Haarlem

We didn't sleep well due to the laundry. We woke up late-ish but made our goal of being out the door by 9am. We got some overpriced pastries and coffees from a bakery. We caught the train to Haarlem (17 euro roundtrip for both, which took only 20min. It was very easy. We walked to Molen de Adriaan, a windmill that I had read about. We took a simple guided tour there for 3.50euro per person. It was a great tour. The people who worked there were just sitting around before we got there, and they were happy to show us around. The tour lasted an hour and involved a lot of climbing but it was really informative and we learned a lot. Unfortunately it wasn't a clear day when we were up top so we couldn't see much of Haarlem but still worth doing. I had no idea windmills were used for so many things. This particular one was used for grinding corn among other things. The windmill burned down and was rebuilt in 1999 so it felt very safe inside. After some selfies with the windmill, we walked through the Grote Markt, a large street market similar to the Albert Cuypmarkt. We bought lunch of a mushroom arrancini, doner kebabs, and a stroopwaffel. We bought Maggie some moccasins because she had only been wearing socks up until this point (doesn't normally wear shoes at home because they fall off), and they were a great investment. We stopped for coffee and sat outside under some heat lamps at the Lima Cafe. Service could've been better for sure!

Went to the Grote Kerk and did a self-guided tour. We spent about a half hour there. It was interesting but very cold inside. Next, we walked a few blocks to the Jopenkerk, a brewery inside of an old church. Great beer but slow service (apparently a common theme for Haarlem). Inexpensive for what we got though. Maybe we were sitting in a bad spot and the bartenders couldn't see us. We took the train back to Amsterdam at 5:15.

We got dinner at Fou Fow Ramen in the Jordaan area near our apt. It was so busy every time we walked by but we were lucky to get a table. The food was great and fast. We luckily got there at a good time because as we were leaving, the line was out the door.Read more