Part 2 (Noord Holland)

After leaving Amsterdam we stay in the same province, Noord Holland. This province, in the North West of Holland, is a peninsula between the North See in the west and the Ijsselmeer in the east. The province includes one of the West Frisian islands, Texel. But this island we will visit later on. Haarlem is the capital of this province.

Noord Holland largely comprises of low-lying fenland. It is drained by numerous small rivers and canals and is protected against the sea by dunes and dikes.
In the province we can find 1001 bulb firms, 155 museums (including Amsterdam), 2 cheese markets, 81 miles of coast, 751 miles of cycle tracks, 2 floral processions and 138 windmills.

Lets have a look at the map (find it here) before we start. Haarlem is close, so lets go there first.

Haarlem	The official city site.
St. Bavo	The St. Bavo cathedral.
Grote Kerk	The "Big" Church.
Frans Hals	The Frans Hals museum.
Teylers	The Teylers Museum.
Adriaan	The Haarlem windmill.
Pictures	Some pictures of the city.

Before we go up north, we have a short break to the towns of Muiden and Naarden.

Muiden	The town of Muiden (D).
Castle	The castle of Muiden (D).
Naarden	The town of Naarden.
Fortress	The Dutch Fortress Museum.

Next we'll visit the cities of Aalsmeer, Alkmaar, Volendam, Edam and Marken. In Aalsmeer we go to the flower auction, where every day 20 million flowers and plants are sold.

Flower Auction	Flower Auction in Aalsmeer.
Pictures	Pictures of Aalsmeer and surroundings.
Greenhouses	Flowers in the greenhouses.
Procession	Flower-procession in Aalsmeer.
Alkmaar	The city of Alkmaar.
Cheese market	Pictures of the cheese market.
Museum	The Dutch cheese museum.
Edam	Town of Edam.
Cheese	They also have a cheese market.
Marken	Pictures of the former island.
Volendam	Pictures of Volendam.