We chose Haarlem because it's suppose to offer some respite from the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam, and it is also supposed to be a complete nightmare to drive into Amsterdam and parking prices are astronomical, as in 8+ Euros an hour. It wasn't a complete breeze driving into Haarlem, either. Our GPS lady (who only speaks French to us ANNOYINGLY) kept telling us to turn right onto pedestrian only streets. We had to trick her to finally get us to a drivable street. No easy feat tricking the french speaking GPS lady, who I think we've named Margali, after Grace's much adored french speaking Gymnastics teacher that we hear about NON-STOP.
After we were settled in the hotel, Matt and Jacob set off on their own adventure to park the cars for the duration of the weekend at the IKEA one train stop away. That is what the hotel advised, and it worked out ok for us. It was free, and we could 'check on' the cars as we rode by on the train each day.
So, since we didn't have a car while we were in Haarlem, we really didn't venture much out of the city center. Katie had recommended we rent bikes and ride the dunes along the coast. But unfortunately, we never saw the coast. We spent most of our time walking through and around this charming market square.
Our Hotel was ok. We stayed at Hotel Joops, and I thought we had arranged for a suite, so that we could put the girls to bed without having to go to bed ourselves. Instead, it was just one large room with 3 single beds, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. It ended up being fine. We needed the kitchen for snacks and bottle washing. The bathroom was a real treat - ha ha. The whole thing was a shower, too. What a mess! But excellent water pressure. The worst part of the hotel was the outside noise. We would go to bed in sleepy little Haarlem.... no one was around, the place seemed like a ghost town. But apparently we're getting old and everyone went out late and stayed out even later. The first night we were awoken by drunks walking home off and on between midnight and 4am. The next day I bought ear plugs!!
One plus! Haarlem had Mexican! :) It was a fabulous treat!!
Audrey enjoyed it as much as the rest of us! If you look closely, the Dutch are much like the French in the high chair department. She is tied in with my scarf! I am just not sure about Europeans and their high chairs!!
Here is a link to my Haarlem pictures. Haarlem April 2012
There aren't too many more then what I already posted. Unfortunately, we didn't spend all that much time in Haarlem. One regret....I wish we had gone to the Corrie ten Boom house. It is where Corrie and her family hid Jews during the war. There is a book and movie about their heroism called 'The Hiding Place'. I am reading it now. Maureen was told that it is a much better place to visit then the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. Oh well, maybe next time.....
