Pictures and Words: Lyle Such

Camera: Canon 5D MkIV & Mavic Pro

Gouda, The Netherlands

Our next destination was Bruges where we would meet the San Francisco Buus. On our barely thought out road trip south, we stopped in a few spots that we thought would be unique and fun to see. After watching the sun rise in Kinderdijk, we drove to Gouda, home of Gouda cheese.

Being extra careful not to fall in the canal, we parked precariously next to the water on a quaint little street and started to wander towards the city center. We had a quick breakfast at a friendly little coffee shop, then started looking for the cheese. I’m not sure what Thu was expecting to find, I imagine in her head there would be human sized cheese just walking all over town. Yes, that’s the kind of thing she would expect.

We found the Old City Hall in the market square, a beautiful 15th century building and one of the oldest Gothic city halls in The Netherlands. It was early, so the city was just in the process of waking up. It was fun to see the quiet streets slowly coming to life. Unfortunately they only hold the cheese market on Thursdays, so we missed it by a couple of days. Thu was getting antsy to find the cheese, so we moved on.

Sint Janskerk Church Gouda

Near the city center, around a few corners and through a couple tight alleyways, we found Sint Janskerk, a 15th century church tightly surrounded by narrow streets and tall little houses. The gardens were tucked away in the rear and was the perfect spot to view the newest wing of the church.

The best part, however, was inside. The stained glass windows covered every wall almost from floor to ceiling. They were well preserved, and apparently were removed in anticipation of the war with the Germans in the 1930’s. There was even a panel at floor level so you could get a close up look at the beautiful craftsmanship.

Cheese Tasting Gouda

Finally, we found the cheese! This shop stood out as the most inviting along the main street, and the reviews raved about how many types of Gouda they sold and how you could sample them all. The shop owner was super friendly and seemed to enjoy Thu’s enthusiasm for cheese-tasting. Not being a huge cheese connoisseur, I only tried two.

We spent close to an hour in the shop tasting as many cheeses as possible. In the end, Thu bought about twelve different varieties to bring back to her co-workers. It became a challenge on our trip to always find a way to protect the cheese from the heat and the sun and making sure it wasn’t stolen.

Thu held up the fake tourist cheese wheel for her picture. I chose to lift the real one.

On The Road Amsterdam to Bruges

We took the scenic route down the coast on the way to Bruges. The wind was howling and tossing the car around, so it made sense that there were more windmills than cars on this stretch of road. The west coast of Belgium and The Netherlands is the perfect environment to capture the power of the wind. We found a spot where the kitesurfers gathered, and we watched them having fun out on the turbulent ocean. I wish we had more time to join them!