(Haarlem, the Netherlands)
On August 24. we woke up to cool weather and blue skies – a perfect combination for getting out on the water. My wife had expressed interest in doing a canal tour in Amsterdam during this trip if the weather was right…but we then realized that canal tours departed only a 3 minute walk from our hotel in Haarlem. We had covered a lot of territory during our visit to the Netherlands so it made sense to cut down on the commuting for our last day.
We were able to get on a open-topped boat tour that departed only 5 minutes later. Dutch weather is notorious for changing quickly but we calculated that the tour would likely be over before the weather could turn rainy again. Yes, we remained optimists even after the notorious “7 rains in one day” situation just a few days before.
In our bright orange “gondola”, it was almost like navigating the canals of Venice. Even though we had walked along Haarlem’s canals for the past 4 days, it was much more impressive to see the city from the water. Our guide had just the right combination of information and sarcasm to make the commentary both entertaining and enlightening.
We even had some close calls, as we went under some bridges with very little clearance. We easily touched the undersides of the bridges with our hands as we passed underneath them. The guide also liked to wander around the boat and talk to the passengers, before rushing back to steer the boat away from walls, bridges and other watercraft. As a bonus, the weather remained pleasant throughout.
The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping and enjoying the relaxed pace of a Haarlem Sunday. I found some properly-fitting soccer shin pads as well as another nifty surprise for my sister’s upcoming birthday. My sister spent two years living in the Netherlands so it is a lot of fun to shop for her here.
As we neared the end of our five night stay, our hotel in Haarlem was beginning to feel like home. The only thing that was missing was a proper fridge, so that we could buy more local food products and not rely as much on restaurants and take-out food. Many times, I found myself wanting to buy a particularly interesting cheese…but having to decline because we didn’t really have the facilities for it. I consoled myself with some snack-sized purchases, when possible.
For any future trips to Europe, we will give serious consideration to renting a kitchen-equipped apartment for a week or two. Food is one of travel’s great pleasures but eating out for more than a few days at a time becomes rather expensive and, just as importantly, begins to lose some of its lustre. I think it’s just as fun to pick up the day’s bread (or pastries!) at the local bakery and supplement it with foods that we wouldn’t ordinarily eat at home in Canada.
For our last dinner in the Netherlands, we went to a Thai restaurant just south of the main dining district. I was proud of myself for ordering an appetizer that was not translated or explained; even after tasting it, neither of us could tell if the filling was fish, chicken or vegetarian. In any case, it came with a fiery and flavourful dipping sauce, so in the end it didn’t really matter that much. The main course was fine; I had low expectations for the dessert (described as “banana in warm milk”) but it was actually quite tasty with cinnamon and nutmeg accents.
It’s always a little sad once a trip is clearly at an end. We really enjoyed ourselves in the Netherlands and we are bringing home a lot of little reminders of the trip. Stay tuned for some final commentary and some hints about my next trip – on September 4, I’m heading out on another intercontinental adventure.