ADSactly Travel: Roads and Trips Across Northern Europe - Part 5
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday... when you're on vacation does it really matter what day it is?
Mark and I stopped counting the days the moment we boarded the plane for Luxembourg.
His friend Ana had invited us to stay with her. But she, unlike us, wasn’t on a vacation. She knew exactly what day it was and was looking forward to the weekend we had planned to go together further north of the continent.
(a street in Haarlem, the Netherlands)
Friday morning Mark and I walked around the center of Luxembourg and bought groceries for the trip. We made sandwiches, secured a few liters of water and a thermos of water. It should be enough for the first night.
We set off around 5 p.m. when Ana came home from work and threw a few things into her suitcase.
Rotterdam was our first destination, which both Mark and I had chosen.
While Mark was driving, Ana and I searched the web for accommodation, Booking to be more specific.
She told us that she had never before looked for accommodation and started the trip without knowing exactly where she was heading. But life is full of surprises and unexpected situations that force you to handle them the best way you can.
The uncertainty heightened the feeling of adventure. Eventually we found accommodation in a private house in Hellevoetsluis.
While we were driving, we used two navigation systems, one in the car and the other on the phone. Around 11 p.m. they led us exactly to our destination.
When we opened the front door of the house, the wooden floor screeched underneath our feet and a dimmed light lit the wooden staircase to the first floor.
A few interesting details of the nicely decorated interior captured our attention and gave the house a sense of comfort and safety.
The real surprise was when we entered a room and with a click, turned on 5 little light bulbs on a grey chandelier.
Dark blue walls and massive white wooden beams that went all the way to the level of the bed, as well as white furniture and other details made a balanced contrast forming a calming harmony.
We made ourselves at home and quickly jumped each into his own bed.
In the morning, when we woke up, Mark insisted that we change our initial plan.
He wanted to visit Amsterdam once more, even though we had been there two years ago, and on our way back to stop in Rotterdam.
Agreeing, we put our new destination in the GPS and headed off.
(Hellevoetsluis, The Netherlands)
The view from the car spread along the immense Dutch green plains cut out with canals and bridges.
The first spring flowers stood out and captured Ana's attention so she made Mark pull over.
We carefully chose a place, subconsciously fearing someone might see us and Ana ran out of the car to pick three yellow daffodils. I put the flowers in a plastic bottle that still had a little water.
We were driving for a while until we came upon a red light that stopped us at the end of the road.
We were right next to a wide canal, a little startled when we realized that we had to wait for a ferry to carry us to the other shore.
We waited for no more than 15 minutes, which we used to stretch our legs.
Amsterdam was right ahead when Ana suggested that we go to Haarlem, 20 km further.
Harlem or Haarlem, do you know the difference?
The New York Harlem neighborhood got its name after the Dutch city of Haarlem.
We had changed our destination, after who knows how many times, and finally arrived in Haarlem.
Ana had already been there, so she led us to the famous city windmill on the shore of the river Spaarne. We crossed a folding bridge and slowly carried on while commenting interesting details on the moored boats.
(a folding bridge in Haarlem, The Netherlands)
The city is connected with Amsterdam and Leiden by waterways and with the Northern sea by the river Spaarne.
Roads and bridges separated the colorful and joyful facades of tightly built town houses and provided a great view of the windmill’s blades.
When we approached the windmill, its construction fooled us into thinking it had been made a long time ago.
The De Adriaan Windmill, as it is called, was indeed a replica of the original one built in 1779 that burned down in a fire in 1932. We stopped in front of the memorable Dutch landmark and recorded the moment with many pictures.
(The De Adriaan Windmill in Haarlem, The Netherlands)
With a little help from Google Maps, Ana brought us to the main city square called Grote Markt.
A surprise waited for us there. Many stands with flowers, food and other bijouterie were spread around the entire square.
We got lost in the excessive offer and the giant crowd. Even though I managed to get a shot of the tower of the old Gothic cathedral of Saint Bavo, the remaining beautiful old buildings where hidden by the stands that stole all the charm and all my enthusiasm for writing some more about Haarlem.
(The Cathedral of Saint Bavo on the central city square Grote Markt in Haarlem, The Netherlands)
On one of the stands there was a large choice of prepared fish. I bought fried calamari and codfish that satisfied our hunger for a few hours as we continued towards Amsterdam.
Are there stands on your main city squares with food, homemade products and souvenirs?
Do you like it or would you rather have them set in some other location in the city?
Authored by @lufcija
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Thank you!
It doesn't really! Especially if everything is covered.
Vacations have this special effect that makes us realize how arbitrary the concept of time is.
Thank you for such a detailed tour; such beautiful and high-quality pictures (which make me feel embarrassed at the kind of pictures I have had to post. Some day I'll get a good phone with a good camera).
Both, the images from the urban areas and the rural ones are mesmerizing.
I have always admired European arquitecture; their sense of harmony, beauty and order.
I remember as i was growing up people debated our third-world status and blamed the lack of development to first world exploitation, bla, bla, bla.
I think that latinamerica in particular has had the chance (politically and economically) to develop their version of progress and prosperity and opted for corruption, chaos, ugliness, and mediocrity.
When I see images, like the ones you've posted, I feel so frustrated at the prospects of our culture never achieving that state of development.
I wonder, though, if people in the Netherlands, in this particular case, feel that they live in the place we perceive from here.
On a different note, I had read some time ago about
Studying African American literature I ran into interesting facts like this. Allegedly, the place became a "negro" neighborhood after whites started to move out when they noticed the first blacks moved in.
I loved the picture of the De Adriaan Windmill. Such a neat structure!
If you stop counting the days on a trip is because we are having a great time, and they fly by. I like vacations, there is no time or date in the calendar for work commitments or agendas.
I was delighted with all the pictures you share. The places are spectacular and you managed to capture that beauty in these images.
Here we have sales of traditional gastronomy and handicrafts for souvenirs in places other than the squares, there are still some, but before called much more tourists.
May the journey continue, @lufcija. Thank you. adsactly.
On this other side of the world (America), those cities come to me through literature or philosophy, or cinema. Erasmus of Rotterdam, the famous promoter of Renaissance humanism. Or Amsterdam, and I think of one of my beloved philosophers, Baruch Spinoza. The Haarlem you show us seems to have little resemblance in people with American Harlem, although perhaps this continued the vitality of its people. That is what is interesting about places and travel, to know the particularities, similarities and differences.
The houses and internal spaces where they stayed are truly beautiful, elegant, cozy and comfortable. The church attracted me a lot. And to have a folding bridge, something fascinating.
Thank you for your post, @lufcija, with so illustrative and good photos. We continue to travel with you...
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The city where I live is close to the sea, so there are usually many informal vendors everywhere, not just in the squares. In each of these places they sell food and drinks, as well as souvenirs for some tourists who come in summer to tan on the beautiful beaches of blue seas and white sands.
I loved your images. The cities look beautiful and clean. I find the residence cozy and beautiful. There is nothing better than staying in inspiring and perfect places. The fact that they enjoy each place, without an agenda, without knowing during the day, being able to change plans without affecting them, seems to me the best way to travel and have fun.
I enjoyed each of the images and your story. I look forward to the continuation of this long adventure. Greetings, @ lufcija
I never count days on a trip and for me it could always have a few more.
Perfect description, really nice photos.
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