14 September - Haarlem, The Netherlands

Yesterday, John and Sandra drove down from Spaarndam to pick us up from our hotel in Delft. We had lunch in Spaarndam and spent some time looking around the area where John grew up and where a lot of his relatives lived. We then drove to Haarlem and were dropped off a short walk away from our hotel, Hotel Amadeus. We are located right in the centre of Haarlem which is a beautiful medieval city and our hotel is right on the central market square - everything interesting is only a short walk away. We did have a look around yesterday evening and then retired after a stir fry dinner in town.
This morning we decided to walk to the beautiful windmill Adriaan, but first we visited the Groote Kerk (Big Church) an immensely beautiful cathedral with a wonderful bell tower we hear going off every 15 minutes or so. The church features one of the most famous pipe organs in the world which was played by Mozart when he visited as a 10 year old boy and also by G.F.Handel.

We won't be here long enough to hear the organ play and so I bought a DVD which features a Dutch organist playing a selection of J S Bach compositions - the next best thing.

Then we were off through some amazing streets rivers and canals, to visit the Adriaan Windmill.

This photo shows the Groote Kerk looming above the magnificent surrounding houses. Our hotel is 200m from the church. The Adriaan windmill has played an important role in the history of Haarlem, its most important task being to grind stone into the powder used to make mortar for the stone houses. Our entry price included a guided tour of this beautiful mill, but also a lot of information of windmills in general.

This mill is fully operational and was operating when we visited it. A complete tour requires a lot of climbing to view all the mechanisms but eventually we arrive right at the top for a wonderful view of the city.

Enjoyed a nice coffee and Dutch apple tart after our visit, before walking home. Finished the day today with dinner at a great Italian restaurant. Looking forward to tomorrow which is market day here in Haarlem and we are located on the market square.