Haarlem Sunday Skate

Haarlem Sunday Skate, Tulip-edition. (April 3rd 2005)

This year, in the Netherlands, we had -20 degrees Celcius in March, with 30cm snow and three weeks later we had +20 Celsius as if it was a summer day! So we grapped the opportunity and gathered for a group skate at the old market square of the city of Haarlem. The building in the first picture below is called "De hofdwacht", one of the oldest buildings of Haarlem (13th century). We took off south to Bennebroek and Lisse where the famous flowerbeds can be found. Flowers in all colours were flourishing. And the scent of these flowers made us realize that spring had begun.

Between Hillegom and Lisse, we had our break at the Keukenhof, a touristic garden. Since we had all the flowers for free, we just had a few snacks and continued our tulip-skate. Of course a photo shoot amidst thes flowers was a must. On our way back to Haarlem we skated along the Ringvaart, the canal surrounding a polder (=piece of land which used to be under water). At the Cruquius you will find the old Cruquius steam pump which was used to pump the water out of the polder. It's the 33rd Internatinonal Historic Mechanical Landmark. It became redundant in 1932 by modern pumps. (if we don't pump continuously, our national airport Schiphol will be flooded!)

We finished at the Grote Markt for a drink, well deserved after a 40+ km tour.

MOVIE: HSS Tulip Skate 18 sec (2MB)