Welcome back!

Today I decided to be brave and travel alone to Haarlem, North Holland! Why Haarlem? I kept hearing good things about this city, namely the awesome Grote Markt and the shopping. It is about 30 minutes from Den Haag by train. At the time, the trains were messed up - the connection between Haarlem and Amsterdam is down. People are taken by buses to Amsterdam Sloterdijk. But, I'm in luck as the train terminates in Haarlem. A tip: follow the majority of people coming off the station. Chances are they're going to the town square. I didn't even need a map. Along the way, there were many cafes and restaurants with different prices. I must say I like this about Haarlem. Small but lively.

Like other cities, Haarlem's icon is the church, in Haarlem there's the Grote St. Bavo Church - a Catholic turned Protestant church. Under its watchful eye is the Grote Markt or great market. On Saturdays, the square becomes the hub for food shopping. Fresh produced, baked goods, stroopwafel, cheese, meat and all sorts of stuff. There's even a very tempting dessert stall. I ended up buying a grapefruit juice and a steak pie - both were delicious!

A must visit museum in town is the Teylers Museum on the river Sparne. It's the oldest museum in the Netherlands and houses things like fossils, scientific instruments, coins and paintings. It was a mixture of cool stuff. There's this room about fluorescent materials - cool glow in the dark effects. It is quite tourist friendly but they need to invest in more English descriptions. It may look small but it has about twelve collection rooms and a cool cafe.



 A must visit is definitely to the church. Truly a place of worship - so beautiful! They have this giant organ which is the heart of any Protestant church. There was a choir practice and they sound heavenly. I bet it's the high ceiling. I think there's still a Sunday Service but most of the visitors are senior citizens, aside from tourist.





I think I will come back to Haarlem one day. There's more to explore. I read there's a museum about mental health and insanity! I must say Haarlem market is one of the best I've seen.

See you on the next trip. Possibly Maastricht!