Visiting Haarlem in The Netherlands A Charming Old Town Full of Wonderful Shopping and Cafes

Welcome to another travel edition of The Cherry On Top.

Since I'm only just designing for fun these days, I wanted to add a little twist via means of blogging about travel and showing off pictures through scrapbooking pages. Change is good, right? Another reason I want to start writing about travel is to help future travelers. I often read reviews and do research on places I want to visit. Sometimes I just can't find good information and or pictures. I want to try and fix that through my travels.

My first few travel blogs covers my trip to Monschau, Germany and the latest one is about Zandvoort, The Netherlands. Zandvoort is very, very close to Haarlem. A 15 minute bus ride and you're there. If you think you may want to add Zandvoort to your trip list, check out the blog and see what you think after reading.

Haarlem was absolutely beautiful. If you love old architecture, it's the place for you. In a previous travel blog, I mentioned that we went to Amsterdam. I will be blogging in detail about Amsterdam, soon. Haarlem was such a breath of fresh air after spending a very rushed and busy day in Amsterdam. It's a fraction of the size of Amsterdam and holy wow, a fraction of the people. We did go in the middle of November. The streets had a small trickle of people which you could find the bulk of in the many unique shops and cafes.

Did ya miss the first Dutchie Freebie?

Honestly, I cannot say enough about the shops in Haarlem. All of the unique little guy shops in my neck of the woods are all but gone. Not so in Haarlem. It seemed to me that more than half of the shops were not large chain store shops. How refreshing? If you're looking for a special gift, it's a great place to go. There are upscale shops as well as a fantastic thrift store (kringloop winkel). The thrift store had a sweet, little English book section and I stacked up.

I'll probably do a little blog about knitting shops since my friend is an enthusiast.

I also mentioned in a past blog about the high tech in The Netherlands. If an Orwellian experience is what you're looking for, The Netherlands is the place for you. Public transport is with a card only, as far as we could see and some cafes have a QR code for the menu. Make sure ya have your card with you, but be double sure to hit up those shops where they do take cash. We can't let cash die. Ever.

My friend and I hung out at a few cozy cafes on the main square, across from the church. It was really cold and very peaceful. No cars are allowed anywhere near the main square. I absolutely love that! Little kids could run all around, free as a bird, but ya do have to keep those pesky bikes in mind. Hehehe...As The Netherlands is well noted for bikes everywhere. We were nearly run down at least half a dozen times and I'm kind'a use to bike culture.

The menu choices were interesting. Previously, I spoke of my opinion in regards to The Netherland's cuisine. Personally, it is one of my least favorite foods of the world. It's often unimaginative and like Belgium, nearly every restaurant serves the same damn thing! I just don't get it! Hehehe...Insert that crying laughing emoji. It is true! Nearly every standard priced restaurant and cafe has the same menu. So if you just can't get enough of fried food like fish, potatoes, krokketjes or bitterballen and toastis which is a grilled cheese sandwich, then The Netherlands will be great for ya. There are places that sell soups and more original dishes, but ya have to look for them. Many places offer vegetarian items.

You can visit museums, take a canal cruise or soak up the sun in an outside cafe on the river bank. I was very pleased at the prices for food and drink and if you do go visit Haarlem, put a limit on your bank card so you don't crazy with all of that amazing shopping.

I've got your next Dutchie freebie for ya.

Thanks for visiting The Cherry. Let me know in the comments if you've been to Haarlem or if you think it looks like a great place to visit.

Happy travels!