May 25

An idyllic mooring protected from the wind and rain

Haarlem: we arrived in Haarlem, after spending a wonderful night in a secluded, but very protected mooring on the Kever in the Kagerplassen ( a lake south of Haarlem). Haarlem is wonderful- except that the weather wasn’t friendly at all, with wind, temperatures around 12 and wind.We toured the lake (after making a slight navigation error) and saw many of the windmills used to pump the water out of the polders (reclaimed land, below sea level). We made it to Haarlem and moored in the city center.

Nick at the helm with Chris supervising.

Pat and Kerry arrived on Wednesday, and we walked around the city streets. We had a chance to explore, and found a quilt shop that the ladies visited, with a spectacular display of distinctive quilts that was a hit. Nick and Pat visited a museum, and Chris, Kerry and I tested the local beverages. The cathedral bells rang out over the city square, and our boat. We find that many Dutch buildings are specifically distinct, with almost no two being the same.