Dutch Cheese Tour Part One

Edam and Volendam

The Dutch eat a lot of cheese. They are also, on average, the tallest nationality in the world (men averaging 5’11 and women 5’6. Their doorways are now legally required to be at least 7’6, all of this according to my Lonely Planet guidebook). Therefore I have come to the conclusion that to look tall and slender like the Dutch, I must consume more cheese.
I kicked off my self-invented cheese tour in Edam- a darling little town about a 40-minute bus ride northeast of Amsterdam. In addition to producing a fairly well-known cheese, Edam is also known for its giant cheese market, held Wednesdays in July in August.

Edam Cheese Market

Here’s a little tidbit from wikipedia: “The cheese market was the primarily boost of the economy of Edam in the 16th century. On the 16th of April in 1526 Emperor Charles V gave Edam the right to have a market every week. In 1594 this right was given for eternity by Prince Willem I as a sign of appreciation for the good collaboration during the siege of Alkmaar.”

Edam is less touristy than it’s neighbor town, Volendam, but oh-so-much cuter. It’s very quiet, with canals along all of the cobblestone streets and hand-operated drawbridges to let the boats pass. The people are indeed very tall. While walking around in search for a hotel, I decided I needed a break from the heavy backpack and popped into a tucked-away little bar/café near the center. It was full of broad-shouldered, gossipy workers on their lunch breaks, and they all greeted me as I walked in. There were about 10 of them aged 20s to 70s, all with at least 3 empty coffee cups in front of each of them. (The Dutch are the world leaders in coffee intake; drinking on average almost 150 liters coffee per year or about three cups per day. The United States is second, but lies well behind with 15 percent.) I sat at the bar and as I had a coffee, the woman who owned the place came and talked to me. She was also very nice and had a few interesting suggestions for how to spend my day.

Café Harmonie

After my coffee break, I headed towards the tourist information center to ask about inexpensive places to stay in town. This inquiry seemed borderline overwhelming to the woman working there, and finally she came up with only one name of a hotel. She gave me some very confusing directions (especially considering the entire town could fit in any outdoor American concert venue) and after a few laps around all of the streets, I finally found it. A small place called Café Harmonie, it appeared to be a very cute little bar/coffee house. It was closed. At this point my shoulders were aching so I called the number on the door, explained that I had been told that this establishment was a hotel and asked for advice on where to stay. It turns out, the owner also rents rooms above the café, and came racing down the street on his bicycle (wearing his wooden clogs!!) to let me in. The room was very nice, although leaning on a slight diagonal angle. He handed me the keys without even asking my name or for any money and then disappeared.

Volendam Marina

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Edam and then on over to the neighboring town of Volendam where I explored the marina, a street market and some typical (although slightly touristy) shops. By the time I headed back to Edam (about 5 miles away) the temperature had dropped and the wind had picked up, so I was very relieved to make it back to my room. That evening I decided to treat myself to a nice-ish dinner so I cleaned myself up a little and headed back out. For a Saturday, the town seemed remarkably dead. I finally settled on a place called the Dam Restaurant, which was beautiful. Outside, chairs were covered with big, fluffy, fur throws (although no one was sitting in them) and inside was mostly dark, natural wood, large oil paintings on the walls, multiple chandeliers all around a giant fireplace. I sat under a large tree full of little lights. Each of the tables had a candle and live flower.

Farmhouse Cheeses

I started the meal with pumpkin ravioli, which was delightful, and for dessert ordered the Farmhouse Cheese spread. This consisted of 6 cheeses: 2 French and 3 Dutch, all from small, private cheese houses. I really enjoyed all of them, especially the blue, against my normal preferences. During the meal I tried a beer from a local brewery, which was very nice but very strong.
After dinner it was still early so I decided it was time to try going out in The Netherlands (I had not done so yet). I walked through the whole town and sadly, couldn’t find one bar with two people in it. I gave up and had one beer by myself in the bar beneath my room before calling it a night.

Sunday morning was also very quiet. I had a lovely breakfast of ham, cheese, fresh warm buns with an assortment of fresh fruit jams and preserves. As Edam was one of the most pleasant towns I have ever seen, I decided to give it one last stroll-through before taking off. I imagine all of the women were at home or church or somewhere, but the canals were lined with men and their fishing poles. (I didn’t see any of them catch anything). I admit I looked in all of the windows of the homes I passed, and each of them showed me a living room in front of a dining room, with a mirroring large window on the other side of the house. Almost all of these rooms were very elegantly and sparsely decorated, with a vase holding a single flower in the middle of the table. I found it a little disconcerting to not see any ‘clutter’ in any of the homes.

Easteregg Speed Bump

As I was being nosy, I found myself tripping more than my normal amount- a fact that I am blaming on the town’s easter-egg-esque speed bumps that blend in perfectly with the cobblestone streets.

More Fun Dutch Facts
(mostly from the Lonely Planet guidebook)
• Their current queen, Beatrix, is the richest woman in the world. Her son, Prince Willem-Alexander, met his Argentinean wife at a party in Spain. She won the hearts of the Dutch when she made fun of her husband on live national television.

• The nation exported more than 689 million kilos of cheese in 2008, adding up to 42 kg per inhabitant.
• In 2020, one in five people in the Netherlands will be aged over 65.
• There are 1180 windmills in the Netherlands.
• From 2005-2008, one third of the births in the country were home deliveries.
• Seven out of eight locals have internet access at home- the highest percentage in the EU.