Alkmaar Cheese Market

In the later middle ages, Alkmaar got the license to weigh cheese and thus became an important commercial marketplace. Cheese was then and until the 1880s a largely cottage, or farm, industry, usually the work of the farm wife. All that changed with industrialization: there still are thousand of farms with millions of milk cows, but your gouda and your edam now are made only in two giant plants in northern Holland. Anyhow, Alkmaar has continued its important tradition as cheese market center by holding a weekly cheese market re-enactment for tourists--most of them Nederlanders as far as I could tell--certainly one of the more contrived re-enactments around. As always, Vicki wanted to see all the pomp and pageantry and costumery of a traditional cheese market re-enactment, and I sensed another fine opportunity for mirth.

We got to the cheese square--between the
cheese market/museum and the beer museum--
quite early in order to assure ourselves good
views

This week's cheese weighing prospects; all gouda (pronounced
"gowda" we learned); actually, gouda and edam are the same,
just different packaging

Closer up of the decorated side of the cheese market/museum

Actual cheese scale, dated 1693; see below

Cheese photo-journalist; she had a badge that said "member of
the press...say 'cheese'"; seriously

A few minutes before ten, the cheese market announcer babe
appears and gives introductions and explanations in Dutch, 
German, English, and Spanish; she was good; the whole thing 
is video'd for showing on the big screen for those who didn't 
arrive so early to get the good views

Other cheese babes appear to begin selling 10E bags of cheese
and other mementos

Other participants arrive and confer

Members of the Green Team begin carrying the cheese pallets
into place; there are four teams, so far as I could tell: Green,
Red, Blue, and Yellow...same,  I note, as the four traditional
teams in ancient Roman chariot racing; just a coincidence? I
don't think so...

The guests of honor arrive to open the market; apparently the
red team has won the toss

And they're off! We have decided to cheer for the Greens,
since they're closest to us; besides, they remind me of the
Green Bay Packers, and the square is right in between the
cheese museum and the beer museum, and it just seems right

Meanwhile, members of the cheese cart pushers re-enactment
guild confer

As do members of the cheese tasters re-enactment guild; note
blue team in action

The Greens return with a weighed pallet, to be loaded onto
the cheese carts

The Red team swings into action

For some, the excitement is too much to bear

The Greens have fumbled! Note round on the ground; will
definitely cost some style points

Ancient cheese scales in use this beautiful
Friday morning

Note date, 1693

The cheese cart pusher re-enactors now swing into action,
hauling the weighed cheese out of the arena and around the 
corner

To this dude, definitely not a re-enactor, who fork-lifts them up
into the waiting 18-wheeler; so we watched the cheese market
action for maybe ten  minutes, then decided we had gotten the 
gist and that maybe it was time to move on and visit the cheese 
museum, to learn more, and maybe try some street pancakes on 
the way

Edam 2

Much of what was going on in Edam on Thursday afternoon;
yes, we did buy a round of edam

Centrum

Very old building, now the museum

Boy holds boat down while

Friends get ice cream

Another canal scene

And another

Here you can see how disturbingly the old museum leans

Really nice Dutch oven in a really nice cooking store

The old carillon tower also leans disturbingly

But is beautiful to look at

Today's movie shoot

Edam 1

From Marken we drove on to Edam, back on the mainland, so to speak. It is another pretty little Dutch town that will require more than one post. And here began our education in Cheese 101.

En route to Edam

Cheese on the hoof; the reason Nederland produces so much
cheese is that the (un-reclaimed) peaty soils will grow nothing
much but grass; the reclaimed sandy soil, suitably enriched,
grows crops; so we were told

Nave view of Edam's Grote Kerk, 16th century, renovated by
Protestants

Demographers say that religion will be extinct in northern
Europe in another generation, and here you can see that
prediction in action...fully 1/4 of the church is charity-shop
bookstores and clothing; the entire choir and chancel is an
art gallery; it was unclear to me whether services occur here
at all...

Crossing ceiling, apparently original,, including cat-walks

Nice windows, early 1600s, mostly historical
images, since (these) Protestants didn't like
religious images and icons

Thus

And thus

Beautiful organ, usual for these parts

Canal scene, a few blocks from the centrum

Bronze cheese carriers...the next day, in Alkmaar, this image
will be burned indelibly onto our retinas...in living color, too;
and in English...

A theme slowly emerges

Cheesy canal scene with carillon in background

Deze klompen zijn gemaakt om te wandelen...and that's just what they'll do...

So on the way out of town we had to visit the clog museum in the clog factory...

Clog factory/museum/sales

Sunday clogs

Leather uppers

Ice racing

Ice golfing?

Skating

Found in an 18th century shipwreck

The factory