We went to Gouda for one reason only and it was all in the name. Cheese. And what cheese it was! The town itself was also far nicer than we had given it credit for, little medieval streets, a Waag (more on that later) and all sorts of delectable delights!
It was a small town, but full of canals and very pretty. We wandered around on the evening and simply took in the sights before a sudden deluge from the sky sent us running for the car. Yannick and Necia had an umbrella but at that point I hadn't bought one and was just using my waterproof jacket, there was a funny moment when a couple of old men walked past us and shouted goodnaturedly to Yannick in Dutch to what amounted to (we think!) that Yannick should give the umbrella to the girls. We couldn't help but giggle.
We also went to a little bar for wifi and some relax time out of the dreary weather, my favourite part being when we somehow got onto the topic of cheese with our waiter, who sagely told us that his cheese tastes "depends on the weather, unless I'm drinking beer - then I want to eat everything!"
For breakfast the next morning, Necia had discovered a particular dish called "stroopwafel" originated from Gouda so we decided try the local speciality.
Created in the late 18th century by a baker using off-cuts of pastry sweetened with syrup, it soon became extremely popular with 100 waffle bakers operating in the 19th century. It wasn't until the late 1800s that stroopwafel began to be made outside of Gouda. Nowadays, only 4 factories still operate in this little town.
Stroopwafel turned out to be a thin waffle which was split in half when still warm and filled with a caramel syrup fusing the two parts together. When eating it as part of the consumption process it is necessary to place the stroopwafel over a hot drink (coffee in my case) and waiting a few minutes. The steam from the drink on the waffle softens it, partially melting the caramel inside also. It is then ready to eat! (And delicous). It was also rather nice dipped in the coffee itself too.
We made an adorable friend whilst consuming our breakfast snack: this three legged cat was an affection machine demanding to be patted.
After breakfast we took a walk around the main square and found a Gouda shop! We of course went in. They had tasters for most of the cheeses which was brilliant. The Italian (full of herbs) was extremely good, but the plain traditional Gouda won out in the end and we bought a large wedge.
The main square consisted mainly of two buildings: The Waag (fortunately not like the marauding Wargs from Tolkien's world) which was a old cheese weighing house in the centre of town. It had been turned into a restaurant and wasn't too photogenic aside from a relief work on the front which actually depicted cheese being weighed. The more attractive building (pictured below) was the town hall.
Morning complete, we headed for Delft for the afternoon. Lonely Planet had told us that a visit to the Netherlands wasn't complete without a trip to Delft, and it was true. A beautiful town of canals and medieval streets, it was just like how I imagined quintessential Dutch cities to be.
One of the defining landmarks was this crooked tower named Oude Kerk. A Gothic Protestant church, it was built in 1246 and although perhaps you cannot tell from the photo, it was at a two meter lean due to the foundational weakness.
The Waag in Deflt had been turned into a gorgeous bar, atmospheric and full of interesting things to look at. For once I abstained from beer in favour of soda water. We did however treat ourselves to a speciality of the country that Necia had heard of, called Bitterballen.
Bitterballen turned out to be a delicious savoury snack, made from beef or veal with beef broth, parsley, salt and pepper which is made into a ball, refrigerated to keep its shape and then covered in breadcrumbs and deep fried so it goes all gooey inside. Amazing! It came with mustard on the side too but I found it overpowering and prefered it plain.
Finding a campsite proved rather difficult, however eventually we prevailed and it was even in walking distance of the town! It was drizzling so umbrellas in hand we wandered the darkening canals and glistening streets.
The next day we were delighted to discover there was a Friday market on in Delft so we loaded up on supplies: numerous bags of fruits and berries (including the best blackberries and raspberries of my life) salamis, and best of all, cheese.
Whilst cheese may not sound exciting, we had decided to be ambitious and attempt to make a cheese fondue as we hadn't had the chance to try it at a restaurant yet. Instead of simply buying some cheese, we asked a cheese stall man what type of cheese was good for melting for fondue, and gosh did he rise to the occasion! He provided us with two types of delicous cheese that he told us must be mixed together and melted, and even calculated the grams of cheese needed for three people for the recipe. He certainly knew his cheese.
No comments:
Post a Comment