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Our European Adventure 2018

Haarlem Day 2 / Amsterdam Day 1

The day started out with a quick stroll around a very calm and quite Sunday morning with breakfast in the Haarlem Grote Market area.  The blue skys over Haarlem made for an amazingly beautiful spring morning beginning to our second day in The Netherlands.

After breakfast, we strolled down the Biennen Spaame canal to one of the last remaining windmills in Haarlem, Molen De Adriaan.

From Haarlem, we hired a very chatty taxi driver with a significant amount of political savey to take us to our rented apartment in Amsterdam. Margaret W. Has arrived today and was waiting for us at the apartment. Our little travel band is fully assembled and we are ready to see Amsterdam!

To start, we visit the Hermitage Museum. A former home for elderly men and women and was converted to an art museum in conjunction with the museum of the same name in St. Petersberg, Russia. Filled with Dutch Masters work, the museum provided us with an intense introduction to the golden age of Dutch Masters such as Rembrant, Frans Hals and dozens more that we were not familar with or would likely find anywhere else.

After a full morning of museum and walking the quaint streets of Haarlem, we made our way to the train station to make our way to Amsterdam and meet up with Margaret who comes in today.

Foody-wise, the Netherlands is admittedly not known for its unique cuisine but finding great restaurants is not a challenge. More on our dining experiences later but suffice it to say, walking on average 6 miles a day is helping to wear off the calories!

Greg