A few days ago my tax ID number finally arrived from Norway. Yippee! This means that we can have a joint bank account again finally and after I´m on one I can select a primary care physician.

We researched all of the various local banks as we aren´t particularly thrilled with the fees that the bank my partner is with here now has and came down to 2 that seemed almost the same.

Yesterday, we visited the one that we though had the best rates. You would have thought that we were visitors from Mars with how out of place opening a joint account was for them! They informed us that I could not be on an account as I do not have a work contract. We also did not have all of the paperwork we needed anyway so we left. It reminded us of many of our transactions with government workers in the Netherlands and we joked about it. Last night we put all of our documents together and so we would be ready to venture out again in the morning.

My partner mapped out where we needed to go so we took the bus most of the way then the tram. After getting off the tram we accidentally went the wrong way (the map and layout at this stop is a bit wonky). We soon found the direction we were supposed to go and it included an underground passage way. Our joke is when we go into these we are going to lower world in a shamanic journey.

Anyway, we come back out and keep walking. And walking. I needed the exercise so it was all good, but we were pretty close to the water by this point. Looking around, I notice the trees. They are tied up just like they did in Wijchen, Netherlands, to control the direction the branches grow. This is the very first time I have seen trees growing this way in Norway. I make some joke about this.

Then we continue walking some more. I look out across the waterway and see a bridge. It looked similar to me to the bridge in Nijmegen, Netherlands, that was the bridge in the movie & book A Bridge Too Far based on a true World War II event. I found that a bit funny too, but didn´t think too much more about it.

Still walking, I see a café, my partner noticed the name Cafe` Viken. We were both thinking at this point this is getting bizarre as Viken is pronounced the same way as Wijchen. So, we still keep walking until we FINALLY locate the bank. Well, it was only corporate offices so there was no ability for us to open an account there!

We noticed a crane that had been converted into a restaurant and decided to eat some lunch there really quick. My ring finger with my engagement ring on it started itching like crazy. This really hasn’t occurred since we were still in the Netherlands.

While walking back to the tram stop we were walking along the opposite side of the area. My partner then noticed that we were walking by the ER that I had had to grace about a month ago for a non-stopping EOE episode. I found this funny as the main part of getting a bank account is the need for me to pick and see a primary care doctor so that I have Epi pens so I don’t need to go back to the ER again!

Soon we saw a post office box so my partner put the 2 things I needed to mail in there for me while I was standing there watching some sea gulls fly around and ride the wind. Then I looked at the clouds above them. They were in the shapes of birds flying like people draw. What in the world?!

Then we get on the tram and decide to make a run to the bank branch downtown so we can at least get this done so we did not waste another morning. They get to our number and take us back. Then we are informed that we have to make an appointment to set up an account and they will call with one.

By this point I’m just like let’s just go to the bank my partner is already a member of and we do. At the bank the teller refused to acknowledge me at all. She would only talk to & interact with my partner referring to me the entire time as “her.” In fact, she never once said my name. She asked him for my phone number and my email giving him a piece of paper to write them down on to which he passed to me. After I passed them to her she had a question about how I spelled my email and instead of asking me, as I was the one who wrote it, she asked my partner. Since he did not know what email I used I told her it is spelled exactly like my name. When handing back my ID and passport she tried to hand them to him as well. We were both blown away, him even more than me. When added to the bank account in the Netherlands the woman was very friendly and helpful including talking to me. He even said, “well, I guess you are my property!” She walked away for paperwork & I just said apparently “I’m your cat,” and started meowing then even butted him with my head. We were both having a really hard time keeping a straight face.

So, after all of this I AM on a bank account! The next adventure is switching to a different bank. The one that needed to make an appointment called and we have one! EXCEPT, only my partner goes in first then after his is complete we make another appointment to add me to it. l never really saw opening bank accounts as exciting as this before!