Day 5 - Haarlem
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Franz Hals Museum |
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Grand Hotel Franz Hals |
Tonight we must
pack. We’ve rather thoroughly moved into this large comfortable hotel room in
the Grand Hotel Franz Hals. It is indeed a very nice hotel but the “grand” in
its name is a bit fanciful. I’ve stayed in “Grand” hotels. They were all built
in the late eighteen hundreds or early nineteen hundreds and they have marble
bathrooms and a gazillion rooms and people who pop out of the woodwork at every
turn to see if they could bring you a drink, Madame. We love these hotels. One
in Rimini particularly comes to mind. An experience.
No. Not “grand”.
But the Franz Halls is very comfortable, the front desk is alert and helpful
and the room, fully satisfactory in every way. It may be difficult to accustom
ourselves to sharing a ship cabin after having this much space!
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Food at the Grand Cafe Brinkmann |
I just realized I
haven’t mentioned food. I expected little from the Netherlands in that
department. How wrong I was. Our meals have been incredible, and we’ve added a
few things to our repertory. For instance, a very popular drink here is mint
tea. No. Not made with a tea bag. You crush a cup full of mint into the glass
mug, pour boiling water over it and voila! Utterly delicious and refreshing.
Tonight my dinner was two tiny whole soles. A white fish I love but never get
in Canada because it’s already old before it gets to Canada. They were cooked
to perfection. JP had shrimp prepared in
a spicy Indonesian sauce. We have not had a meal in the last four days that was
less than perfection. One night we had cheese fondue made with Dutch cheese.
Delicious!
In all fairness I
must admit that I think our good fortune came from discovering The Grand Café
Brinkmann on our first night in Haarlem. It left us with no desire to explore
further.
Most clients sit
outside at the sixty or so tables they have there. We chose inside, on red
velvet banquettes, surrounded by dark mahogany. We were waited on by a series
of cheerful young Dutchmen who patiently explained the (Dutch) menu to us. And
took pleasure in introducing us to things we might otherwise not have tried. I
am reminded again that in Europe, serving in a restaurant is considered a
respectable career. Not just something to do part time.
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Grand Cafe Brinkmann |
In front of the
cafe there is a row of trees seven in all, tall, but espaliered in a way I’ve
never seen before, so that they create a tall flat green border to the café.
I’ve seen espalier trees before, particularly in France, but never anything of
the size of these. They are contained by strong metal pipes from the ground and
across the top and there are wires from one pipe to the next to which the limbs
are fastened. It makes for a very interesting effect. A wall of green.
Setting and food,
Brinkmann’s has it all, and it’s just across from the church in the town
square.
And we have yet
to pay more than 50 Euros for a dinner for two in Haarlem.
.......................................................................................
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Blair McDowell