Haarlem

Haarlem is a great little place to wander around, not really for sight seeing but more for just the relaxed atmosphere and friendly people. There's a central square with an impressive cathedral and market stalls set up selling clothes and an assortment of oddities. The central shopping street makes for a pleasant diversion for an hour or two, and the obligatory Dutch canal is also present in this town. Other than that, it makes for a nice change from hectic Amsterdam, and the bicyclists here are a lot less aggressive than the Amsterdam ones. In fact, pedestrians seem to be top of the food chain on the road here, which is a real change!

Haarlem is only 20 minutes from Amsterdam by train, and I almost missed the stop because I thought I'd "close my eyes for a second" - bewarned!