Holland!

Maybe about a year ago, I was browsing through one of the Ormeau Road charity shops (as I often do).  A book caught my eye because I thought the name on the front sounded familiar: Corrie ten Boom.  I bought it for 50p (about 80 cents) without knowing how much I would fall in love with this woman's story!  It was a 3 in 1 book so I started with her first, In My Father's House followed by The Hiding Place and Tramp for the Lord.  Haarlem, a city in the Netherlands where Corrie was born and grew up, soon became a place I really wanted to see.

So, for a little fall trip Niall made me a very happy wife.  :)  On September 11th we flew into Amsterdam and took a bus straight to Haarlem which is towards the West coast of Holland.  We used airbnb.com to find a nice little place smack dab in the centre of Haarlem, it was fantastic!  We rode bikes EVERYWHERE (as the Hollanders do).  I really fell in love with this little city.  The old Ten Boom house is now a museum since it was so heavily involved in the underground system of hiding Dutch Jews during WWII.  The day that we took the tour was so special, I'll never forget it.  I loved just cycling around the cobblestone streets while all the stories from the book came to life in my head.  We spent 3 lovely days there before our last 2 days in Amsterdam.  For a big city, Amsterdam surprised me.  Though it was crowded and dense, it kept a certain charm and sense of intimate history.  Again, we cycled loads here and stopped often in little cafes for people watching and a coffee break.  We braved the long waiting line to get into the Anne Frank House which was completely worth it-- such a well known story, but being there in person made it all the more moving.  All in all, it was a wonderful city break for the 2 of us!

So... we realized when we got to the Belfast airport I had forgotten the camera.  :(  But, looking back, it wouldn't have been ideal since it's a nice big one and we were on bikes so much of the time (and it was off and on raining!).  These photos are from Niall's phone.  They may not be as good quality, but hope you enjoy them just the same!

we randomly tried a bikram yoga class in Haarlem... we felt like locals

We cycled to Bloemendaal beach and Zandvoort

beautiful bike paths are everywhere

enjoying a brooskie after a long day of cycling!

We never would have found this cool, local pub if it wasn't for Tripadvisor.  Down a random side street but packed with people inside!

The Ten Boom house.  Corrie's father was a watchmaker and his shop was on the bottom.

"The Hiding Place"

They still sell watches!

Corrie's childhood church

this is what makes me happy...

...and this is what makes Niall happy.

good bye Haarlem

lovely canals everywhere!

Anne's street

Entryway behind book case leads into the "Secret Annex," where the Frank family and 4 other people lived for just over two years before the Nazis discovered them. 

the end