Haarlem is a "Dutch Masters" kind of town
with plenty of 17th-century architecture.
The town gate,
no longer needed as part of its fortification,
welcomes all into a delightful Old Town.
Haarlem's market square -- traffic-free since the 1960s --
has been the town's focal point for centuries.
The herring stand is a standard feature
of small town squares throughout Holland.
Hello, is it herring time now? Are these fresh?
That's fresh, it's now herring season.
-RICK: In the summertime? -Yeah, summertime.
RICK: So, what are my options?
The options -- outside of Amsterdam,
they grab it from the tail
and just slide it inside and they bite it.
-And in Amsterdam? -In Amsterdam we cut it in pieces.
Let's have it Amsterdam style.
Yeah.
Do you want onions and pickles with it?
-RICK: What is the normal way? -With everything.
-I'll have everything. -The whole package?
RICK: The whole package. Beautiful.
And this is actually raw?
This is raw, it's marinated with salt.
And then we eat it with the Dutch flag.
RICK: So, this is a patriotic duty in the Netherlands.
Is this -- people say this is a healthy thing to eat.
It is.
RICK: So, how do you say "delicious and healthy"?
-Lekker en gezond. -Lekker en gezond.
Yeah.
-Raw fish. -Raw fish.
Mmm, why not?
This will make me a good man?
You already are,
but now you're better.
[Laughs] Mmm!
Lekker en gezond!
To uncover some of Haarlem's sites,
dodge bikes down narrow, characteristic lanes.
Just down the street,
Haarlem's top museum features the work of its most famous son,
the great portrait artist Frans Hals.
Here, in a room full of his masterpieces,
we get a good taste of Protestant Dutch art.
When the Dutch broke away from
Spain and the Catholic Church in the 1600s,
they established an independent Protestant republic.
While this was great for freedom,
it was a crisis for painters --
no more wealthy bishops and art-loving kings
to commission grand works of art.
Dutch society was a merchant society,
and now artists worked for a new kind of customer --
Merchants.
These are ego-boosting portraits of city big shots.
They epitomize the independent and upwardly mobile Dutch
of the 17th century --
the men who made the Golden Age golden.
These Dutchmen worked hard and were proud of it.
Here, some business leaders close a deal.
They enjoyed displaying the fruits of their labor,
like this -- an exquisitely detailed
still life of good food.
No preachy Madonnas or saints,
but a canvas reminder that this household ate very well.
And this family had some fine pewter ware.
In this woman's portrait,
her elegant dress and jewelry
are painted with as much care as her face.
Painters showed city pride as well.
A centerpiece of most Dutch cities is the church.
You see it in 300-year-old paintings...
And you see it today as you explore.
Haarlem's Grote Kerk, or great church,
towers over the market square
as if to bless all the business that takes place below.
Inside, you find a towering Gothic nave,
which was whitewashed and purged of its Catholic ornamentation
when the Reformation arrived in 1566.
Small frescoed sections,
revealed when the whitewash was cleaned off,
show how the entire church was originally decorated.
As was the case in many Protestant countries,
rather than huge, preachy works of visual art,
like frescos and statues
promoting the message of the Church,
the artistic emphasis was put on music.
[Organist playing]
Protestant churches invested in mighty pipe organs.
Haarlem's towering organ has been giving worship here
an inspirational soundtrack since 1738.
And visitors enjoy free concerts weekly.