Day 1: Tour of Haarlem 

 

July 20, 2014 After a delicious breakfast we checked out of our hotel and boarded a train to Haarlem where we were scheduled to meet our tour guide and the rest of the group. Unfortunately, we got out at the wrong place and got completely lost! Luckily, we met a nice Dutch couple who lived close to our hotel and offered to walk us over. Already we had accomplished two goals of travel philosophy: Get Lost and Meet the Locals!

 

After arriving at the hotel we decided to walk around the little town of Haarlem. We heard music coming from nearby church and went over to see what was going on. We found out that there was a free organ concert, and that the the big organ in the front of the church had been played by both Mozart and Handel. Amazing! Cooper and Marilyn were introduced to their first meal of pommes frites (french fries) with mayonnaise, served in a paper cone. Yum!

 

Back at the hotel, we met our guides, Reid and Anya, along with the people in our tour group. We all had an authentic rijkstaffel dinner and got to know more about our fellow travellers. Jodi, a local guide, took us on a walking tour and told us much about Dutch history as well as life in modern day Holland.