Gouda's Kaas Markt

Aweh, guys!

At this point, I would define my status as a committed homebody. I am still on the job hunt and outside of going to interviews, I’m pretty homebound and I have been starting to feel antsy. I mentioned this to Hubby who narrowed his eyes at me and said, “You know you have a train card, right?”

Fair enough. I have thought about going out exploring but I feel a wee bitty guilty doing fun things while Hubby has to work but he more than encouraged it as long as I used my own money and didn’t get into trouble. He even offered to drop me off in Haarlem or Beverwijk as he drives past on his way to work but it could be expensive getting back which is why I wanted to think outside the realm of Amsterdam or Den Haag for something closer to home.

I then remembered that Gouda (the home of that cheese) was two train stops away! I decided to see what things there are to do there and the number one hit was the kaas markt. Woerden has its own cheese market but this was Gouda that we’re talking about. It was lucky that I looked it up as the kaas markt was wrapping up for the year with only two left, so I decided to go check it out.

I wanted to be there when the market opened at ten to catch the auction, so I used the 9292 app to get me there on time. I arrived at the station in about fifteen minutes which makes it a really desirable destination in terms of ease of access. There was also the most adorable little boy who was so excited to be on the train with his grandparents who exclaimed “het zal zo snel gaan als de bliksem” (it will go as fast as lightning) which was funny because bliksem in Afrikaans can have a rather negative connotation.

New Town Hall

Once I arrived, I was confronted with a huge monolith which turned out to be the new town hall which I believe was built in 2012 by Jos van Eldronk which was a very eye catching attraction for anyone entering the city. I then made my way to the city centre just in time to catch the auction but unfortunately…

It. Was. BUSY. I guess I underestimated the number of tourists drawn to the kaas markt on a Thursday morning, but it was buzzing. I didn’t get a very good view of the auction, so I decided to use the opportunity to wander around while everyone else was occupied.

I was absolutely blown away by the architecture. The Goudse Waag used to be where the cheeses were weighed for auction during the 16th century and it has since been renovated into Gouda’s Cheese Museum. Across the square is the old town hall which is one of the oldest gothic buildings in the Netherlands is now historically preserved. It looks like it came from Disney’s storyboards. Due to the preservation, the services were scattered around the city until the new town hall was built.

Goudse Waag

Old Town Hall

3 out of 4 Hogwarts houses represented (sorry Slytherin)

Sint-Janskerk

I spent most of my time looking around the market hunting for cheese and postcards to send back to South Africa. The market itself was not as cheese driven as I had expected. There were lots of clothing items, souvenirs like clogs and tulip bulbs (not much in the way of postcards but I did find some in the souvenir shops) and snacks but perhaps only 4 cheese vendors which was mildly disappointing.

That being said, I would definitely recommend Gouda for a visit, but it is very tourist driven. It might be advisable to go on another day of the week when the market isn’t on to enjoy more of the charm of the city without the hullabaloo. I still came home with two pieces of cheese for only 5 euro! Definitely the best souvenir of them all.