8. Haarlem, Netherlands

The ship docks at 3 PM, meaning that we do not have a lot of time to explore the nearby town of Haarlem. We opt to take the bus, and join many other passengers at the bus stop. We have to change buses in the nearby town, and our trip to Haarlem is fairly easy. One of the locals is kind enough to give us information for catching the buses for our return and he also set us on the right direction to the old city of Haarlem. We arrive as the light is beginning to fade and we enjoy watching the Christmas lights begin to shine. We wander around the streets. marvelling at the age of the buildings, some of which were built before Captain Cook left England for his voyage of discovery.

We have no problems catching the bus back to the Ijmuiden. But it is here that we have a problem. We stand at bus stop watching and waiting for the next scheduled service, but we are not sure when the next bus is likely to arrive, and it is now getting cold. We call an Uber and return to the ship.

We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow and have a number of exciting things organised for our day in Amsterdam.