STORY | HAARLEM

Their First Summer in Haarlem

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Couple kissing as she kicks one foot up on a cobbled street by the Grote Markt in Haarlem, a dalmatian walking past on a summer day

Lotte and Ruben moved to Haarlem in spring, and their first summer in Haarlem felt like one long vacation. Before it ended, they wanted photos of the corners they had come to love, so we spent an afternoon in early August walking them.

As a photographer in Haarlem, I keep every session to one part of the city. This one ran from a bridge over the Spaarne to the little square of the Vijfhoek, all within a short walk.

A Kiss Above the Spaarne

We began around twenty past two by the Spaarne. From a bridge with green iron railings, we watched the river slide past old gables and moored boats under a heavy grey sky. Lotte wore a navy skirt with a swirling print, Ruben a short-sleeved floral shirt. I asked him what he liked most about their new street, and she kissed him before he could finish.

Couple kissing on a bridge with green iron railings above the Spaarne, old gables and moored boats under a heavy grey sky — The Spaarne under a grey sky, 14:28

Bearded man in glasses kissing his partner at the railing of a bridge, the river and a row of trees soft behind them

Couple smiling at the camera by the river, he in a navy floral shirt and she in a black top and a swirling navy skirt

Stripes on the Grote Markt

For the Grote Markt, they changed in a café nearby: a striped jumpsuit for her, a lilac shirt for him. We walked past the ornate gables of the Vleeshal, while red flags and white tents filled the square behind us. Then Ruben lifted Lotte off the cobbles, she kicked one foot up, and a dalmatian strolled through the frame. That frame opens this story.

Couple walking side by side past the ornate brick gables of the Vleeshal in Haarlem on a cloudy summer afternoon

Man twirling his partner in a striped jumpsuit in front of the Vleeshal, its tall decorated gables reaching into a white sky

Around the corner, an old shop sign offered valuations for insurance and sale. Under it, the two of them held hands and laughed, and Ruben kissed the top of her head.

Holding hands under an old shop sign about valuations, she laughs up at him in a striped off-shoulder jumpsuit

He kisses the top of her head as she smiles, a lilac shirt and a striped jumpsuit against an old shop window on a summer day in Haarlem

A Haarlem Wall in Summer Bloom

A little later, we found a brick wall covered in a shrub full of pink flowers. Lotte had a few minutes on her own first, against a white-painted wall and then among the blossoms. In a session for two, I like to give each partner a portrait of their own. After that, Ruben stepped back in, and she could not stop laughing.

Woman with dark curls smiling to the side against a white-painted brick wall, her striped top resting off the shoulders

Woman laughing in front of a shrub full of pink summer flowers, her hands together in front of her striped jumpsuit

Close portrait of a woman with curly hair smiling, a pink flower above her and dark leaves behind, summer in Haarlem

Couple laughing in front of a flowering shrub on a brick wall in Haarlem, his hand on her shoulder on a summer afternoon

Dancing Through the Vijfhoek

One more change, into a floral blouse and a mustard T-shirt, and we were in the streets around the Vijfhoek. They are narrow and lined with plants, benches and bikes, and a church tower closes the view. Ruben twirled Lotte down the middle of the street, and they kept dancing all the way along it.

Couple walking away hand in hand down a narrow green street in Haarlem in summer, a church tower rising at the far end

Man in a mustard T-shirt twirling his partner in a floral blouse in the middle of a narrow street full of summer plants in Haarlem

Couple dancing in a narrow brick street lined with plants, benches and bikes, a church tower at the end of the view

Laughing woman in a floral blouse dancing close with her partner, green plants and red brick houses all around them

By three, the sun found its way between the houses. Ruben, in a brown jacket now, sat down among the plants with Lotte on his knee. Then he kissed her cheek while she closed her eyes.

Bearded man kissing his partner's cheek in warm sunlight, her eyes closed and green plants glowing behind them

Woman in a floral blouse sitting on her partner's knee and laughing, his brown jacket and green leaves in the afternoon sun

A Summer Bench in Haarlem’s Vijfhoek

We ended on the little square where five streets meet, the one that gave the Vijfhoek its name. Under a tall tree, beside a chalkboard asking for no bikes, they sat close together on a bench. It was ten past three, and their first summer in Haarlem now had pictures of its own.

Couple on a bench under a tall tree on the little Vijfhoek square in Haarlem, the last frame of their first summer walk — The Vijfhoek, ten past three

Want to walk the same streets? These are my favorite photo spots in Haarlem.

New in town, or simply in love with it? Discover how I work as a photographer in Haarlem.