STORY | HAARLEM

Haarlem in November, in Yellow Rain Boots

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Parents and their toddler in yellow rain boots hugging at the railing of the Gravestenenbrug in Haarlem, the Spaarne behind them

Back home in South Africa, November is the start of summer. This family swapped it for Haarlem in November, and their daughter Mia, two years old, came prepared in bright yellow rain boots.

We met on the fifteenth, under a white sky and bare trees. Light like that keeps colors soft and even, so Mia’s boots stood out against every brick wall we passed. Small walks like this one are the heart of my photoshoots in Haarlem.

A Quiet Canal in November

We started on a quiet canal lined with gabled houses and small boats. Mia rode on her mother’s arm, a soft toy tucked under her chin.

Mother holding their toddler in yellow rain boots as the father leans in, on a canal street of gabled houses in Haarlem in November

Soon she moved over to her father and leaned back in his arms to laugh with her mother, yellow boots kicking.

Father laughing as his little girl in a flowered dress leans back in his arms, yellow boots kicking, her mother smiling beside them

Then he tossed her up into the air while her mother watched with her hands ready. For a while, Haarlem in November gave us the canal almost to ourselves.

Father tossing his daughter into the air by a quiet canal with bare trees and parked cars, her mother watching closely — A quiet canal, 2:27

Along the houses, we walked on with Mia between her parents. Every few steps they swung her off the ground, past a stepped gable and, a little later, a bright yellow house.

Parents swinging their toddler by the hands as they walk along a canal in Haarlem, a stepped gable and a white building behind

Walking their daughter in yellow rain boots past a yellow house, the parents stroll down a cobbled street of brick facades

An Orange Wall and a Black Door

Around the corner, an orange-red house with black double doors stopped us. Mia danced toward her mother, who crouched on the herringbone bricks. After that, she marched past the black front door all by herself.

Toddler dancing toward her crouching mother in front of black double doors set in an orange-red wall, herringbone bricks below

Little girl in a flowered dress and yellow rain boots walking past a black door in an orange wall, her arms swinging

Then the three of them held hands in front of the doors, with Mia in the middle. Against that wall, the yellow boots looked almost too bright to be real.

Family holding hands in front of black double doors in an orange-red house in Haarlem, the toddler holding hands in the middle

Past Teylers to the Gravestenenbrug

On the Spaarne, Mia ran along the quay with her mother, laughing at every step.

Mother running along the quay of the Spaarne with her laughing daughter by the hand, boats and gabled houses behind them

We passed the Teylers Museum, the oldest museum in the Netherlands, with its statues high on the roof. From her mother’s arm, Mia pointed at the water instead.

Family on the Spaarne quay in front of the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, the toddler pointing at the water from her mother's arm — The Teylers Museum on the Spaarne, 2:40

A little further on, the white Gravestenenbrug crosses the river, with a tall stepped gable behind it. At the railing, Mia pointed at something ahead from her father’s arms. Then the three of them squeezed together at the railing, right beside the bridge’s name, and that hug opens this story.

White drawbridge of the Gravestenenbrug with red-brown railings, a tall stepped gable behind and the family on the bridge in November

Smiling father holding his daughter in yellow rain boots at the bridge railing as she points ahead, the river behind them

Her mother crouched down by the railing, and Mia ran straight into her arms. A minute later, she rested her head on her mother’s shoulder and closed her eyes, just for a moment.

Toddler throwing her arms around her crouching mother for a kiss by the railing, one yellow boot lifted behind her

Little girl resting her head on her mother's shoulder with her eyes closed, the rust knit dress and the river behind them

We crossed the bridge together, with Mia swinging between her parents over the bricks.

Swinging their toddler between them, the parents walk off the white drawbridge, a tall stepped gable behind them in Haarlem

A Quiet Hofje in Haarlem

We ended in Teylers Hofje, one of the old almshouse courtyards of the city. It stays calm there even on a busy day. The family sat down on a green bench in front of low brick houses. Above the roofs rises the white tower of the Bakenesserkerk. Mia climbed up between her parents, and the laughing started all over again.

Laughing on a dark green bench in Teylers Hofje in Haarlem, the family sits before low brick almshouses under the Bakenesserkerk tower

That was our last frame of Haarlem in November, at five past three: Mia standing on the bench between her parents, still laughing.

On a bench in a quiet hofje, a toddler stands between her laughing parents, brick houses with climbing plants behind them — Teylers Hofje, five past three

Curious about more places like these? My guide to photo spots in Haarlem brings them together.

Coming to Haarlem in any season? Discover how my photoshoots in Haarlem work.