Walking around Haarlem & the St Bavo’s Cathedral – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 8

This post is a continuation of a by now long drawn out series documenting my family’s visit to the beautiful countries of Belgium and Netherlands in the spring of 2023. We had completed the first part of our trip with 4 nights in Bruges and had a lot of fun exploring the beautiful city ( Bruges at Dawn & Dusk – A tranquil beauty – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 2 )and parts of Flanders around it including the cities of Antwerp (A Day trip to Antwerp – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 6 )and Ghent ( A Day trip to Ghent – Belgium & Netherlands Part 4 )as day trips. 

We were now moving for the second half of our trip to the Dutch city of Haarlem which involved changing a lot of trains since there were no direct trains from Bruges to Haarlem. So we finished our breakfast at the Duc de Bourgogne and set off with our luggage to the bus stop. After all the changes which went more smoothly than I anticipated we were finally at Haarlem.

On the first of our numerous connections to Haarlem

Waiting for our connection at Antwerp Central

Finally at Haarlem on a cold and rainy afternoon 

The station square at Haarlem is empty on a cold and rainy day

I had chosen Haarlem as a base over Amsterdam because I prefer the small town vibe to the chaos that the big city of Amsterdam would have offered. As we walked to our hotel which was inside the Old town of Haarlem the parents were not liking the vibe of Haarlem on this cold and grey day. They were anyway tired with all the train changes and so we just checked into our hotel ML which was right opposite the St Bavo’s Cathedral and took and an evening off from sightseeing. After resting for some time we just went out for dinner to a local Pizzeria called Nolita’s which seemed to have good reviews. The food was good and we got a much needed break and woke up rejuvenated for the day’s sightseeing.

As I woke up early for my customary early morning walk through a European old town I peeked out of the curtains to see a gloriously blue sky with not a cloud in sight. It was as if the weather Gods had wanted us to take rest the previous evening. 

I got out and walked out of our hotel and took some photos of the St Bavo’s Cathedral which dominated the square.

The St Bavo’s Cathedral Haarlem stands tall in the main square

I walked around the pretty old town with the River Spaarne and the various canals cutting through it. The whole old town can be walked from one end to the other in half an hour and so early in the morning there was no tourist on the streets , just me and the locals who started work early. So mostly it was just me with my camera wandering the cobblestone streets and walking over bridges on the river amazed at the prettiness on offer & even more amazed that there was no one else enjoying it. I walked these street every morning I was in Haarlem and I will always have fond memories of this low profile Dutch town.

The cobbled streets of Old Town Haarlem at dawn

As the sun came up I got automatically drawn towards the river which is lined by pretty houses in the typical Dutch architecture with the pretty roofs. The line of pretty houses with the still river and the refection made for some pretty photos.

The sun just rises over the river lighting the buildings on the right

Typical Dutch architecture along the river on a peaceful morning in Haarlem

I moved to the Gravestenenbrug (bridge) automatically as the bridge looks so pretty and draws you towards it. I had to take what is called a “stock photo” for Haarlem since it looked too pretty to ignore.

The Gravestenen Bridge across the river Spaarne – Iconic for Haarlem

I saw a small canal branching off from the main river again lined with pretty houses on both sides and made a note to my self to come back here at night to see this all lit up.

A small canal Bakenesserstraat branches off from the river near the Gravestenenbrug

Then I decided that I wanted to go and see the restored De Adriaan’s Windmill which was a short walk away. I had booked a restaurant for that day’s lunch called Zuidam which was near the windmill. So I also wanted to see the exact route lest I make my parents walk more than needed. Most of the walk was on a pedestrian path along the river with great views wherever you looked.

Yachts parked on a pier on the Spaarne

Views across the river to Old town Haarlem on the way to Adriaan’s Windmill

The last part of the walk was through a pretty residential neighbourhood that was right out of a picture postcard. I clicked away and walked through it and soon the windmill came in sight.

Walking through a pretty residential neighbourhood to get to the Windmill

In no time I was at the base of the windmill looking up at the towering structure ( I had no intention of doing a Don Quixote!). The original windmill which stood at this site since 1779 burnt down in 1932. It  was restored after numerous delays in 2002 on the foundations of the original windmill. It is now an icon of the city and rightfully so, the structure looks majestic from all angles!

The Windmill of De Adriaan at Haarlem

Looking back at the old town from the base of the windmill

The restaurant was right at the base of the windmill and I was hoping that the food would be as good as the location. As I started my walk back I noticed a bridge that looked unique. I just walked across and took photos of the windmill and the surroundings from the centre of the bridge. It was the Catharijnebrug which is an electrified swing bridge! It actually rotates to let big yachts pass at fixed times in the day. Another gem discovered by accident!

The view of the windmill from Catharine’s bridge 

Since there was time to wander before breakfast I decided to explore something I had noticed. There was a church which had a similar tower to the Cathedral but it was white to the cathedral’s black. This was the Bakenesserkerk which has the original stone tower built for the St Bavo’s Cathedral or the Grote Kerk but the architecture couldn’t support the weight so it was dismantled and given to this church while a lighter wood and lead tower was built for the bigger church. 

Another pretty street leading to the Bakenesserkerk

After finding that delightful little spot I started my walk back to the hotel and soon the black tower of the Grote Kirk came into view. I walked towards the church and returned our rooms to find everyone ready to go for breakfast.

Bakenesserstraat from the other end

The black spire of the Grote Kerk / St Bavo’s comes into view 

We then went to the Michelin starred restaurant of our Hotel ML to have our breakfast which was  luxurious in both taste and setting. It was a great start to what would be a great day!

Enjoying our luxurious breakfast in the beautiful setting of the ML restaurant

Post breakfast we decided to visit the St Bavo’s Cathedral which was right across the street. It had just opened for tourists in the morning and we bought our tickets and stepped into the huge church.

The fan vaulted cedar wood ceiling of this cathedral is a piece of art it itself and I couldn’t stop taking photos of the ceiling from all angles. The protestant church is brightly lit unlike most gothic churches with stark white walls.

The bright nave of the St Bavo’s Cathedral Haarlem with it’s magnificent cedar ceiling

There are three beautiful miniature ships hanging in between two pillars to signify the might of the Dutch Navy and merchants in those days.

Perfect miniature frigates and merchant ships at the Cathedral

The other impressive object in this church is a huge organ from the 1700s that dominates one full wall of the church. There are still concerts held using this massive organ but none were scheduled during our visit.

The massive organ from near the choir

The choir was locked off for tourists but the railings had interesting brass panels showing people biting the pillars of the church! And a chimera of a dog and lion at the two ends!

Anna reads about the ceiling while standing in front of the choir

Interesting brass panels and creatures guard the locked off choir 

The ornate pulpit stands out in the stark white church

More photos of the St Bavo’s Cathedral and it’s famous organ

Parents posing at the St Bavo’s Cathedral

We did our church routine and sat in the pews of this huge church for a few minutes just looking around at the architecture all around. Soon it was time for us to leave the Cathedral and walk to the river where I had booked a canal boat tour in a 12 seater open boat by “Haarlem Canal Tours”. This was recommended in the Rick Steves guide instead of a larger company that ran bigger closed boat tours. So we all walked the same route that I had walked in the morning and reached the spot where we would start our boat tour.

The parents enjoying a sunny morning in Haarlem

The sun shines bright on the Spaarne as we cross it

Waiting for our Haarlem Canal tour to begin

 It had been a great start to our first full day in Haarlem and my parents were starting to change their initial opinion about this gem of a town and it would continue to do so over our next three days here .Whether the canal tour was worth the hype is subject for another post some other time, some other day.

Till then,

Bye.