WHAT IMPRESS ME AT HAARLEM?

Some describe Haarlem as a sleepy Dutch town. In spite of it huge old buildings—an architectural delight, Haarlem conveys a cozy and quiet ambiance.

The cathedral boasts of having the greatest organ in Holland, 100 feet high with 5,000 pipes, and according to history, the child Mozart played on this pipe organ. The entire floor is made of the tombs of the rich and famous, including that of Frans Hals. Another historical anecdote alleges that Napoleon Bonaparte used the cathedral as a stable for his horses and used its 262-foot tower to watch for his enemies on the occasions he was in Haarlem.

The Dutch use bikes for doing most of their errands. It amazes me to see the number of bikes in this town. I thought China tops in owning and using bikes but Haarlem seems to out-win China.

While we listen to Hal, our local tour guide motorbikes passed by us. Hal points to the bike with a blue license plate and he says that the driver can only drive at a speed of twenty kilometers per hour and would not need to wear a helmet. The driver of the bike with the yellow license plate may drive at the speed of more than 20 kilometers per hour and would need to wear a helmet. Is this not an excellent idea?

We pass by shops, and Hal points out to us the designs on the front doors or on the sidewalk. A design represents the business. For example, a design for a tailoring shop would be scissors, for a pharmacy, a mortar. He says that only a few of these family-owned shops exist today, as the children want to venture into some other kind of livelihood

Hal points out to us the mailboxes on the doors. The owners of the mailboxes marked "nee..ja" are not willing to receive "junk mail" but would accept "ads." "Nee..ja" stands for "no junk…yes ads." Mailboxes marked "nee…nee" means "no junk…no ads." How would you like your mail sorted before you get them?

The parking system is interesting. People use phone cards or pre-paid cards to pay for parking. If the parking attendant found your car still parked after the time limit, the attendant would call you to notify that parking time is over. The parking attendant would then ask if you wanted to add more minutes. In this way, you do not have to go back and forth to the parking meter to add money or reuse your credit card. Is this what I would call "service deluxe?"

It is interesting to note that the blind here does not use guide dogs. Instead, the government provides ways and means for the blind to integrate well into the community without being obvious. The blind uses the corrugated sidewalk. As the blind nears the end of the sidewalk, the corrugation turns into a pad, so that the blind could feel under his feet that he is now at the edge. The traffic lights have "go" bells so that the blind would know when to cross the street. When it comes to counting money, there are round coin holders with slots for each kind of coin. The Euro bills come in different sizes and with the money gauge, the blind could tell what denomination the bill is.

How would you like to live in a place like Haarlem?