FIVE STEPS IN HOLLAND: From Haarlem in Alkmaar, smelling cheeses and watching the sea of tulips

Of course you will have already visited Amsterdam, so I’ll wait in Haarlem – half hour of time – to get to where you can sniff the air of this city that smells appetizing cheese. My name Matthijs, I am Dutch, and I would like to take you somewhere special, but you will need to devote a few days of your time. The idea is that of five stages (a few km each), travel through a circuit that takes us in small and unforgettable places. Ready for the first leg? Well, this is Haarlem, where we will not find only sand dunes and tulips and even the plague (the Black Death, which in 1381 had halved the population of the city, leaving the textile industry, shipyards and breweries, almost without labor) .

Obviously, the fire in 1576 destroyed a third of the city, has died. That statue – on the Grote Markt, the central market square – is Laurens Janszoon Coster (what, for us Dutch, is the true inventor of the printing press). That is instead the Grote of Sint-Bavokerk, the largest Gothic church in the Netherlands. The other building is the town hall (the Stadhuis). What is the Channel Brewers (Brouwersgracht), where for centuries was transported water to brew beer. In 1656 the channels were also used to transport passengers through the same fields that are visible today using the railroad: beautiful bulb fields in bloom, from Leiden up here. http://www.visithaarlem.org/

Here we are in Alkmaar, an ancient city full of canals, with an interesting peculiarity: every Friday morning (during the summer), you can stroll through Gouda and Edam. All the friends I accompanied, were thrilled to see the traditional wooden sleds used for transport and weighing of cheese. Before going to sleep, I would propose a walk in Waagplein, where you can see everything, not just cheese. http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Netherlands/Provincie_Noord_Holland/Alkmaar-463428/Things_To_Do-Alkmaar-TG-C-1.html