Kaasmarkt in Alkmaar

Do you love cheese? Would you like to see how cheese was sold some centuries ago? 

Then you should definitely go to Alkmaar, famous by its cheese market (kaasmarkt in Dutch). Every friday morning from spring to autumn a great market is setted up there. In the road to get there you can enjoy also one of the most famous icons of The Netherland, flowers. Not only tulips but also hyacinth and narcissus. As you can see below not all the flowers had blossom but some of them gave very beautiful colours to the landscape.

After an hour or so of car trip we finally arrive at Alkmaar. It is a lovely village with some canals and parks (inside one of them there is a huge windmill). In the central square of the village they perform how the cheeses were carried, weighted and sold some centuries ago.

Of course you can buy cheese. They have all sort of cheese from the most typical ones to pesto and rum cheese. The whole city is replete with shops selling this wonderful product. However, in the market other product are offer. You can also find Dutch clogs, art pieces, pancakes... And the most curious thing: you and your friends can be weighted in an old weight used for cheeses, in our case the result was 305Kg. I keep the signed document. They also lend you the hat they wear for the photo.

After having enjoyed the kaasmarkt it is recommendable to visit the rest of the city. It has medieval walls and a 500 year church. Church in The netherland worth a visit, at least in my case, because they're completely different from the Spanish churches and cathedrals. They lack of christs and other traditional issues, ceiling are made of wood, distribuition of the space isn't the same and their window are remodelled in order to get rid of Spanish past.

The city center has very nice restaurants and shops (for ice cream for instance) and some buildings are very appealing. If you enjoy seeing how different old houses looks here you will find this village interesting.

 Either if you love cheese or not Alkmaar is a must see in this country, you will have a really nice day with good food, spectacular views and nice environment.