Day 46 – Fri 25 Jul 14, Haarlem

July 24, 2014

Forecast: 17-21 deg C, cloudy with showers and thunderstorms; no riding

Just because we did not need to get up early, we were both awake before 6am, so had a cuppa in bed and then went downstairs for breakfast. It was another good spread, but for a 4* it could have been a little better, ie. it could have a bigger selection of cereals than only 2. There was a good selection of meats and cheeses though.

The bikes stayed in the bike park today as we explored on foot. After brekky we caught the train to Alkmaar to watch the world famous Friday Cheese Market in the 'Weighing Square'. It first started about 400 years ago and the tradition has continued to this day, albeit with some theatrics for us tourists. Judging by the enormous crowd it is a very popular spectacle. In short, a whole stack of cheese is carried onto the square on a shoulder slung platform by blokes dressed in traditional kit. The buyers then negotiate a price with the seller using a lot of secret slapping of hands and the deal is finalised with a handshake. The sold cheese is then placed on a hand-drawn cart and taken out for loading onto trucks. Not sure if the whole thing is real or not, or just a whole lot of acting for the crowd. When Greg said “let’s go to the Alkmaar Cheese Markets”, Wendy presumed we would be visiting a stall-type market, and therefore did not think it important to arrive before 10am when they were scheduled to start. So, due to the number of people there, and her dislike of being in crowds, she did not enjoy it that much. However, the stroll through the streets of Alkmaar back to the train station was enjoyable. We were back in Haarlem in time for lunch which was Maccas.

We then went in search of some cheap bags to put our panniers in for the flight home. Also need packing tape for the bike boxes and a marker pen. Only managed to find tape; we're hoping to find some kind of bags soon, or at the airport. We also found a huge Cathedral - Saint Bavo's which was closed for renovations. It was also closed when Greg was here in 2012 so it must be an enormous job!

A visit to the archaeological museum was next where we saw displays that trace the history of this place back 1500 years. There were also details of all the particular sites around the area and what they uncovered / recovered. We got the impression that by digging just about anywhere in Europe you will uncover some ancient ruin or evidence of some battle. It is an amazing place as far as history goes.
On our way home it started to drizzle so it was good timing. We watched the TDF, Commonwealth Games, and the latest delivery of caskets by the Dutch and Australian Air Forces.

We wanted to eat in the Chinese/Asian restaurant next door to the hotel but they are not a licensed premises. So, we had a couple of beers each in the hotel bar and chatted with the very friendly and knowledgeable barman, and then went next door for dinner. It was really yummy and not too much.
It was then time for the obligatory post dinner stroll before hitting the sack.