Haarlem and dinner

For the first time since we left the Middle East, we saw the sun today. Hooray! Together with Femke’s mother, we went to Haarlem, a beautiful Dutch city. While the girls looked at clothing, I bought matured Dutch cheese to bring back to Jerusalem, then found myself a great little bar called Taverne de Waag (in a house from 1597). Reading an international travel magazine and sipping on Belgian beer, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and realized that it is these kind of simple pleasures I miss in the Middle East. You simply do not find the same kind of quiet and relaxed atmosphere, not to mention the nice beers and the ham, cheese and salami I had on the side.

Later on, Femke and her mother joined me together with Mirthe, a friend of Femke’s from secondary school.

In the evening, we took Femke’s parents out for dinner at a restaurant in Uitgeest, the village outside Amsterdam where they live. I had a lovely hare fillet in red wine sauce and Femke enjoyed a butter-fried sole. Mmm.

The café

Femke and Mirthe