Today we headed out of Amsterdam to Haarlem , tramming into the central station , then another train ride of about 20mins to get out there . They like doing big train stations , and we walked out of it into a large square , also used as a bus stop . We just walked along one street towards a cathedral we could see in the distance . One building had a great cover of ivy .
Further down the street we crossed a canal , with the usual cafe's , cars & bikes & boats .
There are many streets and alleyways here as well - it was also much quieter and cleaner than Amsterdam ! Have to be a bit careful taking photo's with bikes & cars going past .
This single house looked like it didn't know which house it belonged to ??
Stopped at a supermarket to grab some fruit & other stuff , that was interesting - in some supermarkets you have to weigh the fruit & vegetables and attach labels to them - the staff wont do it at the checkout anymore ! This one also made you scan your docket to actually go out the exit !!!
There did seem to be more older houses here , window shutters being a big factor .
A cool mural down a side street .
Interesting buildings here , always something diferent to look at .
Finally got to the cathedral and went inside . The first thing that hit us was the ceiling - all timber lined. There was also an enormous organ down one end . There are plaques on the wall stating " Mozart played the organ here aged 10 in 1766 ", and Georg Friedrich Handel played it in 1740 and 1750 !! There's some history for you . This organ is enormous filling the end of the cathedral - it would be amazing to hear it in use .
Workers were assmbling a stage and associated wiring etc while we were there , must be having a concert ????
Here's a better view of the ceiling and organ .
This one shows the sides better
The floors are interesting , there are over 500 gravestones that you walk all over .
Some are quite elaborately carved stone .
Another of the ceiling .
Okay you can breath again , we're back outside in the square to have some lunch .
More alleyways , nothing as boring as a straight road , these are curved as well .
After wandering around some more , we found our way back to the train station & headed for home . Couldn't resist getting another shot of our street one last time , we're off early in the morning , so have booked a car to deliver us to the railway station .
Not sure we'll come back to Amsterdam again , it really didn't do it for us , I think there are other places we'd rather be looking at . Having said that , we really enjoyed Haarlem , so there would be other places in the country that would be good as well . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1xPrqJgNtgO6YHyCiL71glFYHUj0mctc&usp=sharing
No comments:
Post a Comment