Trip Log: Low Countries - Part 1: Haarlem
In which I share our time in Haarlem, a suburb of Amsterdam with its own charm
After two flights and a ride share trip, we arrived in Haarlem, a suburb of Amsterdam about 30 minutes outside of the city. Flights were the usual horror that is an overnight flight to Europe - worth it but not very fun to endure. Turns out, Aer Lingus food is horrible and you only get one non-water or coffee drink. Not cool. We stopped for about an hour in Dublin and had just enough time to snag some breakfast from the nearest airport lounge after all of the usual emigration/customs stops.
Thursday, 24 July
Arrival in Haarlem
After stopping at our apartment rental to get rid of our luggage, take a quick shower, and put on clean clothes, we headed into town to explore. We stopped at a fry shop that was recommended by Rick Steves which came in this giant bucket that, yes, we finished all of. Also stopped at the grocery store for the usual soda, breakfast items, snacks, and beer (with many non-alcoholic choices for me!).
Seafood
Dinner was at a seafood place very close to where we were staying, just over the closest bridge over the canal. We shared a seafood platter for two plus starters and sides. I was very happy to enjoy a tiny bottle of non-alcoholic prosecco with my meal. (I’d go on to buy this in grocery stores throughout the trip, it was that tasty.)
Windmill
After switching rooms with my mom - bad knees and either a very high bed or a very low bed don’t get along - Matt and I headed out to a re-built version of a historical windmill about a mile from our rental. He took photos as I mostly stared off into space.
Friday, 25 July
Alkmaar
We baked up pastries at a random bakery before getting on the train to Alkmaar. The town has a famous “Whey House” where they hold a ceremonial weighing and inspection of the cheeses that are produced in the town. We bought a cheese bag which was like a lunch bag with 3 half-kilo cheeses, a small cutting board, a cheese knife, and a little keychain. (Which I managed to leave later in the trip, thankfully after we’d eaten all of the cheese inside.) Being it was late July, some shops and restaurants were away for summer holiday, as was the case with the first TWO places we tried to have lunch. Eventually, we found an Italian pizza place where we able to sit inside where it was cozy and warm. After lunch, Matt and Lizzy went to the cheese museum while my mom and I wandered around town. I even managed to come across a yarn store!
[Quick story from this day: When we were nearly back to the train station, Lizzy suddenly realized that she no longer had her backpack which had her tablet, a book, a notebook, and who knows what else in it. We walked all the way back to the market area to find out she had left it at the very first exhibit in the Cheese Museum. Phew!]
Brewery Dinner Back in Haarlem
Dinner was at a brewery that had a menu plus lots of snacks. I was delighted to have several choices of non-alcoholic beers to choose from. We got to try two typical Dutch bar foods - cheese rolls and biterballen. I, of course, neglected to take a picture of either one. The cheese rolls are basically a cheese sti
tck rolled up in rice paper and fried. Bitterballen are little beef meatballs which are coated in bread crumbs and fried. Some bars may offer a large order of either but we commonly saw them available in pairs (e.g., two bitterballen per order).
Saturday, 26 July
Market, St. Babo’s, Hals Museum
Saturday is one of the market days in Haarlem so, of course, we wandered around to check it out. We ate pastries from different stalls - my mom and I got egg custards, Lizzy had a waffle, and Matt got an almond pie. We also picked up some fresh pasta with spinach and ricotta, break, and stroopwaffel to have for dinner.
Next was a visit to the “big church” in town which is dedicated to St. Babo, the patron saint of falconers, apparently. I really liked it, hence all the photos.
We wandered some very cute little street to reach the museum dedicated to Frans Hals - just Matt and I, the other two having gone back to the apartment to relax. While I’m not usually a huge fan of the Dutch masters, I really enjoyed this close look at a single artist’s work.
We also wandered all of the little back streets of Haarlem. Ok, many of them, probably not all. Lots of great little shops to duck into. We also spent most of the afternoon doing absolutely nothing which was wonderful.
Where We Stayed
We rented this apartment via Air BnB. It was obvious that the family that owns it often stays there themselves given there were books, toys, games, and even a personal computer in the living room area. Please note that, like most places in The Netherlands, the steps to get to the primary floor then up to the bedrooms are steep and curvy and I wouldn’t recommend it for folks with mobility issues. We enjoyed the outdoor area though it was often too cool to be out there for long. If you go, you’ll probably love this exclamation point marker in the path as much as I did.
Where We Went - Haarlem
Fry shop - Frietkamer
Seafood restaurant - Fishbar Monk (reservations highly suggested if eating dinner after 7 pm; reservations can be made online or via phone)
Re-built historic windmill - Molen De Adriaan (free to view from outside, )
Grocery store - location not important but it was our first of many Albert Heijn stores we visited
Haarlem market - held four days a week
St. Babo Church (Bavo in Dutch)
Where We Went - Outside Haarlem
Pizza in Alkmaar - Lupo (means wolf, hence the logo)
Museum of Cheese in Alkmaar - Kaasmuseum Alkmaar
Church in Alkmaar - Grote Kerk Alkmaar
Yarn shop in Alkmaar - Kolchis (Google Maps link; also on Instagram)
Next Time
I’ll share about our travels in and around Bruges/Bruges.