As soon as we got off the train, we were greeted by young men outside passing out orange Pringles (we suppose to support the national voetbol team)! They had recently been to Las Vegas and shared their visit with us after they found out we live there. They pointed us in the direction of the old Plaza area and we started walking. As soon as I spied the tip of a windmill, we headed towards it. I wanted at least pictures while the sky was blue! This turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip! Our guide was incredibly into the heritage as much as the engineering of Dutch windmills. His passion oozed out and was appreciated. You can climb up at least three stories if you are up for it. We were there on a day they were educating some American (Pennsylvania Dutch?) students and they had the windmill flying at times, it was a little creepy inside! (Think Hitchcock movie or "The Moonspinners") There are scale models demonstrating everything and synced up a visit to George Washington's Mount Vernon last summer. The view from the platform is worth it alone! Really awesome for us!BTW, don't bother with the cafe next door (no business relationship that I could tell). They will serve drinks, but spend most of their time on locals. Have a beer and a glass of wine, then eat elsewhere!!!!
We came to Haarlem to visit the Corrie Ten Boom house, but had to wait a while for the tour. So we pottered over to the windmill.We found the history and miniature models fascinating, and seeing the mill's history and the rebuilding was a tribute to the volunteers who rebuilt it. It is worth a visit to Haarlem if you are in the vicinity in its own right. Haarlem itself is a lovely town with beautiful narrow sidestreets and a gorgeous Grote Markt square with cafes and restaurants. A lovely day out from the hurly burly of Amsterdam.
It was a beautiful day and the Molen De Adriaan looked fantastic. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgable and very friendly. Being a museum, you will learn everything you would want to know about the history and functioning of windmills. But you will also learn a lot about the history of Haarlem. A nice choice while visiting the fantastic town of Haarlem.
Quintessentially Dutch! Haarlem is a beautiful city, and this Molen is not to be missed! There is a museum and a guided tour that cost three euro fifty cents.
If you want to gain an understanding of the importance of the windmill in Dutch commercial and social history and you don't have much time, you will find a visit to the De Adriaan Museummolen in Haarlem a rewarding and enjoyable experience.For 3 euros 50! per person you will receive a guided tour of a working windmill from a volunteer guide who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The windmill has been reconstructed from the ruins of a windmill which burnt down in 1932 but the site has a history stretching back to the 14th century. As is often the case, our experience with a volunteer guide - in this case, Adriaan - provided us with an insight into the subject matter that can be missing from a professional guide. Our guide had obviously invested a lot of time and love into his work and we certainly received the benefit of his effort.Take a train from Amsterdam Centraal to Haarlem, a 19 minute ride which costs 8 euros for the round trip. The De Adriaan Museummolen is an easy 15 minute walk from the station.
We loved this museum. We had no idea how a windmill worked and it was great to be able to go up to each floor and see how the whole thing works and the how it is built. The guide was very informative, and there were only about 5 of us and we asked a lot of questions and he didn't mind at all. He was very personable and funny and took extra time to tell us, not only about the windmill but also about the rest of the town. This is a great museum, well worth the visit
I visited more than 5 molens in the netherlands, and this one was not the most special. I don't think that you should pay to get inside and see only how it works and read a little of the history. If you really want to, check that days that the visiting is for free.The molen is beautiful from outside and you can take great pictures from the Catharijnebrug. ;)
Climb to the top of this working mill in Haarlem and learn from experts how millers supported their towns using custom tools and strong muscles. This windmill is great attraction not to be missed! I'm so glad we made time for a tour among the many attractions there are to see and do in The Netherlands.
Tulips, clogs and windmills. Well, here's one on the bench of the river that used to be Haarlem's landmark until destroyed in fire in 1932. The new one was rebuilt in 2002, so nothing original here, but hey, people are having fun at plastic mountains of Disneyland, so why not taking a walk here and enjoy the lovely scenery and peaceful time near water. Don't forget to take plenty of pictures.
We had decided we would visit the windmills at Zaanse Schans but saw this windmill on our visit to Haarlem. This windmill is beautiful from the outside and we enjoyed watching it while having a cold drink in the cafe next to it.