10/20/14 day 13: Haarlem, NL

Woke up at 930 to a very respectable spread. Loads of the same; breads, cheeses, sliced meats, yogurt, granola, etc but some of the croissants of the tour and a small griddle to fry your own egg. Nice touch Holland.

Met Paul our host and promoter at 11. We walked to nearby cafe and devised a game plan for the day. Sitting outside enjoying the intermittent sun, he explained that he had made contact with local radio and arranged an on-air. Around noon, we took the short walk to Haarlem 105 FM and met the DJ and sang a couple tunes live. We did Dance and Love Song. It was awesome!

Two faces for radio...

After the interview, we went to Jopenkerk for lunch. This was the brewery we went to the night before and we were all eager to see how the food would be. We already all loved the beers. Literally the best IPA I've had in a while...

Lunch did not disappoint. I went with Kroketten (sp) which is typical Dutch. Think Twinky-sized, deep fried mash potato and meat thingys with a creamy whole grain mustard on thick cut bread... So. Damn. Good. And what??? French fries?? Never heard of them...

Lunch was just stupid. Jopen Brewery officially blew my mind. Trifecta; beer, food, vibe.

After lunch I was eager for a little nap time, we all rendezvoused in the lobby around 5 and walked the 100 meters to the venue which is in the actual Haarlem train station. On track 3, the old waiting rooms were preserved which are these beautiful wood paneled rooms which are now used for a variety of things. It was so cool and the natural acoustics were warm and delicious. So unique. So beautiful.

This is the room, pre-set up. Actual trains arriving/departing on either side... So stinking cool.

After sound check, Paul and his girl Daphne took us to dinner at this funky little joint across the street. I went with the mixes green salad with warm, local goat cheese and walnuts. It was righteous.

The set was super groovy. Nice little crowd for a Monday. It sounded really amazing to my ears and we all felt loose and had fun with it. Met some super nice folks too.

After the set Paul and Daphne took us out on the town. Paul studied here for three years and had some favorite spots so we cruised around and heard live music, stopped by Jopen Brewery again, and hit up a couple local spots. At the last spot, the bartender made us all try Nobeltje which is this amazing smooth and delicious liquor. Vanilla, herb, something something. Dangerously good. We raises our glasses to a great night and phenominal first weekend in Holland with great new friends. Success!