Smiles from Miles Away

We have taken a lot of day trips in the last month or so in the Netherlands. I am a little behind on posting, but I thought it would be fun to share what we have been up to, even if it is a little delayed.

Haar Castle

This is a really impressive castle outside of the town of Utrecht. We got off at the train station before Utrecht and then rented city bikes from the station and biked about 30 minutes to the castle. It was so impressive and I want to go back in the spring/summer to see the beautiful gardens! I think what was also interesting and different about this castle vs others that I have been to is that it was in use by a family up until about 2006. When you walk in it is part luxury hotel lobby and part beautiful gothic architecture. They used to have massive parties with big name celebrities to coco Chanel and Audrey Hepburn joining.

Delft

We took the train south in the same weekend to Delft with is known for their Delft pottery. Obvious, the idea of a pottery museum was very enticing to me. It was sunny out, but I think I was a little ambitious on on my weather expectations. For example, it said a high of 50 (super warm) but ended up being 48 (quite chilly. Isn’t it funny how 3 degrees mentally feels very different? Anyway, we went to a beautiful cafe Kek for brunch in the morning, walked around the city, visited the pottery museum, and ended the day with beers at a local brewery (Delfts Brouwhuis). I must say that the pottery museum was under construction and not too impressive, but I might have to try it again another time when everything is open.

Haarlem

The next weekend we checked out Haarlem which is considered a mini Amsterdam and fun fact is where Harlem New York got it’s name. Haarlem is only a 20 minute train ride away and it is actually quite common to live there and work in Amsterdam. We started the morning at the market in the main square which was very fun and had the best empanadas. We got coffee at a local cafe and then visited the brewery which was honestly the main reason we wanted to go to Haarlem. The famous brewery Jopen is based in Haarlem and is built in a church with stain glass windows and everything.

Thanks for reading

❤️Melanie