Cheese, and Other Great Food and Drink, in Gouda

A tasty Dutch lunch of bitterballen, assortment of Gouda cheese, local sausage and olives

Thursday, April 21, 2022

You can find lots to eat and drink in Gouda.  Yes, of course, there is the cheese - and the cheese tastings at the many stores that line the central Markt square.  But Gouda is also famous for local beer, stroopwafel and has a delicious pommes frites vendor right next to the entrance of the plaza near the Stadhuis.

The second most interesting building in the central square (besides the Stadhuis/City Hall) is the cheese Weighing House - der Waag.  Dating from 1669, it's the location for weighing cheese before selling at the market (for tax purposes).  Today, it has a display on the cheese industry, including large weighing scales and also houses the local tourist information center.

Cheese displays and sampling in der Waag - the cheese Weighing House

Marble carving of scales used to weigh rounds of cheese on the front of der Waag

Der Waag dates from 1669 and now serves as the tourist office and cheese museum

Antique scales, used to weigh the rounds of cheese for taxes

So many delicious options and flavors

First time I have seen "Weed Beer" and "Weed Cheese" - no samples here - hahaha

Looking at all the cheese reminded our group that we were hungry and it was time to find a place to eat.  Behind the St. John's Church is the Weehuis - a 16th century orphanage that is now a Relais & Chateaux boutique hotel.

They had a quiet, delightful courtyard and we ordered the Dutch version of tapas for lunch, along with good beer and gin and tonics to wash it down.  It was my first taste of bitterballen - a Dutch meat based snack that was delicious.

This former orphanage from the 16th century is now a hotel and restaurant - our lunch stop

A "Monkey 47" gin and tonic - the tonic water has elderflower and bitter orange

Bitterballen (lower right) - so yummy - with samples of Gouda and local sausage

Interior courtyard - setting for our lunch break

Kampheisen - local Gouda store for stroopwafels

This place makes the best stroopwafels on the planet!!

Local beer being sold at Sint Janskerk

A quick stop for pommes frites - hot and crispy

The Dutch (and Canadians) eat their pommes frites with mayo - not catsup.  My kinda people!

Stacked rounds of Gouda cheese

Care to try them on and walk around a bit?

Gouda's Saint John's Church - Longest in the Netherlands

Sint Janskerk's spire in the center of old Gouda 

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Sint Janskerk is a large Gothic church in Gouda that has been placed on the register of top 100 landmarks in the Netherlands.  The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Gouda.

This structure was built between the 15tth and 16th centuries, first as a Roman Catholic church, and then 1573, it became Dutch Reform, with an active congregation still to this day.  

When it's present foundation was laid in 1485, it became the longest church in the Netherlands.The church is famous for its 72 historic stained glass windows - installed primarily in 1555 - 1571.

The long nave of St. John's - looking forward toward the choir

The choir screen - marble and wrought iron

The apse and ambulatory are filled with light from the beautiful, colorful windows

Stained glass windows, and depictions of saints, are typically part of Roman Catholic decorations.  Indeed, the majority of these windows were completed in the decade before the church became a Dutch Reform congregation.  However, wealthy leaders and regents of the city protected it from the mobs that were fighting during the 80 Years War and the windows were preserved.

Many scenes tell the life of John the Baptist, and his relationship to Jesus.  A few newer windows have been added, with a distinctly more modern design.  The windows were protected during World War II by taking them apart and storing them in crates in surrounding houses and storage buildings.  Some of the WWII storage crates are displayed in the church.

Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordon

A beautiful modern window titled Erasamus and Freedom of Conscience (2016)

Depiction of the Siege of Leiden (1603)

Detail of Siege of Leiden

Detail of Judith beheading Holofernes (1571)

The Siege of Damietta (Crusades) donated by the city of Haarlem (1597)

Window honoring the experiences of WWII (1947)

My favorite window filled with joyful children's faces

Visiting Gouda - It's Pronounced "How-da"!

 

Gouda's Stadhuis - Town Hall with flags showing nicely against the blue sky

Thursday, April 21, 2022

We arrived in Gouda on Thursday morning - the perfect day, as Thursday is the day for the weekly cheese market.  Gouda has been a city since the 1200's. Originally a marsh at the confluence of the IJseel and Gouwe rivers, a fortified castle was built on the banks of the Gouwe, where we stopped to enter the old city.

Gouda is known for its creamy, golden cheese - but also is a center for delicious stroopwafels and clay smoking pipes.  It's majestic town hall dates from the 14th Century and is located in the center of the market square.  Nearby are the Goudse Waag (Cheese weighing house) and Sint Jan's church, the longest in the Netherlands.

Willem shows us the map of medieval Gouda (above) and the current day city guide

We are walking along a central city canal, with a lock and bridge connected to the IJsell River

The Molen t' Slot - the t' Slot windmill -  sets on the remains of the old Gouda Castel

A boat on one of the city gracht (canals)

As we walked along the sidewalk, Willem pointed out a collection of Stolpersteine -stumbling stones- under our feet along the sidewalk. Initiated in 1992 by artist Gunter Demnig to commemorate a person, Jewish and others, at their last freely chosen place of living or working before facing Nazi terror or extermination or escaped persecution.

More than 75,000 stones have been laid in hundreds of cities across Europe. The first stone was laid in Cologne. More information is at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolperstein

We encountered a series of brass stones along the sidewalk in Gouda

These Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) commemorate a person who lost their life to Nazi terror.

The central market square in Gouda was lively and crowded.  The cheese market on Thursday mornings is accompanied by a general market selling food, second hand items and new products, in addition to the cheese vendors.

The first thing we encountered was a melodious street calliope. We stopped to enjoy the music.  When it played Johnny Cash's famous song, "Burning Ring of Fire", we couldn't contain our exuberance.  Willem began dancing in the street with our colleague Elena.  What fun!

Thursdays mornings are lively and crowded because of the weekly cheese market

A loud and melodious street calliope

Willem's enthusiasm for Johnny Cash resulted in a spontaneous street dance

Our colleague, Elena, graciously joined in the fun

The Old City Hall (Stadhuis) majestically presides over all the commotion in the center of the square.  Built in 1448, it is the longest city hall in the Netherlands.

There is a glockenspiel on the side of the town hall, built in the 1960's. It performs an animated ceremony every half an hour, depicting how Count Floris V handed over the city rights to the mayor of Gouda in 1272.  Gouda is celebrating 750 years of being chartered city.

The City Hall was built in 1448.

This glockenspiel is a recent addition - from the 1960's!

Details of the city hall glockenspiel

After checking out the cheese market and the glockenspiel performance, we wandered a little further afield - past Sint Janskerk - for some shopping and to scout out a place for lunch.

Gate from 1609, entrance to a courtyard and the Gouda historical museum

Inside view of the courtyard of the Gouda Museum with St. John's church rising behind.

Gouda's canals and bridges

We saw a number of decorated statues of women around town - a new art installation in recognition of Gouda's 750 year celebration of its city charter.  There are 50 "Goudse Iconen", which are blank copies of a famous Goudan bronze statue of a woman carrying cheese -  "De Kaasboerin".

Like other similar installations (cows, tulip bulbs, dolphins, etc) these art reproductions are then decorated in various themes and stationed throughout the town.  We saw about half a dozen of the 50 that are on display this spring and summer.

Central Markt Square