Four days in Haarlem come to an end

Sunday was our last day in Haarlem and we really enjoyed our stay there.  Our highlights included a boat tour on the canals, several museums (Frans Hals, Teylers, and Ten Boom) and the beautiful St. Bavo Cathedral.  We were not familiar with the story of the Ten Boom family of Haarlem.  During the Nazi occupation in Holland this family risked their lives to hide many of their Jewish neighbors and friends.  A local informant betrayed them and the entire  family was arrested and sent to concentration camps in Feb. 1944.  Corrie Ten Boom was the only family member to survive the camps and went on to author "The Hiding Place" which was also made into a movie in 1975. Here is a picture of the small hiding place in the Ten Boom home.  Yes, I know it's sideways, but I couldn't figure out how to flip it--sorry!  (Shannon or Jess--I could use a little blogger help here!)

The Teylers Museum is the oldest museum in the Netherlands, and the building itself was as impressive as the exhibits, having changed little since 1784 when it first opened.

Here are a few pictures from Haarlem. 

  
Sunday we were off to Amsterdam via the train, only to find out the trains weren't running that day from Haarlem due to maintenance.  We were directed to busses that would take us half way to Amsterdam and then we figured out what train to get on.  Apparently it was the right train because we ultimately arrived in Amsterdam Central.  Whew!  Then we saw a Starbucks and life was good again!  

We'll skip all the details about how many times Tom's debit card was rejected at several ATM's and our plans to survive on 35 Euro for the next few months, but praise the Lord for the 800 number on the back of debit cards!  Alonzo (from the Visa Rescue Squad) unblocked Tom's debit card and again, life was good!  (Found out primary holder on account is Trudy, not Tom!)  

So now we have finished two wonderful days in Amsterdam!  Monday we enjoyed a long canal cruise to get a feel for the city (our hotel is on the inner-most canal in Amstersdam--the Singel which served as a moat around the city from 1480-1585); today (Tuesday) we climbed 240 steps to the top of Westerkerk Bell Tower.  We were the oldest climbers--but made it up and made it back down!  Tom said in another year we'll be looking for churches with 24 steps to the Bell Tower.  By a stroke of luck we were at the right place at the right time--only once a week the carillon bells are played and we were fortunate enough to actually climb to the 9th floor and watch him play!  It was amazing--he even played an American medley for us!  That was definitely the day's highlight.  The rest of our day was spent enjoying walking around, having yet another cappuccino (prepare yourself Diane!) and ending with a good meal and glass of wine.  

Here is a picture of where Amsterdam Yuppies are choosing to live (300,000 - 700,000 euro!).

Happy trails,
TnT