That's Haarlem, not Harlem

So this is my second evening at my friend Deb's house, in Haarlem. It is evident that this town is NOT a tourist attraction, and that is fine with me. Today I got to sleep in on a couch (comfort than many of the mattress' I had at hostels), and weake up to a fantastic breakfast - and a vegetarian one, too. Health bread, super delicious cheese, sprouts, cucumber, tomatoe, and egg. . .and with coffee, tea, and apple-banana juice, too.

In the house there are mainly three of us: Deborah, her friend Ben who is attending a conservatory in Haarlem, and me. Deb's dad lives upstairs, too( and he makes regular visits; he is a totally cool guy. Kinda lazy, but has great musical taste, and likes to chat. We talked about government, nuclear war, David Bowie, traveling, and crazy American words for 'peeling an eggshell off of a hard boiled egg with cold eater.' The Dutch are awesome.

After a slow morning, Deb took me to the town center, and showed me around. We went by Napolion's former winter house, a free petting zoo, and gorgeous streets and canals. We also stopped by two museums, one with art, the other with architecture. Learned about culture and how Haarlem was built. Three major fires in the city, and three major rebuildings. Cool stories, too. . .Haarlem is the Capitol of the northern Dutch province, the same province where Amsterdam is, yet A-town is the country's Capitol. Strange.

After choirs, it was time for a visit to a bar and a coffee shop, then back to the house with some fast-food, Dutch style. Super good fried meat stick things and a cheese soufle. We hung out at home, and watched a little Dutch television, then went and got stuff for an Indonesian dinner. Deb is a good cook. We then watched Orphan, and now here we sit. We are headed to 'the dunes' tomorrow, and I am really excited. Wild horses, sand, and booze with a picnic. . .well, the booze and picnic will be awesome at any rate. And this place looks really cool from the pictures. It'll be fun. And if it isn't, I shall blog about it!

Been noticing how much I have walked here in Europe; four or five hours is about normal, and I have no problem with that anymore. Moleskin was a good purchase for this trip, though. I like this exercise thing, though. . .and with biking being huge here in the Netherlands, cars seem a little unnecessary. Kinda cool.

As it nears midnight here, I am trying to decide where to go next, in my final stretch of the trip. It could be in Belgium, seeing nifty things there, or it could be back in Germany, or perhaps some other country nearby. We shall see. . .we'll see.

-Dyl

P.S. - Must mention this: dinner last night was made to accordian music and singing from me, Deb, and Ben. Totally awesome!!!