on tuesday i boarded a train for haarlem and went to meet angeline. she had written me while i was still at home in LA and invited me to her home for lunch. being the curious hungry cat i am, i couldn't resist the opportunity for A. a homecooked dutch meal and B. a chance to peek inside a dutchwoman's home. She gave me her address and i decided to take the train to haarlem then figure out the bus route that would land me closest to her house. i love public transportation puzzles and since i don't travel with a phone it adds an additional bit of old-fashioned mystery. would i make it there by the proposed time or would i find myself going the wrong direction deep into the belgian countryside?
the no. 14 bus only ran once per hour so i decided to take a taxi. her house is perhaps 10 minutes from the train station so the taxi was a good option. i could have pedaled there of course on a rented bike, but my need for adventure alas does not extend towards physical exertion.
i arrived in late morning and angeline set about preparing tea & coffee in big floral cups. and. there were cookies.
i asked if i could take a few photos so DFLA readers could get a peep inside a dutch home. angeline graciously consented.
angeline lives here with her husband and 2 teenage daughters. her neighborhood is made up of what we call in the u.s., townhomes. single homes that are joined to one another by a common wall. her house is narrow, but tall, with 3 floors which are connected by an impossibly steep and narrow staircase. here. let me show you what i mean:
due to my lithe and graceful build i had no trouble whatsoever ascending and descending. piece of cake. ahem… but seriously i did think that with time one could get quite used to them. rather like one gets used to living with a bunion.
here i believe angeline was describing to me how often she goes up and down the stairs in a given day.
no actually she was telling me about her middle floor studio. a light-filled room with big windows looking out on the front street. these are just some of the many stacks of handmade books that rested on her shelves.
at my request she gathered up a pile and ferried them back down the stairs in true mountain goat style. it took all of my powers of concentration not to miss a step and tumble down after her. but i didn't! score one for the big american!
i settled into the big wooden dining table, sipped tea and turned the pages of her travel journals. such meticulous books filled with writing, photos, ephemera, and momentos of her trips. i was utterly charmed. how fun it is to thumb through someone else's journals.
while i lolled about being nosy angeline repaired to the kitchen and prepared luscious meatball soup. she also rolled out dough and put small mounds of spinach and blue cheese in the center, sliced dutch cheese, put bread in a basket, set out a bowl of tomatoes, whipped vegetables and another kind of cheese into a dip. although the expression on my face indicates otherwise, i was in true paradise.
i savored every delicious bite!
afterwards i popped back up and went out back to the small garden for more photos. i may have rummaged through a few cabinets, i can't remember.
after a few hours of visiting, angeline kindly drove me back to the center of haarlem so i could explore the area. i took one last photo of her neighborhood before leaving.
the opportunity to meet angeline in her home will remain a highlight of my first trip to the netherlands that i won't soon forget. if you want to poke through her life some more you can visit her blog HERE. meeting her was especially delightful since outside of the uk, canada, and australia the majority of my foregin readers hail from the netherlands! i regret not having the time to meet more of you while i'm here. next time!
now let's check out haarlem shall we?
one thing that makes walking in the netherlands such a pleasure is how flat flat flat it is! not a single hill that i've seen so far. the walking is easy and covering a lot of ground is a breeze. i motored all over haarlem. there is plenty to see. there is a maze of small canals and medieval houses that make for plenty of scenic meandering. my photos are actually poor representations of all the beauty i absorbed. it was difficult to capture and after awhile i quit trying.
i made time for some browsing, but did no real shopping. i was content to take in all of the richness with just my eyes. of course i didn't come back to amsterdam empty handed! i did manage to find a bright green pair of reading glasses and a sweet floral piece of oilcloth that will go on my table back at moss cottage.
i don't see how it's possible, but the gorgeous dutch brick architecture is even more lovely and different than in amsterdam. i wish i knew what the correct term for it was. if you're dutch and happen to know please do enlighten me. i have no time for googling and would prefer to hear straight from "the horses mouth" so to speak. hmmmmm. that sounds rude, but i assure you it is not meant to be!
eventually 2 small schoolboys pointed me in the direction of the train station and i headed back to amsterdam.
a very worthwhile journey. 20 minutes later i was back in amsterdam! 3/4 of the way home i noticed that i had ridden in first class the entire time even though i purchased a 2nd class ticket. whoops.
Wow, what a lovely home Angeline has! Going over to her blog now!
What a delightful post this is! And how gracious of Angeline to invite you to her lovely home in such a historic place! I would love to visit The Netherlands. Traveling around this place with you has been a treat. Thanks so much for taking the time to regale us with your adventures and story telling. You should write travel books!
I love you Mary Ann Moss. Thanks for taking me to the Netherlands. Traveling in your pocket is very nice,and makes my head buzz with ideas of going to these lovely places in person. <3
We’ve had no internet connection for days and I’ve been frothing at the mouth to see your latest adventures! I was so delighted this morning to be connected. I know how much it means when we are traveling to be in touch with the “homies”. Thanks again for your rendition of “Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town”! Just first rate all around. So glad you had that day with Angeline.
Thanks MaryAnn, for another delightful post. Angeline’s home was a beauty to see! And those gorgeous journals and books! What fun for you and for us…now I’m aching to travel back to Amsterdam and see Haarlem, which I missed out on. Your photos are the next best thing! Happy travels!
Beautiful place & pictures. So nice of Angeline to invite you to visit. Those stairs must be why she looks so good. Maybe I should build some & use them every day. I’m in awe of your traveling prowess: hopping planes, trains, automobiles, etc. and making it work the way you want it to. Pretty impressive. Am enjoying traveling with you and look forward to seeing the journal pages.
One pic said it all……purdey……..yep,it is that and so much more….thanks for sharing.
Missy from the bayou
Wow! What a terrific visit you had! A great day, a new friend, beautiful sites! And OMIgosh, I spied brown & pink mugs/dishes in a shop ybere I your pic that had both roses AND birds? The architecture is SO gorgeous in Harlaam! What a perfect days & awesome people & sights to see! Yay!
I think you are camera shy. That’s ok. I am too. Having lovely weather aren’t you? Thanks for sharing.
I visited Angeline’s blog today and I was beyond thrilled to see that throw, (felted scarf), that I fancied in your photos. It is quite lovely indeed…and hand made! Nice job Angeline, it looks warm and cozy for a cool autumn day and equally divine tossed upon your orange chair! Beauty and function…a win, win!
What a delightful peek into such a lovely home and a land far away. Thanks for sharing!
AND you crack me up. I have a bunion so that analogy struck a giggle tickle.
Thank you for taking me on the trip with you. Love it when you travel.
Thank you Angeline, lovely home.
Loving all your photos – thank you for sharing. And it was fun to see Angeline’s home as well – thank you Angeline! 🙂
Amsterdam/Haarlem is (or is it are?) now my next “must visit” before i do anything else. Love that pillowcase…and all the other pict.s….thnxs MAM
Lovely images!!! So so sweet that you met Angeline, and in turn introduced all of us!!! Her home is beautiful – I am drooling over the little square table!
…must.find.one.in.california. and the pink & orange china….sigh…
Safe travels!!! Lisbeth
Such a delightful place and so wonderful that you were able to visit with Angeline. Looking forward to see where you will be heading next!
I loved EVERYTHING about this post! Now I want to go to there!!
your photos are gorgeous; you make holland seem more beautiful than i remember and i admit i felt emotionally touched! I’s revealing to discover one’s country through new eyes,…only you make me feel more homesick…even for the steep staircases that are murder and i fear daily for my old mother who has to climb them up and down in her house. I didn’t know the word ‘bunion’, so i looked it up and then had such a laugh! you described these staircases in the best way!!!!
Between you and I: you really had a most wonderful lunch; usually people contend themselves with simple slices of wholemeal bread and cheese 😉 (i still do here in france).
I worked in Haarlem when i started as a schoolteacher. it’s a shame you didn’t get to visit the Frans Hals Museum with its dollhouses from the ‘golden age’.
ah there’s so much to see and discover insuch a small country…Why not take a train to The Hague and visit all of Holland in miniature in ‘Madurodam’? And really you should stay until the 5th of december and celebrate saint nicolas’
thank you for sharing!
Wow, all that Orange in her lovely home, just for you!
What a great post! What a great trip you’re on! Love it all!
What an adventure. I love Angleline’s home, so cozy and welcoming. All the orange is really delightful, I esp. love the length of fabric hanging on the wall next to the table. Oh, and the hardwood floors and the wheels on both the coffee table and the little square cube. I really enjoyed the fact that you just sat yourself right down there in first class. Right where you belonged!
head over heels loved your visit with Angeline. Her home, your photos and words painted a delightful moment of time captured in the true spirit of adventure. I’ve got to go through all the photos a few more times just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. The weather looks like it was a gorgeous day as well.
Oh what a fun visit! Thank you both – Angeline and MAM – for sharing the home and all the goodies in it. But this…” i may have rummaged through a few cabinets, i can’t remember.”. Oh you devious little girl Ms. Moss! I say guilty and I’m glad you are. It’s the daily stuff that gives us a real feel for a life outside our own.
One 🙁 bit. I’m finding the link to Angeline’s blog taking me part way to your blog but not to a blog. Help?
Your photos are always so amazing. If you feel you aren’t fully capturing this place, I can’t even begin to imagine how fabulous it looks! What do you use to photograph? I long for vivid photos like this! I think I need a new camera lens. Your photos just speak–they make everyone want to go where you have gone! And also, I would have had to get one of those orange cups.
Love Angeline’s home! Angeline likes orange. Debra likes orange. Orange good! Glad you got to meet her and that you shared her with us! I’m off to sit in my orange chair and ponder the Netherlands.
ok…after savoring this lovely post I regretfully will NOT be inviting you to lunch. Angelina’s perfectly exquisite Dutch home and gracious hospitality have set the bar way too high! What a magnificent time you must have had…a highlight to be sure!
I adore the cozy throw draped over the back of the pumpkin colored leather chair…just saying.
That was fun!
Delightful. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos. I love peeks into homes!
It’s all so you’re beautiful. You underestimate yourself – you’ve expressed the beauty, well, beautifully. I want to toss all of my earthenware dishes and replace them with flowers and porcelain.
Well, this post is fabulous! Loved all of the pix very, very much! Angelina’s home is SO cool. And, I’ve always wanted to visit a Dutch windmill. 🙂
Oh Mary Ann! I got no farther on your tour of Angelina’s lovely home, than the view of the staircase. Your remark about greeting
Used to it like getting used to a bunion sent me into waves of laughter. I woke up at six this morning, heard my husband leaving
For work got my coffee snuggled back down in my nice warm bed and started to read DFLA. Next thing I knew I was sideways
Trying to keep my coffee cup upright. Whatever happens the remainder of the day, I have that wonderful image in my mind.
Now back to your blog, Thank you dear Mary Ann for being you. How is the above for a runon sentence? XXXXOOOOO
Angeline, I loved your home! Very pretty! And I covet all of those beautiful dishes.
aw thanks everyone! comments are so good to get when traveling. savoring every single one when i get in for the day..they are usually right here waiting for me. love that!
also getting emails, but no time to respond. not when i have sketching and writing and exploring to do.
my friend melinda is joining me on saturday!
xoxo
Lovely pictures as always, such inspiration and I can’t wait to travel too! (going to mexico in 2 weeks… and looking forward to it!) thank you 🙂
Next time I go to the Netherlands, I am definitely inspired to visit Haarlem! Angeline’s house was beautiful and so cozy, and your photos are gorgeous 🙂 oh I want to get on a plane and then sit in the wrong seat on a train 🙂
angeline said it best, “sun filled land.” Mary Ann, your photos of the varied brick architecture also included that wonderful deep blue sky…..just wonderful. Holly
Mary Ann, it was very special to meet you and now seeing my house through your eyes. A bit weird it is.I’m glad we could meet before I leave for Spain. Enjoy the rest of your stay in this (at the moment) sun filled land.
Mary Ann thank you for sharing. Love staring my Thursday with a trip to Haarlem with you!
Mary Ann I’m Dutch and looked it up for you!
The left one is called “trapgevel” (trap means stairs). Kinda logical.
The right one is a “klokgevel” (klok means clock). Wikipedia’s explanation is that the top has the shape of an old clock.
“Trapgevels” were first built in the 12th century end evolved over time.
Besides the “klokgevel” there is also a “halsgevel”. These types were built in the 17th and 18th century.
Hope this helps!