Haarlem Shuffle

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Haarlem observations will resume in 2023
Sometime in November the weather gets cold enough, or people have waited long enough, and the oliebollen stalls open up. Stalls is too diminutive; the places serving oliebollen are carnival big. The common oliebollen is a ball of fried dough, dipped in powdered sugar. You can get…
Where are you from? A response I’ve workshopped: Do you mean where do I live or where was I born? Her question, gentle. Genuinely curious. Me, someone who travels a lot, who has always lived in cities filled with people not from that city. One thing about travel is you learn not…
For two weekends in November every year, Haarlem art studios open their doors to the public. These are private studios, the kind you probably see when you close your eyes and imagine someone painting in a room. There’s some very good art, some pretty bad art, and then a whole lot…
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I’ve been cutting hair in Haarlem for 52 years, Do (pronounced “doh”) tells me. Some of my customers, I’m the only person who has ever cut their hair…
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Someone puts a heavy red envelope through the mail slot, “voor de buren” written on the front. This means, “for the neighbours”. Inside is a card. The…
Like most medieval cities, Haarlem’s cathedrals have rambunctious bell action. Unlike the other ones we’ve been to, the bells here belt out straight…
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The tiny bird is sitting on the beach. We’re at one of the swimming ponds within cycling distance of our house. The beach is full of kids on some kind…
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Groups of kids have set up in the streets with large wheel barrows full of plants. Fundraising for a sports team, or the Dutch version of a lemonade…
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Hello. Haarlem Shuffle will return properly in September. Back in June I asked you to tell me about your town, and some of you were nice enough to…
Intermission
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We’re walking to get a coffee, my arm around M’s shoulder, when a group of kids on bikes rides up the other way. As they go level with us this Dougie…
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Haarlem Shuffle

small notes on a small town

Haarlem Shuffle

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