Europe 2018 - August 2 - Haarlem to Leiden

Thursday - August 2
Our plan is to head west to the coast once again.

Unlike most of the rest of the Netherlands, there is nothing flat about the dunes along the coast.

Feels like we are going in a big circle.........because we are! While we were stopped here, a seagull started doing the "emergency broadcast signal". He repeated it several times. It was the weirdest thing to hear out here.

We did want to see the North Sea one more time and Langevelderslag road seemed like a good spot as it had a secure place to park our bikes.

We took the requisite selfie,

kid/people watched, 

dipped our feet in the water,

and admired the blue jellyfish.

Much like Oregon, the beachfront dunes are mostly public/park land.....but there are a lot more bikes.

In Katjik.

We weren't sure what happened but the rescue boat put in the water while we were stopped and a search and rescue van went by soon after. This was our goodby to the North Sea as we headed back inland from here. We could not have planned a more lovely day to do this part of the coast.

The outskirts of Leiden.

We got to our hotel in Leiden at little after 2 pm, showered, then headed to the American Pilgrim Museum.

The museum is in the oldest house in Leiden, built in 1370. It housed priests from the adjacent church until the Reformation.

It is filled with typical items from the Pilgrim era as well as some religious items from the former Catholic church.

Our guide was quite knowledgeable.

This chair is 900 years old and our guide said it was OK to sit in it.

Hooglandse Kerk (Highland Church), first consecrated in 1315 as a Catholic church.  That era ended in 1566 with the Reformation. It has been added to and restored several times since then.This is the church next to the Pilgrim Museum.

It was a lively evening both on the water and on the shore.

We were really curious to know what is behind that door.

It was a lovely end to a lovely day in our favorite city in the Netherlands.