Haarlem, NL: Part 2

As bookends to this finishing post of Haarlem (see Part 1 here), first a Vision and Verb alert and last, a map of where we'll be in Norway.

These characters sit outside our old city hall here where we live in The Netherlands.
I pretend they're saying Hi or Tot Ziens = See you later.
My post at V&V today is on what rocks your boat? You already know what rocks mine.
(I know I'm not there to reply but I will when I return next week.)

Now, back to Haarlem.

Because we parked our car near this windmill (below), we saw it both coming and going. We had set TomTom to here for our entrance into the city...and even got to park for free because it was Sunday (a non-shopping day).

This is the Adriaan windmill, a grain mill from 1778 on the Spaarne river.

Now, check this out, if you have the time:
There is a Dutch database of all the windmills in The Netherlands (as well as one for water towers and gevelstenen!). That means we are able to check things out ahead of time to get our bearings on any city. So, we found out Haarlem has 7 windmills and because this was the most picturesque, we picked only it to see.

From the windmill we had an easy walk to city center....

...crossing over the Bakenessergracht (gracht = canal) to first see the Hofje van Bakenes with the Sint Bavokerk (kerk = church) in the background.
See how much Dutch you're learning!

Hofjes (= small gardens surrounded by a community of houses for single, elderly women) are all over The Netherlands. Haarlem alone has 21 and the one above, van Bakenes, is the oldest in all of Holland, from 1395. It wasn't open on Sunday but at least we saw the narrow doorway (with gable stone overhead!) that leads to the courtyard/gardens.


Speaking of hofjes, later in the day we saw Hofje van Oorschot, built in 1770.
Don't you love how the elderly women were taken care of in Dutch society!

Going back to that first hofje after the windmill, we knew we needed to head in the direction of Sint Bavokerk's bell tower to find city center....

...and in the process passed by the Bakenesserkerk from the 15th century.
What's most striking is its white bell tower from 1530.


There's always one GROTE kerk (= big/great church) in these old cities (like Sint Bavokerk from Part 1), but you know I love all the steeples of all the churches. This one is Janskerk (= John's Church) from 1310, now housing the Noord-Hollands Archief, a regional history center.


That John, btw, sure got around. Even this bridge nearby is named after him: Jansbrug.
(click on any image to enlarge)


It's not just steeples, as you see.
Anything that says "Look up!" sticks out like a sore thumb for me.
See the top-row image second in from the right? That's a building with a ship's mast built into the front façade.
The first time I've ever seen that!

Now kijk (= Look!)!

Play it and they will come!
Don't know if this was a café setting, a church group (since it was Sunday), or what.




Sometimes you just feel privy to some very tender moments.


By now it's late afternoon and we're heading back to the Spaarne river where we started, with the Bakenesserkerk bell tower in the background.
I love the drawbridges of The Netherlands!


Who thinks these things up?!
This foot statue sits on top of a shower house for tourists and shippers...


...not far away from the Teylers Museum, Holland's oldest museum, from the late 1700s.
Another day, another time.


We're still heading back to the car, mind you, and stopped dead in our tracks.
Neither one of us had ever seen this before...a handful of guys with very powerful magnets on the end of their ropes, dragging them along the river bottom.
Apparently they have found incredible treasures dating back to centuries ago.


Wouldn't you love to know how long these were in the river! And who missed them!


Following the Spaarne river, we saw one last landmark in the distance on the left....


...which we reached by car before heading home: the Amsterdamse Poort, a city gate from 1355.
For me it's on the same page with grote kerks and windmills.


Impressions. Memories. Things I don't want to fall between the cracks.


A city of weathervanes on top of the steeples...
(see the winged 'A' is for Astrid!)


...and a water tower from the car in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel on our way home, plus some very modern architecture to round out our day.
Believe it or not, Haarlem does not have a water tower.
Astrid thinks it's because it's so close to the sea.

You think you're tired! We sleep like babies after these trips. I kid you not.

Now, the last bookend of this post (remember the first was my Vision and Verb post today on what rocks your boat):

Today Astrid and I begin our 6-day mail-boat cruise on a 500-passenger Hurtigruten cruise,
Kirkenes north all the way to Bergen south. No onboard entertainment/activities except good food and incredible sights through the fjords. Oh, and the Rummikub we'll be taking with us. :)

Now you know why I wanted to finish Haarlem now.
Once we return, it'll be Norway, Norway and more Norway.

I'll catch up on y'all then after we return on 11 April, a week from today.
Tot ziens = See you later!