Day Trip to Haarlem

 

Hello Haarlem!

Beautiful, isn't it? We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.

We started off with walking the cobble stone streets and admiring all the little shops. Then, it was off to tour the Grote Kerk (Great Church), which sits on the main square.

(oooooooo, ahhhhhhhh)

This is not the original church; a fire burned that one down. This relatively new church took 150 years to build and was finished in 1540. Take a close look at the tower; the tower was classified as part of the town's defense since Napolean used it as a lookout.

Our favorite feature of this church was inside...

That gorgeous organ behind Jason and Atticus dates back to 1738 and is 100 feet high. We had the pleasure of listening to its song echo through the church, however, we couldn't help imagining how amazing it would have been to be there when Handel, Schweitzer or 10-year-old Mozart were at the controls.

Of course, there were other neat things to see and learn about in the Grote Kerk, but we will let Atticus take centre stage for a moment.

"Hi, everyone!"

After the church, it was off to enjoy the ambiance of the market, to eat lunch and wait until our next tour.

We love going to market (Leiden has a nice one as well). It is fun to see how many new things we can try while we are there. Herring is a particularly popular item and Jason is definitely a fan. Here is a family photo in the market, with Grote Kerk in the background.

The town hall is also on the square, but we are facing it so you can not see it in the photo. 

In the afternoon, we went to a tour at the Corrie ten Boom House. You may have heard about the book (or the movie) called 'The Hiding Place' which tells about the Ten Boom family's experience protecting Jews from the Nazi's. The Ten Boom family allowed their home to be a place of hiding for Jews and others who needed a safe place from the Nazis. When necessary, those staying with the Ten Boom family would crawl behind a small door in the linen closet to hide in a very small room behind a false wall.

Here are Laura and Atticus in front of The Hiding Place. Part of the wall has been torn away so that visitors can see inside the room.

If you would like to know more about the Ten Boom family story there are a few reliable sources you could check out. Bishop Keith B. McMullen relayed a wonderful story about Corrie Ten Boom in April General Conference (click here for the text and here for the video). You can check out the museum website (click here). Or, you could always pick up a copy of the book or movie (click here or here).

We are so grateful for the experience to see and hear about the sacrifice that the Ten Boom family made for others. Their courage is inspiring.

After chatting with some of the other people in our tour (there was a couple from Acme, Alberta!) we headed off to enjoy some Gelato and wander back to the train station.

It was a great day. We saw and experienced some wonderful things and met some good people. 

To add to the blessings; Atticus was a trooper.

Looking forward to our next adventure!

Love and miss you all.

-The Clog Crew