Visiting Haarlem in Holland

We flew from the U.S. to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. We enjoyed the free and open city, with its great restaurants, amazing museums and colorful red light district.

Before we went back home, we also wanted to spend time in a town more typical of old Holland. We were told we'd find it in Haarlem, a thousand-year-old town halfway between Amsterdam and the airport.

New York City's own Harlem started also as Haarlem, a suburb of New Amsterdam, the original name of the Dutch colony that later became New York. When the British took over, they renamed the state New York, after the area of York in England and changed the spelling to today's Harlem.

We took the 15-minute train ride for $10. from Amsterdam's Central Station. After arriving, we then checked into the quaint Hotel Amadeus right on Grote Markt, Haarlem's town square. We stayed two nights so we could see the Saturday market and attend Sunday services at the church.

The hotel is above a restaurant, and to get to the check-in desk and rooms, travelers must climb a steep stairway. There's no elevator, and we needed help getting all our gear upstairs. The room was tiny, with a phone-booth sized bathroom, but the 65 euro (about $93.) price was right.

Because we arrived on Friday, and the weekly market was the next day, we had time to visit the nearby Franz Hals Museum. An admirer of his realistic and humorous style since my art school days, we viewed his paintings and beautiful garden surrounding what was once the town poorhouse.

We had a cozy dinner at a nearby restaurant (a small, homey Dutch family place, with no sign or real name), and early Saturday morning were awakened (early!) by the sounds of bustling merchants setting up their wares just below us. When we joined the scene, it could have been a painting by Hals or Rembrandt.

All around us on Grote Markt were bright displays of flowers, fruit, vegetables, cheeses, fish and meats. Our brunch was wandering through and sampling the tasty foods, washed down by delicious local beer.

On one side of Grote Markt is the Town Hall, where some original structure still stands since the 12th Century. It has a narrow double stairway leading into the building, and on that morning we saw a wedding party in flowing costumes enter the building to sign their official papers.

They had completed the ceremony and taken the traditional walk from the Grote Kerk, an imposing Gothic church on other side of the square. The next day, we attended Sunday services and listened to hymns from the venerable pipe organ that had actually been played by Handel and Mozart.

If your travel plans include Amsterdam, you'll enjoy your time in that modern city. However, if you want to experience the real Holland of yesterday, spend some time in lovely old Haarlem.