Gouda
About an hour south of Amsterdam is Gouda, famous for its cheese and
beautiful monumental city house on the main square surrounded by little
shops. It's a small quaint little town, easy to wander around over small
canals and bridges. It is famous for its Town Hall on a square which at aerial view shows a triangular wedge of cheese. All villages and cities use bicycles as the main mode of transport.
At Christmas, there is a lighting of candles in all the windows
If you're fit you can walk the town in a
long afternoon finishing with pancakes and hot chocolate in winter or herring and patat (french fries) in summer. On the square, with shops on the one side, do notice the tiny MacDonalds in a typical Dutch A-frame authentic house.
Autumn colours in October, November
Always bridges and bicycles in Dutch cities
The train station
Edam
Up north past Marken and not far from Amsterdam is the lovely Dutch city, Edam which is also famous for its cheese and naturally, the accompanying cheese market located in an off beat street on a canal and small square. Edam has lovely pedestrian only (mainly) streets, rural landscapes, canals, water and the typical quaint Dutch city centre with a town hall, church, florists and adorable little alleyways and streets. Along the canals there are all kinds of boats, big and small depending on the waterway.
The cheese market square
The Centre
Interesting residential houses and personal boats
Vollendam
Another fishing village in the Netherlands, Vollendam about 30 minutes north of Amsterdam is known for its summer buzz of cafes, little harbour and fresh raw herring. Its small centre has quaint Dutch styled housing in traditional greens with red roof and the walk to the harbour is of small pedestrian streets of canal lined residential housing.
The Dutch are all about bicycles, even as decor on balconies! A big boat in the Vollendam harbour
Giethoorn
Sailing and skating fanatics, the Dutch also enjoy being on the water in boats the moment the weather permits. Giethoorn in the north east of the country is a popular destination for the Chinese tourists and the wealthy are keen to buy up its real estate. This is probably because it is such a unique small little village in the middle of the fresh countryside.
Giethoorn is pedestrian and boat only. Its main feature is just water and each residence has a bridge, not a driveway to get home. It's about a 1.5 hour from Amsterdam and even for Dutch citizens, a super day trip to take. You can get in a few good km's walk along the canals and then boat around in the surrounding waters. Pictures do little justice, one really needs to be there to feel the ambience!
Typical bridges to enter the house. They are locked so tourists do not enter
Boat garages
You can hire a boat and in good weather it is like experiencing a mini-calm King's Day on the water.
Tourist boat hire in an around the village
Happy walking and boating in Giethoorn!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment!