Gouda

We really liked Gouda or as the Dutch say “Chauda”. We set off around 11 a.m. and first discovered that the Dutch have their own unique shop opening times. While the shops selling the famous cheese were open very early, the rest of Gouda was still in a deep sleep. Most shops actually don't open until around 12 or 1 p.m. So we decided to first walk through the city and make our way to the museum harbor. On the way we passed the Sint Janskerk. It was already open and is quite impressive from the outside. Probably inside too. However, we decided against visiting the church due to what we believe to be a completely exorbitant entrance fee of 10 euros per person. We continued to the Gouda Museum. We would have liked to pay the entrance fee here, but we forgot to inquire about the opening times beforehand. Well, today there was a city tour without a visit to the museum. Oh yes, there was still the museum harbor. However, there was nothing else to marvel at here apart from a disused lock and lots of water. So we strolled around the city center and through it enjoyed the beautiful houses. The shops slowly opened, which encouraged us to stop by here and there. There was the usual city magnet for the sweetheart and of course the typical local Klompen for me. And finally we ended up in one of the cheese shops in Gouda. There were small cheeses, large cheeses, cheeses flavored with herbs, beer, garlic, chili and of course cannabis, as well as countless other flavors. Much to our delight, there was a tasting bowl in front of each variety. Since cheese is known to close the stomach, we were well full and came back from the store with a few more types of cheese and euros less.

Then there was a short coffee break. Rested and satisfied, we started the second round through this really relaxed little town. By now most of the other shops were open too. At least everyone who didn't have a rest day on Monday. Because that seemed to be the norm here. By the way, the second hand shops in the Netherlands are really impressive. So if you want to browse here, you have a wide selection of very good and high-quality things for your small dollar.

Quite spontaneously we stumbled into a barbershop and Schatzi had his beard trimmed. He had anxious minutes with his eyes wide open. After all, a good piece shouldn't be trimmed too much.

It was now late afternoon and we had crossed Gouda about three times. But it is also worth visiting this pretty city. You can't get lost because everything is located around the central market square.

Gouda kindly provides the campers with a large and actually relatively quiet parking lot for just under 8 euros per day. So we were able to save ourselves the hassle of searching for a campsite and spend the rest of the evening and night here.