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!

Haarlem, NL: Part 1

By now you know this about me:

I love Holland and I can't say it in 25 words or less.

Nor can I say it in less than 1000 pictures. HA! So, because this is a looooong one, I'll pretend I've saved you time and energy by splitting it into 2 parts. Actually, I'll publish the second part next Monday, a week from now, when we'll be in Norway boarding our mail-boat cruise of the fjords. But more on that later.

Our day's drive to Haarlem a week ago Sunday was on the spur of the moment. The sun was shining and we wanted to take advantage of it! Besides, when the Dutch see good weather, they are outside quicker than you can say Jack Sprat. Did I mention that I love Holland?! Haarlem is only 50 miles north of us and because the shops were closed on Sunday, we knew we wouldn't be bumping into its 150K inhabitants.

As you know by now, we always head for city center where the architectual action is.
And where we find a café for our koffie met appeltaart, to get us started on the right foot!
It so happens we liked this Stempels café/hotel so much, we went back for lunch later. It's a stone's throw from the grote kerk (= great church), which you can see through the windows.
Stempels used to be a printing company from 1703 - 1992. More on printing in a minute.


And there she is, the Sint Bavokerk, Haarlem's landmark since the 15th century.
And closed on Sunday! But her bell tower is seen both far and wide...never 'closed.'


Not to worry. There's something for everybody.
'A' is for Astrid. Everyone knows that!


Speaking of which, here's her wide-angle view of the church from the Grote Markt!


To the left of the church from Astrid's image above, on the Grote Markt (= Market Square), is Haarlem's famous Laurens Coster statue, c. 1370. Famous because he was believed to be the inventor of the printing press! Since the late 1890s, Haarlem has been willing to concede that perhaps Germany's Gutenberg printed earlier.
HA! The rivalies between the Dutch and the Germans! Don't get Astrid started.


The Vleeshal (= Meat Market) from 1603 also stands on the Grote Markt.
(Thanks again to Astrid for her wide-angle view in the top-right corner above.)


And last but not least, Haarlem's Stadhuis (= city hall) from the 14th century is also sitting on the square.
See how much room there is for a deep breath, especially when it's not too crowded.


Even though the shops weren't open, we had plenty of entertainment.
Always something to see...and 45 was a very good year!


On the Market Square we saw the sign directing us to the Corrie ten Boom Museum not far away.
I remember seeing in 1975 The Hiding Place movie about Corrie's part in saving Jews during WWII. The weird thing is that Astrid never heard the story till she went to the USA in her young 20s. There's no question Corrie ten Boom did more for her country in relation to the war than Anne Frank ever did, but Anne Frank's story has become the more famous.


Those of you familiar with European cities know that wherever there's a market square/city center,
the train station isn't far away...within walking distance.
Haarlem's train station is one of the two oldest in The Netherlands
and is a rijksmonument (= national monument).


Once entering a train station, you almost always have to climb up one floor to get to the tracks.
See the 'track' here at the side of the stairs. It's for your bike. How cool is that!
Usually it's a cement/iron track but this one is wood, the first I've seen thus far.


How's that for a train station! More like a functional museum.


I kid you not. "The art of can" Red Bull poster hung on the station wall.
And once outside the station, we saw the real thing.


Don't you just love how one thing leads to another.
Not far past that Red Bull poster we saw a cigar shop that reminded us of our Norwegian friends who, when asked what we could bring them, said Dutch cigarillos.
Notice the Cohibas which are Cuban cigars...not something you can buy legally in the States.
Romeo y Julieta cigars? Also from Cuba.

Enough already.

Next week I'll show you the most photogenic windmill of Haarlem's 7, plus the Amsterdamse Poort (gate house)...and all kinds of trivia images that make Haarlem special.

Till then, here's a parting shot at all the gevelstenen (= gable stones) I was able to capture:

Some cities are a gold mine! And this is just the tip of Haarlem's iceberg.

**********

A quick switch now to the Norway trip I mentioned at the beginning. Astrid and I fly to Oslo this Thursday night and will spend the long weekend with 2 sets of blogger friends I've known since my early blogging days here. Renny and Diane will host us the first weekend and Tor and Anna the next. We've both been to Oslo previously but expect to see it again with new eyes.

Then, from Monday to Saturday next week, we'll be taking the 6-day Hurtigruten mail-boat cruise from Kirkenes (north) to Bergen (south), along the entire Norwegian coastline, entering the fjords as the boat delivers mail and groceries/goods. It's a small boat, relatively speaking, at 500 passengers. No onboard entertainment/activities. Just good food and lots of sightseeing. We'll hop off whenever possible and will also have an excursion (Day 3, Wednesday) of the Lofoten Islands.

Then a cross-crountry train ride on Sunday from Bergen back to Oslo, 6 1/2 hours through spectacular scenery. Renny and Tor are so jealous. It's something they've always wanted to do...but you how those backyard things are! Vagabonde and Dutchbaby have done the cruise and are cheering us on. We'll compare notes later, of course.

So, next Monday Part 2 of Haarlem...as we board our cruise of the Norwegian coastline!