Market Day: Gouda

You kind readers, never complain, but you know as well as I how irregularly I post on this blog. Yet, even if we are going in reverse chronological order, I think it's worth it. Just pretend you're flipping through an online scrapbook. 

Any doubts about where we were? Flags and signs don't lie. 

Gouda was on our 'to visit' list with Mom & Dad from Iowa, but we weren't just going for the photos. 

We were there for the world renown cheese and the historical cheese market experience. 

Some Dutch citizens think that this market is completely cheesy, but there's a reason tourists come from miles to literally get a taste of Dutch culture-- it's great fun. 

"Twenty-five" *slap*

"Twenty- four" *slap*

"Twenty-four 'n a half" *slap*

"Deal." *shake*

(but in Dutch)

The man in blue represents the farmer as he would be at the market trying to get the best money for his carefully crafted cheese. The man in the white coat is trying to get the most cheese he can for the least amount of money.  

He represents the cheese shop owner. 

These gentlemen probably do not have those professions in real life, but the way they hammed up their roles, you'd think they really were working out a good bargain.

As you can see in the picture, the men were reenacting the hand-slapping part of the bargaining. A man offers his hand and a price, then the other slaps the palm and gives his price in response. They slap hands back and forth until a price is decided upon and a handshake seals the deal. 

Look closely. 

See anything irregular about one of these wheels of cheese? 

As part of the bargaining act the audience got to try the cheese for themselves and offer their own opinions. Usually they sided with the farmer and the price went up.

I had a great time watching the deals, but the longer I looked the more I started to think that the hardworking hands with simple gold wedding bands reminded me of someone dear back home. I could easily see my Opa De Boer donning one of those white coats and working out a deal so he could stock up the store with cheese. 

Or maybe, befitting of his last name he'd nestle on a dark cap (I think he already wears one around...) and red kerchief and represent the farmer. Either way, with his talent of being able to talk to just about anyone, proud Dutch heritage, and his love of making others laugh, I'm sure he would have been a real asset to the tourism industry in Gouda. 

Oh well, Chicago gets to benefit instead. 

But besides a good laugh and all things Dutch, my Opa De Boer also gave me a love of markets. I remember going to flea markets and such with him and hearing the vendors shout out their offers in loud voices. I remember feeling small and intimidated, but when Opa imitated their loud calls and pointed out the neat stalls I could tell that he was enjoying the hustle and bustle of it all, and I learned to relax and appreciate the array of goods and cacophony of voices. 

This market was no less noisy and for the tourists they had a selection of all things Dutch: cheese galore, stroopwafels, and a cheese making station. 

That may have been the most educational stall, but right across from it was the most delicious one. 

On the griddle, filling small circular indents is some delicious batter, that, when cooked, makes...

. . . Poffertjes! Hot off the griddle.

Add a little butter, a good dump of powdered sugar and you have one tasty treat. 

As you can see, these hardly were around long enough to make it into a picture (half of them have already been gobbled up). 

Undoubtedly you have noticed this distinguished building adorning the background of many of the previous photos. In case you were wondering, this gem of a building 

from about 1450 A.D., is the city hall of Gouda. 

I have never taken a class on historical architecture, but this past year I've learned to recognize those stately spires as distinctly Gothic. So in case you were wondering, what actually does a Gothic style building look like? 

Just take a long look at Gouda's city hall. 

Visitors were allowed inside, so of course we admired it from the inside as well. Despite its tremendous age, the building is still a fully functioning city hall, and anyone who knows about Dutch weddings knows that the place the bride and groom go to tie the knot in the official records is the city hall. 

This is Gouda's 'wedding chamber', and the foliage on the walls is not wallpaper, it is woven cloth. But no, it doesn't date to 1450, most of the beautiful room interiors are from the luxurious 1700's. 

I've heard that Gouda's city hall is a popular choice among brides, 

and I've absolutely no doubt about why. 

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There is actually more to Gouda than a town hall and cheese, but in case you are planning a trip or are just one to research historic places, I'll leave some gems for you to uncover for yourself. Plus, there's a lot about Gouda I haven't discovered yet for myself. 

Playing Tourist

I've done a good bit of traveling this past year. I've peered through the glass of many museums, stared at many churches, and climbed many towers in search of a view-- that's just the sort of thing that tourists do.

Well, as we found ourselves with a relaxing week at home and wondered what to do to get ourselves out of the house and enjoying summer. Beaches here are crowded silly and our fridge and closets were full... So, what better way to pass some days than play the tourist in our own city?

The first day was so spontaneous that I even didn't think of my camera until our bike wheels bumped us up and down some brick roads lined with lovely historic buildings and out into a tiny harbor. That's exactly when I realized I didn't have my camera along, but it is imprinted in my mind, so if you're willing to read the next thousand words you may get an idea of the picture I saw... 

Just kidding. But seriously, it was a beautiful moment; wooden sailboats lined the docks, their masts creaked gently as the boats swayed. Beyond the small harbor the Maas River glistened gloriously in the bright sunshine. And in a darling moment two children "helped" their grandfather and father unload the sailboat after what looked like some time at sea. Their orange life jackets still fastened, the little boy and girl carried some beach toys as they ran down the dock exclaiming "Opa! Kijk eens Opa." "Kom hier, Opa." Their opa (grandpa) followed slowly behind, patiently pushing a wheelbarrow full of supplies from the sailboat. 

As I watched the kids stomp out a run on tiny legs, I was glad they were still wearing their life jackets. The way they were running they were either going to need the jacket for padding when they did a face plant or for flotation when they tripped off the edge. Amazingly, they managed to get safely to the side and we strolled on to be entertained by the barges that were gliding down the glittering river. 

The next day of touring I towed my camera along with.

It took some bike riding to get there, but we found Delftshaven-- an old part of Rotterdam that escaped the bombing. While it looks like it could be part of a traditional Dutch town, this view is extremely rare in the high-rise, modernized Rotterdam. And a visitor to Delftshaven can't help but wonder just what Rotterdam would have looked like if it hadn't been hit so hard in WWII. 

We enjoyed the view of one of the two remaining windmills in Rotterdam, but even though it is from the 1700's it wasn't the oldest building there. We found a few from the 1600's. Plus, fun fact for us Americans, the English pilgrims of 1620 stayed in this area for a time while preparing for their Mayflower trip. 

See the clock tower? That's a part of the church where the Pilgrim Fathers worshiped while staying in Rotterdam. 

Just checking out the old buildings and enjoying the shade for a time...

Until we set out on our bikes for our second destination...

. . . the Euromast. 

I neglected to take a photo of the Euromast itself, but it pretty much looks like a space needle jutting out of a grassy knoll. If you want to know more about it you can follow this link .

The whole point of the Euromast is to give you a good view of Rotterdam and the surrounding area, and I have to say, it serves its purpose well. 

Supposedly, on a clear day people can make out towers from the Belgian city of Antwerp, south of Rotterdam. The horizons were a bit fuzzy for us to claim the same, but we were able to easily distinguish some cities even though they were a 30 minute train ride away. 

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The next time you're in your hometown without much of an agenda, or tired of all of your old haunts, stop and step inside the store/restaurant/cafe that you've never gone in or find a new spot to scope out. Play the tourist for a day and you never know what new perspective you'll gain. 

We spent two great days getting off our beaten paths and it was a blast.