Käsemarkt in Alkmaar

I'm already up at 7:45 a.m. I drive to a P&R car park and cycle into Alkmaar town centre to the cheese market , which takes place every Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Things are already going crazy here at 9 a.m., it's going to get really busy later 😬 At 10 a.m. sharp the cheese bell is rung. This opens the cheese market to visitors. The market is fenced in and lots of people are standing outside the fence to watch the spectacle. I'm sitting on a bench inside the fence in the middle of the action 🤔 How did I do that? But help! Do I have to stay until the end because I can't get out? At around 11 a.m. I've seen enough cheese and find a gap in the fence. Unfortunately, my bike is also inside the fence. So I have to sneak back in, get my bike and oops, I get caught 🫣 The lady from security is very nice though and lets me out 😄 I eat another cheese sandwich and wriggle out of the crowd. I look for Cafe Soepp , recommended by my cousin, three minutes from the market. I have to warm myself up with a delicious cappuccino first because it's freezing cold outside again despite the sun. The place is so nice, so typically Dutch, all the furniture is artfully thrown together, in the style of the 60s/70s.

Around midday I drive on to Noordwijk . I head for a campsite and am shocked. The nice gentleman tells me that you are not allowed to spend the night in a car in this area, not even on a campsite 😵‍💫 A lady from another place had already explained this to me on the phone, but I couldn't and didn't want to believe it. How stupid! I quickly decide to go to a hotel until Sunday. After I've moved into my room at the Hotel Zonne 🌞, I cycle back towards the beach, eat kibbeling at the Visspecialist Duijndam (so good!) and enjoy the sun on the beach with a glass of red wine. In the early evening, while walking along the beach, I actually experience a sunset. I love it 🤗

Yummy slap 🥱