Dutch Driving License Acquired...Almost

As a follow-up to a previous post describing the incredible complexities of obtaining a Dutch driving license, we want to let everyone know that the process has been conquered, almost.

The first step of the application was completed before we left for California, including a trip to our physician's office that was more going through motions than it was any type of actual exam. After dropping off medical forms that we were told the doctor just had to sign, Erin received a call from the doctor asking both of us to come in for an "eye exam" before he signed the required forms. Now, our physician is not an optometrist or an opthamologist and John was going to have to squeeze an appointment in the morning of his last day of work before leaving for the U.S. so Erin had her doubts as to the absolute necessity of an "eye exam." She was especially frustrated after learning that the doctor just needed to know whether we could see 20/20 out of both eyes with our corrective lenses. Since our physician apparently cannot read American eye charts, which we supplied him with, we had to come in for him to ascertain this information.

Erin went in that afternoon, stood next to a filing cabinet and read an eye chart, with the same eye twice, and got her form signed within 5 minutes. (Yes, Erin realized that it was obviously a mistake on the doctor's part that he had her read the chart twice with the same eye, but really she just wanted him to sign the form.) After assuring John that his appointment would take only a few minutes, John returned to the apartment 30 minutes after he left for the doctor squinting with one eye and holding something in his hand. For unknown reasons, our physician made John take out his contacts, we guess to prove that he really is blind, and then wanted him to put them back in right there in the office with no contact solution or anything. John could only get one contact in, but somehow his form got signed anyway. Ironically, after going to an appointment designed to make sure he could see in order to drive, John had to drive back to the apartment half-blind.

Just as promised, the government office in charge of driving licenses mailed us cards stating we can drive in the Netherlands, so this morning Erin decided to head to town hall in order to complete the last half of the process. After all, with John out of town what better way to fill her time than visiting more government offices trying to obtain documents necessary to live here; it's such fun! What a blessing that only 20 minutes and €52.50 later (excluding the bike-riding time to town hall) Erin had successfully completed step two. She now has a photocopy of her Texas driving license and a receipt to prove she paid for a Dutch driving license in case of an unfortunate circumstance where the police want to see a driving license. The actual license is promised to arrive in 2-3 weeks, which we know could mean 2 to 3 months, but it is out of our hands now.

Hopefully there will not be a repeat of the "eye exam" fiasco and John's quest to fulfill this same process will go just as smoothly when he returns to the country!