Haarlem

On Thursday I headed out to Haarlem, which is a charming town about 15 minutes by train from Centraal Station. I ended up getting there late in the morning (ran into a neighbor on the way, had to get a cappucino to go, etc) and realized that I only had time to see one of the places on my list. I chose the Corrie ten Boom house, which could only be seen as part of a guided tour. Haarlem's train station is well known as an example of art nouveau architecture.

To kill time before the tour, I decided to go shopping. Shopping in Haarlem is excellent. It has almost all the chain stores that Amsterdam has (no Zara, Mango, deSigual) and several boutiques. What I like about shopping there it is that the all the shops are densely located around the main square and they are not as crowded.

To energize myself for shopping, I had some kibbeling (a sort of fish) for lunch. I had never eaten it before, but it looked (and ended up tasting) delicious. It was served with kibbeling sauce, which tasted like honey mustard. In addition to looking at the kibbeling in the photo, you can see that the Dutch have invented a fork with a serrated edge, perfect for cutting through the kibbeling.

I made some good purchases and returned to the Corrie ten Boom House at 1:45, the appointed tour time. Corrie ten Boom and her family were evangelical Christians. Corrie, by training was a licensed watchmaker. They had hosted prayer sessions at their home, above their watchmaking shop, in Haarlem for generations. They strongly venerated Jews, the chosen people. During World War II, the ten Booms home became a center for Resistance activity. A false wall was built in Corrie's bedroom. During the war, 6 people lived there full time and possibly 800 passed through, shielded by the wall (they had to get in there within 70 seconds if the Gestapo arrived). Naturally, the ten Booms harbored Jews as well as other participants in the Resistance. Eventually, someone denounced them to the Nazis and the family was sent to concentration camps. The people in hiding were not found and survived. Corrie, due to a clerical error, was released when she should have been killed. Following the war, Corrie relocated to California. One of the other people on the tour said that she often made appearances with Billy Graham. In addition, a movie called "The Hiding Place" is based on the ten Booms' heroicism during the war.

The tour was very interesting. We got to crawl through the back of the false cupboard that led to the brick wall that was the hiding place. Among the items on display were ration cards, photos, and canisters for provisions that the Allies dropped during the war.

exterior of the ten Boom house

the hiding place, entry in lower left

After the tour, I headed back to A'dam. There are a few other places to see (and shop) in Haarlem, so I'm sure I will return soon!