Haarlem was lovely. It's too bad it was closed.

Monday morning I took a 15-minute train ride across Amsterdam's suburbs to Haarlem, an old, elegant town near the Dutch coast.

Exiting the station and walking toward village center, things seemed oddly quiet. Even though it was nearly 10:30 AM, almost all the shops seemed closed, pedestrian and auto traffic was minimal, and the only activity seemed to be an occasional repairman working on a house or storefront. When I arrived at the village square next to the Grote Kerk (Great Church), there were all the makings of a bazaar or flea market: stalls, inventory, vendors … everything but customers.

What I had discovered was Monday in Haarlem, which apparently has its parallels elsewhere in the Netherlands. Monday is for merchants what Sunday is for the rest of the population: a day of rest. And in Haarlem, the village took this down time seriously … until after lunch.

So I took the opportunity to visit the one "museum" that was open: The Grote Kerk. This is a grand old building begun in 1370, two centuries before the Protestant Reformation.

If you enter a large Catholic Church like Notre Dame in Paris or St. Patrick’s in New York, you can see that the Catholics like their churches well appointed with finery and glitter. The stained glass can bathe the interior light in opulent color, and the walls are frequently festooned with statuary and art.

Contrast this with a visit to this church affected by the Dutch Reformation. What the Grote Kerk possesses in grand architecture, it lacks in interior design. The Iconoclasm (when the rioting Protestants decked all the statues and defiled all the relics) left the church looking a bit sad, like a once grand Catholic Cathedral existing on a forced austerity plan. Remnants of its former Catholic splendor were present, such as the organ and some of the furnishings. But overall, the experience was akin to walking in on Liz Taylor before she applies her make-up.

The organ, nonetheless, was magnificent, and I was lucky enough to wander in while the organist was rehearsing for Easter, so I got an impromptu half-hour concert. During their day, both Mozart and Handel had played this same instrument.

After leaving the church, I discovered that the other museums remained closed all day each Monday, so my planned excursions to Teylers Museum and the Frans Hals Museum fell flat. I wandered about town taking in the scenery and enjoyed an excellent lunch. And by the time I was paying my check, the shops began to open and the customers began to flood into the market square.

Once I returned to Amsterdam, I took a tour of the art exhibit at the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), which at 600 years of age, is hardly "new." The church held an exhibit on the history and culture of Oman, which was enjoyable, although relatively small.

Tomorrow, I’m off for Belgium.

Blog to you later!