Our home is situated in a quiet residential area of Haarlem, fifteen minutes walking outside the historic city centre. Haarlem, a town of middle-age origin, on the river Spaarne, is famous for its historic buildings, museums and shops. (Round the corner there is a very good supermarket.) Amsterdam and Schiphol airport are 15 minutes by train or bus. The North sea beaches are easily accessible by car, bus or bicycle. There is a lot of culture around (concertos, pop music, the theatre and film house with original versions). Examples of nearby museums are the Frans Hals museum, the Teylers museum and all the museums in Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank huis).The beautiful St. Bavo church in the market place features a world famous organ. Haarlem is renowned for its courts of almshouses, its good shopping and its markets. Bus and train stations are within walking distance (15 min).

We, Henk and Hanny, are an ex-freelance translator and ex-school teacher, enjoying our retirement. In addition to our work as volunteers, we make a habit of walking and cycling in the beautiful neighbourhood. We like to travel all over Europe and have made exchanges three times previously.