Gouda

 
09 June 2016


Gouda is a small town famous for its cheese. It was very easy to reach there, only 20 minutes from Den Haag by train. The town can be explore by foot from the central station. There were some beautiful old buildings that we can visit. Sint-Janskerk is a church with its beautiful stained glass windows is one of them. St Janskerk was originally Roman Catholic Church, but now is a Protestant Church. Just across the church, we can also visit Gouda Museum, where we can see many collections from 16^th century, such as ceramics and paintings.






 

St. Jansenkerk

There is a room that we can see how pharmacy in the past looks like. It is very interesting to see all the tools that was use in the past. Gouda Museum regularly has thematic tours and for this year is Erasmus year. Erasmus grew up in Gouda. Therefore, we can see a lot of his works in this museum.







One of the most interesting event in Gouda is the Gouda Cheese Market. Every Thursday, starting from April to September, we can enjoy the cheese market scene starting from 10 am up to 12.30 pm. Lots of big cheese were placed I front of the Waag (the Weighing House). There were some men and women wearing traditional clothes. They performed how to sell the cheese according to historical scene, they negotiate the price and the deal is sealed with a handslapping. They will weigh the cheese in the Goudse Waag.


Just across the Waag, we can visit the Goude Cheese Museum. Inside the museum, there was a shop that sell souvenirs and (of course) cheese. We can see the huge scale in this museum. Around the Waag, there were lots of stalls that sell cheese and Dutch snacks. In one stall, we can see how to make the cheese in traditional way.

And of course we can find lots of cheese shop in Gouda. They sell many kind of cheese, with many kind of taste and colors. The good thing is we can try each of them :) 

























Besides all the beautiful buildings and yummy cheese, canals in Gouda were also pretty. As it is now spring, the flowers by the canals make the canals even more beautiful.