So, after we left the cheese shop, loaded with our bag of cheese from the last post...we continued our photo hunt of Gouda, the city of 71K inhabitants. Actually, it took us two seconds to figure out we could leave the bag at the shop and come back for it later. Which we did.Gouda the city is surely most known for its cheese. Duh. But it's also known for its clay smoking pipes with looong stems, stroop/syrup waffels (both of which I didn't take pictures...my bad!) and for its candles:
Gouda kaarsen (= candles) are considered to be the cream of the crop.
They're made of stearine/natural wax with a special prepared wick, with hardly any soot or smoke,
almost never dripping and burning for hours.
And that reminds me of what Gouda is also known for, it's famous Stadhuis, one of Holland's oldest Gothic city halls, built between 1448 and 1450:
This magnificent structure sits in the middle of Market Square, as seen here from above.
At Christmas time, Astrid says all the windows are lit with Gouda candles.
Definitely on our list to see this next holiday season.
Speaking of the Stadhuis, later in the afternoon as we ate lunch on the square, I was able to zoom in on this wedding party just coming out. You may recall that weddings in the Netherlands take place at the city hall,
as ours did here in the city where we live.
On the same market square, behind the Stadhuis and just a couple buildings from where we ate, is Gouda's Waag (= weighing house), built in 1668 for weighing goods to levy taxes.
It is now a national monument.
At Christmas time, Astrid says all the windows are lit with Gouda candles.
Definitely on our list to see this next holiday season.
Speaking of the Stadhuis, later in the afternoon as we ate lunch on the square, I was able to zoom in on this wedding party just coming out. You may recall that weddings in the Netherlands take place at the city hall,
as ours did here in the city where we live.
On the same market square, behind the Stadhuis and just a couple buildings from where we ate, is Gouda's Waag (= weighing house), built in 1668 for weighing goods to levy taxes.
It is now a national monument.
As happens in most of these Dutch iconic cities, there's always one big church that stands out from all the others, and that would be Sint Janskerk:
A UNESCO monument known for its stained glass windows, the church was built in the 15th-16th centuries, dedicated to Gouda's patron saint, John the Baptist.
The church was open to the public for an entrance fee (€3,50 each, as I recall) but no cameras allowed.
Sorry, NO. We'll look online. Sometimes we're cheapskates, just for the principle of it.
...but as you know by now, that doesn't keep us from walking all around to see what we can outside.
I'm a glutton especially for such arched walkways attached like this.
I'm also a glutton for seeing such a steeple while out-n-about town and knowing whose it is!
The church was open to the public for an entrance fee (€3,50 each, as I recall) but no cameras allowed.
Sorry, NO. We'll look online. Sometimes we're cheapskates, just for the principle of it.
...but as you know by now, that doesn't keep us from walking all around to see what we can outside.
I'm a glutton especially for such arched walkways attached like this.
I'm also a glutton for seeing such a steeple while out-n-about town and knowing whose it is!
Since we're in the vicinty of the grote kerk (big church), let's cross the street to Gouda's history Museum....
...with another archway. I love those walk-throughs...
(notice Sint Janskerk so close behind once you're inside the courtyard)
...and all the gevelstenen (= gable stones) inside the courtyard.
We didn't enter the museum proper but enjoyed the inner courtyard as its own museum.
(notice Sint Janskerk so close behind once you're inside the courtyard)
...and all the gevelstenen (= gable stones) inside the courtyard.
We didn't enter the museum proper but enjoyed the inner courtyard as its own museum.
The other church that sticks out like a sore thumb while you're out walking around is the Gouwekerk, over by the vismarkt (= fish market):
In the bottom right-hand images (above) you can see the 2 pillared structures on each side of the canal (with the church in the background). In days past the fishing boats would pull up alongside these open-air structures and unload their catch for market selling.
On the way to the vismarkt, by the way, we passed the following bridge being restored:
...and as we passed it...
...LOOK AT WHAT ASTRID CAPTURED! (Rated R)
The top row was the foreplay, the bottom row 'the act.'
HA! It was a real 'quickie!'
How can you ever beat Mother Nature!
Well, we try, don't we. Look at this bit of whimsy. Is this, too, foreplay???
...LOOK AT WHAT ASTRID CAPTURED! (Rated R)
The top row was the foreplay, the bottom row 'the act.'
HA! It was a real 'quickie!'
How can you ever beat Mother Nature!
Well, we try, don't we. Look at this bit of whimsy. Is this, too, foreplay???
Now, change gears, if you can, and check out these two windmills:
't Slot (= the Lock) was built in 1832 as a grain mill.
De Roode Leeuw (= the Red Lion) was originally built in 1727, also as a grain mill.
...just before we rounded the corner to see the Roode Leeuw windmill, we spied this sewing machine outside in a yard, suffering from the elements. As we started taking pictures of it, this gentleman, so seemingly hungry for conversation, came out to tell us all about it. He even offered it to us...if we wanted it!
...a city of so much of what I love, like more gevelstenen (= gable stones).
You can actually see the whole shootin' kaboodle here on the Dutch database.
Enough impressions for a lifetime of enjoyment.
Gouda, the city. I have a feeling I barely got started (and you thought this was long!).
De Roode Leeuw (= the Red Lion) was originally built in 1727, also as a grain mill.
And to tell you why we love these photo hunts so much....
...just before we rounded the corner to see the Roode Leeuw windmill, we spied this sewing machine outside in a yard, suffering from the elements. As we started taking pictures of it, this gentleman, so seemingly hungry for conversation, came out to tell us all about it. He even offered it to us...if we wanted it!
And then, just to the left of the windmill, there on the canal where we had first seen the mill from afar after first parking....
...life as they know it on the canals of The Netherlands!
Bid yourselves tot straks, now, to Gouda....
...a city of so much of what I love, like more gevelstenen (= gable stones).
You can actually see the whole shootin' kaboodle here on the Dutch database.
Enough impressions for a lifetime of enjoyment.
Gouda, the city. I have a feeling I barely got started (and you thought this was long!).
