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Last night it rained heavily and there are still plenty of showers this morning. We send a few 'Happy Easter' messages then prepare to set off, hoping we get off the sloping grass pitch OK after all the rain. We do, then go to the service point before setting off to Gouda.
It's a busy and relatively uninteresting 90 minute motorway journey until the last 3 miles into the camperstop where we are lucky to get the last free electricity point. After a quick coffee and sandwich we head into town. Having done no research we have absolurtely no idea what to expect of Gouda, other than there is a cheese of the same name.
The first thing we notice is it's busy, with bikes everywhere and plenty of people. The centre is a maze of shops, unlike the sparsity of shops in places like Urk and Enkhuizen. Some are traditional, with cheeses, sausages and bread but there are also clothing, jewellery, chocolate, art and health shops.
We go into 'Clogs' or a Dutch form of Boots to buy some cough sweets. Queuing for the till we are stood beside the Durex display shelves and end up giggling like kids. The first shock is the price; surely teenagers can't afford to have sex at these rates, and the second is the range of flavours and promises of the complimentary fluids. 'Do you need information about your Strepsils?' asks the cashier before wishing us a good weekend. Bet she says that to all her customers...
The TI is in an old warehouse along with a cheese museum. We get a walking tour pamphlet with information anbout the significant sights. The main square surrounds a magnificent town hall with renaisance stonework and rows of red and white shutters. As in so many of the Dutch towns we've visited, its tower rings out delicate tinkly tunes at certain times.
Gouda was once a major trading port and on one of the canals stands a lock, once one of the most important in the Netherlands, as a junction between Antwerp and Amsterdam thousands of ships a year passed through from its completion in 1308. Thus Gouda grew up on the bars and brothels and markets needed by the traders.
All around are ornate buildings, the Captain's house, the Bananepakhuis and a variety of churches to serve the variety of faiths passing through the port.
It is very cold, but we sit at a terrace with gas heating and warm up with hot chocolate before wandering some more.
Ali remarks that the frequent canals, bridges and bycicles give it a similar feel to Amsterdam, and since we're not going there on this trip that's a bonus.
We promised ourselves a meal out today and when the sun comes out late afternoon we decide to hang around rather than go back to the van where, if we warm up, we may not want to venture out again.
At 18:00 we go into the De Zalm Hotel. The meal is absolutely first rate; we have carpaccio and salmon for starters and pheasant and wild boar for mains. We both agree it is some of the finest food we have ever tasted. The ambience of the restaurant is wonderful with light jazz on sax and clarinet in the background and the staff are polite and attentive, even returning to pour our wine when necessary.
On the way back the square looks so inviting with lights and flaming heaters on the terraces so we stop a while for a small beer. Ali goes to pay and remarks on how attractive the chalices are and the landlady gives us two as souvenirs.
By the time we return to the van we are frozen, but it's been a really Gouda Friday.
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