Day 3 started like Day 2, with an amusing breakfast and a fun chat with Hans. I think he was pleased to hear we were heading out of town to explore a smaller city. We wanted to get a better feel for the Dutch way of life. Haarlem was a nice place to go to see that. But first, we needed to hit the Rijks museum (also just down the street) for a few hours. We saw about 15 rooms full of classical Dutch paintings including several nice Rembrandts. The museum is much smaller than I expected though. The Louvre and the Vatican are so large you can't possibly see everything in one day, but in Amsterdam, you can pretty much see the whole city in one or two days.
After touring the Rijks museum, we hopped on the tram to take us to the Central train station. The transportation in Amsterdam is so effective. Everything works the way it is supposed too. Trams get you within walking distance of sites, bikes get you everywhere, and cars are just a nuisance. I could definitely get used to getting around that way.
The train to Haarlem took about 20 minutes and we walked into Haarlem square in about 15 minutes.
I loved Haarlem. It was quiet, super clean, the people were very friendly and you didn't feel like you had to be there to see anything. You were there to "be" and enjoy the canals. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great, about 35 degrees with clouds and lots of wind. We tried to pop into the main church to warm up, but that backfired when we realized the church was colder inside than outside! Thank goodness for tea and coffee shops!
We stopped into a tea shop for lunch and later tried the Dutch waffle at a waffle stand. It looked like biscuit dough it was so thick, but the Dutch know how to work it with butter and sugar. It was too good to try to describe it. Heaven. I could definitely live in Haarlem. It is a good mix of city and country life, and of course, everyone rides a bike.
After taking the train back into Amsterdam and packing our bags, we ventured into a part of town we had not explored near the Concert Hall. Hans gave us a list of quality restaurants to try if we wanted real food. He laughed at us after we told him we ended up eating bar food for a few nights. His suggestions were spot on though. The restaurants were small, romantic, and the food we had at the French restaurant (whose name I cannot remember or even spell) was fantastic. Our restaurant served two things: Steak or fish. You got a salad and the entree of your choice. If you ordered a bottle of wine, you only had to pay for the amount that you drank if you didn't want the whole bottle. That was nice, although Rico and I did not need that. We had a bottle and then some! We also ordered the Dutch version of apple pie. It was very different. It was like an apple cake with an apple glaze on top and it is served with creme fraiche (sour cream) instead of whipped cream. I liked it, but I think Rico still prefers grandma's southern apple pie, haha. We were too stuffed to go anywhere else and our taxi was due to arrive at 0700.
Day 3 started like Day 2, with an amusing breakfast and a fun chat with Hans. I think he was pleased to hear we were heading out of town to explore a smaller city. We wanted to get a better feel for the Dutch way of life. Haarlem was a nice place to go to see that. But first, we needed to hit the Rijks museum (also just down the street) for a few hours. We saw about 15 rooms full of classical Dutch paintings including several nice Rembrandts. The museum is much smaller than I expected though. The Louvre and the Vatican are so large you can't possibly see everything in one day, but in Amsterdam, you can pretty much see the whole city in one or two days.
After touring the Rijks museum, we hopped on the tram to take us to the Central train station. The transportation in Amsterdam is so effective. Everything works the way it is supposed too. Trams get you within walking distance of sites, bikes get you everywhere, and cars are just a nuisance. I could definitely get used to getting around that way.
The train to Haarlem took about 20 minutes and we walked into Haarlem square in about 15 minutes. 
I loved Haarlem. It was quiet, super clean, the people were very friendly and you didn't feel like you had to be there to see anything. You were there to "be" and enjoy the canals. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great, about 35 degrees with clouds and lots of wind. We tried to pop into the main church to warm up, but that backfired when we realized the church was colder inside than outside! Thank goodness for tea and coffee shops! 
We stopped into a tea shop for lunch and later tried the Dutch waffle at a waffle stand. It looked like biscuit dough it was so thick, but the Dutch know how to work it with butter and sugar. It was too good to try to describe it. Heaven. I could definitely live in Haarlem. It is a good mix of city and country life, and of course, everyone rides a bike.
After taking the train back into Amsterdam and packing our bags, we ventured into a part of town we had not explored near the Concert Hall. Hans gave us a list of quality restaurants to try if we wanted real food. He laughed at us after we told him we ended up eating bar food for a few nights. His suggestions were spot on though. The restaurants were small, romantic, and the food we had at the French restaurant (whose name I cannot remember or even spell) was fantastic. Our restaurant served two things: Steak or fish. You got a salad and the entree of your choice. If you ordered a bottle of wine, you only had to pay for the amount that you drank if you didn't want the whole bottle. That was nice, although Rico and I did not need that. We had a bottle and then some! We also ordered the Dutch version of apple pie. It was very different. It was like an apple cake with an apple glaze on top and it is served with creme fraiche (sour cream) instead of whipped cream. I liked it, but I think Rico still prefers grandma's southern apple pie, haha. We were too stuffed to go anywhere else and our taxi was due to arrive at 0700.
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