We flew north to Amsterdam, then rode a high speed bus to Haarlem, the home of Lisa and Adam. Most of the way the bus drove on a special bus road, at breakneck speed. It was cold and wet, so a bit of an adjustment from Barcelona!
Since arriving we have been walking out every day, finding the shops and cafes, and checking out the interesting places documented for us in "Lisa's Travellers Guide to Haarlem", which has proven very reliable. Most days it has been warm in the sun, but with a chilly wind if you find yourself in the shade. Lisa and Adam are of course working, mostly. However Saturday provided a change to take to the road in a rental car and explore further afield. I will do another blog post for that day, except to say that it turned out to the warmest 6th of April ever recorded here!
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| At Amsterdam Airport (Schipol) we saw our first tulips! And put on our warm jackets. |
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| Haarlem streets have bicycles, brick cobbles, and bike tracks everywhere. |
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| Some locals make the most of their minimal front garden space. |
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| Lisa and Adam's house (centre), beside their canal. |
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| This windmill is just around the corner, across the larger canal. |
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| Daffodils beside some quite large yachts moored in the canal. |
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| We had to go to the cat cafe of course! |
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| Walking the reserve along the canal north of the town. |
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| A bit of sunshine for our daily morning coffee stop. |
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| We saw dozens of these opening bridges across the land, of all sizes. |
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| Free tulips in the main town square at the Sunday market. |
