Today I lost my battle with Luxembourg customs over my printer. For some reason, the moving company wouldn't ship any electronics, even those that were dual voltage. I don't know why, as other people who have moved here recently were able to bring their electronics. I thought this was ridiculous, since I had a perfectly good printer / scanner / copier with a built-in voltage transformer. I put it in with our pile of stuff, thinking they'd pack it, which they did. But then two days later we got a call that they couldn't send it. So, I thought I'd mail it to myself, which I did, paying almost $60 in postage! (Kind of ridiculous, I know, since the printer's a few years old and isn't worth that much but it's the principle of the matter!) I packed it carefully, boxed it up and sent it. I vowed that if it didn't get through I'd drive to Germany or Belgium or France to buy a new one but I'd NEVER buy one in Luxembourg. Dumb customs rules.
Well, I got a notice in our mailbox yesterday that my printer was waiting at the post office for me. I drove over there this morning and picked it up. On the way out, I noticed that the box was really beat up and it rattled ominously. Not a good sign. I opened it up, undid all the layers of padding and, sure enough, there was my beloved printer, smashed to pieces. I can't imagine how that happened since it was still all bubble-wrapped and padded the way the movers packed it. Those post office people must have been playing hockey with it or something.
So, then my dilemma: Kate's teacher needs pictures of her for class tomorrow, which means I need a printer now. Do I go to the nearest store and buy a printer here in Luxembourg or do I hold firm to my principles and drive to another country (all of 15 minutes) to buy another printer?
Sadly...no. I'm still too intimidated by driving a stick-shift and navigating in the snow that I drove three minutes to the nearest store and bought a printer. I like it. It's better than the old one (has Wi-Fi!) but I'm extremely annoyed that I caved and bought one here. Sure, I could probably pursue reimbursement through the USPS but really, is it worth it? Probably not...
I do not understand why you couldn't pack electronics???!!!??? That's crazy to me! We brought anything we wanted to AMS and DK. So sorry you had that hassle and now a broken printer :(
ReplyDeleteBTW--have you eaten a nicoise salad there yet?? It's all I ate on our trip to LUX--they are amazing!!!
Isn't that crazy? I still don't fully understand why. Another American whose family moved here a year ago said they were allowed to bring any electronics they wanted. Maybe it was just our moving company.
ReplyDeleteI have not eaten a Nicoise salad here yet (actually, we've only been out to eat once since we've been here, can you believe that?) but I remember you raving about them and I can't wait to try one! Thanks for the tip!