Volendam

Before our drive back to Eindhoven we stopped in at Alkmaar (kaas/cheese market) and to Volendam (fishing village) for a deep dive into the Dutch culinary delights. The kaas markt was abundant with colour and bustle, they were putting on a market show right outside the National Cheese Museum where there was lots to learn about buying, weighing, transporting and selling the cheese. Tom helped translate for me the way the men transporting the cheese were in a Cheese Carriers’ Guild, and how they earnt their different coloured ribbons on their hats, and how the different dress of the people in the yard was displaying what purpose they had at the market. It was great! But busy, so we rounded a corner to try and find a stall with enough space to stop, try some cheese and pick something for our lunch. We probably spent too much $ on cheese, but it was THE Dutch cheese markt and it was the yummiest cheese I’d ever had. Vikum chose a softer, nuttier young cheese and I chose a 5 year old, darker saltier cheese. They were both delicious, and lasted us a long time so cost the per day wasn’t so bad haha. There were little white spots in my cheese which was how little salt crystals had interacted with the cheese which I thought was interesting. There were market stalls everywhere and Tom saw one for ‘oliebollen’ which he said was something the Dutch would usually only be able to buy and eat around Christmas time so we had to try those too of course - they are basically fried dough/donut-like balls dipped in icing sugar, and as the resident sweet tooth, I ate most of them 😋.
Onwards from here we drove to Volendam, a classic harbour village with a wide spanning view over Markermeer lake. It was beautifully sunny and the perfect time to be near the water. We picked up herring (“hah-rrring”) and kibbeling upon Tom’s recommendation from a seafood vendor right on the water. The herring was fresh and not as slimey as I’d expected, it was served with onion and pickle. I really liked it - though I imagine eating it cut up like we did was much more enjoyable than the classic way of dropping the whole fish down your gullet while holding the tail. The kibbeling was probably my favourite, it was a fresh fresh fish lightly battered and fried with a tartar sauce. Yum! We found a lovely seat in the sun to share the food and then just basked in the good weather for a while. Quite meditative to watch people walking around the marina and the boats coming in and out. Plenty of sail boats at full mast around the lake too.
While we were at it, I took the chance to get another food ticked off my list - it was a requirement for me to eat poffertjes in the Netherlands (small fluffy pancake bites). I love them so much I have a poffertjes pan at home, so I needed to ensure I’d tried the original in Holland so that I could imitate them when I got home…due diligence is all. They were so yummy and buttery!
We then hopped back in the car and drove home to Eindhoven. Tom and I played a music quiz game all the way home while V attempted to nap in the back while Tom and I blasted 80s, 90s and Dutch classic songs whilst guessing the name and artist at speed. Sorry V.
When we got back to Eindhoven, with Myra and Paul we had plenty to tell them about our time in Amsterdam. They then had an event to get to so Tom, V and I stretched out on the couch watching football until the evening when Tom had planned to take V and I through the longest strip of bars and clubs in the Netherlands which lives in Eindhoven central town. We ordered “kapsalon” (like a doner meat on chips with salad) for an easy dinner and then drove in around 11pm to centraal. We drank a beveragino at a terrace and watched the people walking past, then tasted the nightlife and had a quick boogy at a few clubs, tasted one shot from a bar with over 150 flavours to choose from and then threw the towel in pretty early - grabbing a bitterballen from a snack bar on the walk back to the car. A little throwback to partying with Tom during uni and the classic meat on chips deal that we’d grab on the walk home to WSA apartments. Good fun.Read more