go to the supermarket nearby. Robert had explained exactly where it was. Driving on the left side was no problem at all. But there was so much snow on the road. This scared me so much. I had never seen this much snow before in my whole life.

I bought all that we needed from the shopping list, we had made together. In the shop I found a pot with shrimp cocktail. I did not like this. Most people do though. So I got it as a special treat for Robert. Unpacking the messages, it turned out to be my first disappointment. Robert did not like shrimps at all. They ended up in the bin.

The next couple of days I tried to do some more shopping in the center of town. It was so hard to locate the shops. The signs were flat on the shop and not sticking out like in Holland. This took a lot of getting used to, I can assure you. I went by foot because of all the snow. I did not dare to drive up. I came back with a lovely pair of black boots with high heels. I put them on, so I had to carry less. When I got home my feet were so sore. Robert thought I was a stupid idiot. Who would buy boots that did not fit? But they did fit. All that was needed was walking them in with due care.

We had a few very loving nights. Long as well. That was possible as long as we did not have to go to work.

The day we both had to start work came quickly. Robert and I had practiced the road to the Psychiatric Hospital a couple of times. Because I had to be able to drive there myself.

My start at the hospital went fine. Everybody was very pleasant and helpful. You wouldn't believe how many compliments I received from the secretaries on my language. The system was very different. The main difference was that you got far more supervision than in Holland. This meant I learned quite a bit more.
I understood most patients alright. Apart from the elderly ones and the ones from the town center (they had a very broad accent). The nurses usually helped out with this in the start.

The only thing that really scared me was to do ECT twice a week. This then was the first choice treatment for depression. In Holland people had almost completely turned against this. After a couple of weeks I saw the advantages. The patients improved so quickly. Really amasing, but so good to see.
There were no isolation rooms for the very disturbed. They got one to one guidance by a nurse. This worked well for almost all.

My car had to have L-plates at the beginning. Within 6 months I had to set my test again. And got it it one go. Within this time I also had to do an exam to prove my language skills were enough to work in a UK hospital. You might guess by now: they were.

I won't elaborate on the rest of our marriage. This book would get too long.
We had our hurdles through the years. This proved in the end only to strengthen our marriage.