First things first - please don't say it like you would say the name of the cheese. If you're feeling brave and worldly - you can say "HOW-da" with a guttural "how." If you're not trying to be someone you're not - saying it "gow-da" (or just "how-da") will get the message across. The good news is while you don't say it like the cheese, it is where cheese comes from.
Gouda is best experienced in the summer on one of the cheese market days. It is touristy as all get out, but you're a tourist right? Embrace it. There's people dressed up in oldey-timey clothes (and wooden shoes!) and there are secret handshakes. It's a delight. It will be over crowded with other tourists so once you've had your fill of touristy photos and bought yourself some cheese and a few oliebollen, get out of the town square and the rest of Gouda will be basically empty.
The best way to explore Gouda is to just walk around, follow canals, cross bridges, and get lost on the little streets. There are canal tours if you want to see the city by boat, but it is small enough that just walking around for a few hours will be lovely.
If you like to have stops planned:
Museum Gouda cafe - I just went in to use their bathroom but I had I not just eaten an entire bag of oliebollen on my walk, I would have had a proper meal.
Stroopwafel cafe - stroopwafels (or siroopwafels) are a fan favorite - you can see how they are made and buy them fresh, right from the source. The little street that the stroopwafle cafe is on is super cute with some adorable little shops.
There is also a church, and the museum, and you can explore the town hall building in the center of the main square if you need more structured activities.
Den Haag.
Much like Gouda - rather than saying The Hague, the Dutch pronounce it "den haag" (exactly how it looks). Den Haag lends itself to a little more structured visit than Gouda or a smaller town. We started our day with a tour of parliament.
We had a leisurely walk around the center of the city. We skipped the Mauritshuis museum but if the Girl with Pearl Earring does it for you, you can find her there. We also skipped the MC Esher museum (I find it hard to justify wandering around museums when it is sunny outside), but it would also be a good way to wait out a rain storm. We went to the Peace Palace but dropped the ball on getting a tour of the gardens or the building itself. The visitor's center was nice, but do better than us if this is on your list.
After lunch we made it out to Madurodam in Schevenigen. I do not recommend this as a Saturday excursion unless you really love kids running all around completely unsupervised. It is a hilariously awesome place full of miniature displays from around the Netherlands. But, Saturday afternoon was a poor choice on our part.
After Madurodam we went to the beach for the international fireworks festival. If you're in the country when it is happening (mid August), it is worth the trip. The only problem with Schevenigen's boardwalk is it is just like every other boardwalk. Endless restaurants that are all pretty much the same food at pretty much the same over-priced-price. We ended up eating in the De Pier, because it had the most interesting variety of food and also, it was cold and we didn't want to sit outside (the weather is fickle in the Netherlands, even in the summer).
There are so many great places just a quick train ride from Amsterdam -- we're excited to see more in 2018.
No comments:
Post a Comment