Hoi, Haarlem

In the blink of an eye, our first 6 months abroad are complete.  Say what?!

Thoroughly stunned by this realization when it snuck up on us last week, we decided to commemorate the milestone by planning our first proper trip outside of Amsterdam.  With quarantine restrictions still in place, we knew our voyage would be somewhere domestic.  And since we weren't too enthused about taking public transport -- nor quite ready to brave driving in a city swarmed with cyclers -- we agreed finding somewhere bike-able would be our best bet.

With these criteria established, our destination was a no-brainer.  Exactly a one-hour bike ride from Amsterdam and the home of two of the best Dutch breweries, Haarlem has occupied a prime spot on Jack's Netherlands bucket list since long before we departed Chicago.  We quickly threw together an itinerary for our overnight stay, and before we knew it, we were off!

​The Trek

If you polled 100 people, not one of them would describe me as "sporty" -- so I'll be the first to admit the proposition of a ~13 mile (20 km) bike ride gave me a bit of pause.  However, I'm pleased to say the miles (at least, on our ride there) truly flew by.  Shoutout to our portable speaker and the "Chill Sunday Drive" Spotify playlist which kept us company with every turn of the pedal.

I also need to acknowledge another MVP of this trip: our new travel backpacks.  Since there's zero chance our Away carry-ons would fit in our bike baskets, we needed to purchase some light luggage for our ride.  The ones we bought open like a suitcase, which I thought was super nifty, and held more than enough space for our overnight items.  We were able to wear them for the duration of our ride and the whole morning in Haarlem without any discomfort.  If you're in the market for a new travel backpack, I really can't recommend these enough.

Welcome to Haarlem

As soon as we arrived, our first priorities were obtaining food and then coffee, in that order.  For sustenance, we naturally hit up ol' faithful... known to most as McDonald's.  With my peanut allergy, Mickey D's has become a travel standby, as I've found it's consistently allergy-safe no matter what country I'm in.  

Despite downing a Big Mac for lunch, the smell of freshly-griddled stroopwafels quickly lured Jack to further indulgence.  He complained of a tummy ache for the next hour but when pressed, offered this as commentary: "Worth it."

Next, we made our way to Mica for some takeaway coffee.  After seeing throngs of locals enjoying their lunches on the ledge of Het Spaarne, we chose to follow suit and downed our flat whites on the banks of the canal.  I seriously can't remember the last time I felt this relaxed -- it was so peaceful to watch the sunlight reflecting off the water and to listen to the quiet chatter of conversation. ​

We then crossed some landmarks off our list.  First up was The Cathedral of St. Bavo, located adjunct to the popular Grote Markt.  I can only imagine how bustling the square must be in normal times, with the many cafes and restaurants lining the streets.  Despite seating being closed, there still was a vibrant energy about the plaza.

As no trip to Haarlem is complete without a requisite windmill pic, we next paid a visit to Molen de Adriaan.  Though rebuilt in 2002, the original windmill dates from 1779.  Not too much to see up close as the museum portion of the windmill was closed, but the skyline shot was pretty spectacular.

Unfortunately Jack's dream of downing beers in a church was not realized on this trip due to Corona restrictions, but we hit up the Uiltje Bottle Shop for some specialty releases he was quite excited about. We also swung by the recommended Melgers Wijn en Dranken for some boat draanks (more on that to come!) and checked into our hotel.  

We stayed at Brasss Hotel Suites, a cute boutique hotel with different themed rooms.  We selected the "Savannah" room -- primarily because their fish-themed rooms (ex: "shrimp," "lobster," "mackerel") quite frankly creeped me out.  I love seafood, but discovered I have no interest in sleeping under a giant picture of a squid.  The leopard print was a fair tradeoff, if you ask me!

After a 30 minute reset to unpack, throw on some additional layers, and bike to the Albert Heijn for some snacks, it was time for my personal highlight of the trip: our sloop rental.  I've been hankering for a good canal cruise, and since Amsterdam currently has restrictions on their boating scene, we were thrilled to see Sloepdelen Haarlem was open and offering a "February special," no less.

The website proclaimed the rental process was easy to navigate, and we were relieved to learn they were right.  About 15 minutes before our booking, we were texted a code to retrieve our boat.  We showed up at the dock, where a VERY chill attendant checked us in and patiently answered our (my) many questions about steering, speed control, and other boating 101 concerns. 

He casually warned us about a "low bridge" we would encounter near the end of our 2-hour loop, gave us  a map, and wished us well.  We were off!

After about 10 minutes of hair-twirling and general distress, Jack quickly got the hang of playing captain.  Soon after, the sunglasses came out and Jimmy Buffet went on the speaker.  I cannot express how fun it was to cruise down the Haarlem canals -- I seriously had a blast.  I am already planning my next boat voyage and daydreaming of taking our future visitors out on the water.   It is such an incredible way to see the city!

As for that "low bridge" though -- I just gotta say, they weren't kidding.  We literally had to tuck our entire bodies into the boat, as the bridge overhang just about scraped the tip of our sloop. I have a very, very funny photo of Jack steering us through this madness that he insists I take to my grave.

After our boat trip, we headed back to the hotel for a quick reset and picked up pizzas for dinner from Witte, and a wine pairing from Restaurant Petossi. 

One of my very favorite things to do on vacation is walk the city by night, so we immediately headed back out to roam the streets before the 9 pm curfew set in.  It brought back a lot of pleasant memories from my night strolls during my college study abroad in London, and was a perfectly nostalgic experience.

Homeward Bound

After a few episodes of Schitt's Creek, we were out like a light and up bright and early the next day for our voyage home.  Following another McD's/Mica coffee combination, we jumped back in the saddle.  One small detour through Frederikspark later, back to Amsterdam we went.

It definitely was slower going on the trip back to Amsterdam than it was on the way down, and I've never been happier to chain my bike to my bike rack with plans not to see it again til the weekend.  Although our legs were essentially dead by the time we got home, I'm super proud to say I biked 25 miles in two days and am pretty enthralled by the new muscles I'm detecting in my thighs.  

All in all -- as much as I'm saddened by the fact it's been half a year abroad and we haven't left The Netherlands, I truly loved our weekend in Haarlem and would recommend it to anyone.  Although I generally am drawn to bigger cities, the quiet change of pace was beyond lovely, and a much-needed break from our recently-busy work weeks.  

Now, onto planning our next trip! The sole criteria: must involve a boat.

xo, 
​Lou