Holland is one of the countries where most cheese is consumed. This hobby of the Dutch has contributed to a thriving industry that flourished producing high quality cheese.

Two of these cheeses are typical Dutch Edam and Gouda.

The Edam it may not sound him by that name but certain to be seen in more than one occasion these cheeses that are like balls of red. The cheese is yellowish pulp compact that departs considerably from our cheeses like manchego but when you can get used quickly because it is not too strong a cheese.

For big fans of cheese is a good idea to visit the small town of Edam which is a stone’s throw from Amsterdam. The cheese market is held in this city during the months of July and August, every Wednesday.
The Gouda cheese that originates in the city of the same name and is produced by heating the pasteurized milk cow. These cheeses are also yellowish pulp but unlike Edam has many more eyes, warming proceeds of its mass in the drafting process. In the market can be found cheeses of different sizes, from mini Gouda cheese giants until 30 kilos. If you decide to visit the city of Gouda you may be passed by the market of cheese which is held every Thursday during July and August.

Stationsweg 166a
2161 AM Lisse
Tel: +31 (0)252 465 555
Fax: +31 (0)252 465 565
email: info@keukenhof.nl
Keukenhof Gardens Website

These gardens are very much visited by the Dutch as by tourists, particularly over the spring months when many of the plants are in full flowering bulbs. Keukenhof Gardens have an offer different depending on the season, if you go with the hope of seeing flowery fields in the autumn would be a tremendous disappointment, however orchid exhibitions can be found or trees and shrubs look very striking.
To reach these Gardens from Amsterdam has to take a westerly direction towards Haarlem, a city very interesting where you can have lunch or breakfast, depending on when to begin their journey. Since Haarlem has to go in a southerly direction to Lisse, you will see that every area that defines perfection the topic of fields of tulips.
Very near Lisse are Keukenhof Gardens.

The trip can do a rental car (or use yours if it was up to Holland by car) or by train to Lisse and by bus to Keukenhof. If you are in Amsterdam ask at the train station Centraal Station where he will report on the matter.
Do not forget your camera ready for the trip because the fields of tulips occur along the crossed before arriving at Keukenhof.

In principle, and unless they open the garden for other exhibitions, if you want to see the flowering bulbs that will go from mid-late March and mid-May. The schedule of the garden is eight o’clock to half past seven p.m.

Tickets to the Keukenhof garden can be purchased online at the link that we give. Its price is 13 euros for adults, with discounts for groups and children.
At the entrance of the garden has parking fee (it will cost 5 euros).
 
If you love the world of plants will probably be interested to visit the Hortus Botanicus or market Bloemenmarkt, two places really interesting.

Raamsteeg 4, Amsterdam
Trams 1,2,5
+31(0)6 - 46750155
hermansh@xs4all.nl
http://www.cafegollem.nl

Café Gollem A cozy brown café in Amsterdam stocked with specialist beers.

The first pub in Amsterdam serving specialist Belgian beers, and a friendly place to meet anyone from a top Dutch lawyer to a local plumber. We serve over 200 different kinds of bottled beers, of which 95% are Belgian, and some are exclusive. We stock the exclusive Westvleteren, as well as a few other rare Trappist beers. There are 10 beers on tap, from which 6 change frequently.

In 1974 Café Gollem was the first café in Amsterdam which served Belgian and other foreign beers. Café Gollem is located at Raamsteeg 4 in Amsterdam between the Spuistraat and the Singel in a former century old liqueur distillery. It all began 30 years ago with a pioneering café owner (Gerard Nooter) who brought in some of the best Specialist Beers from Belgium with a rental car. These Special beers were such a hit that local beer distributors started importing these Ales themselves. In Michael Jackson’s Beer Atlas from 1977, two unique Dutch café’s were mentioned in the ‘Netherlands’ chapter: Jan Primus in Utrecht and café Gollem in Amsterdam. As of today, Rick Hermans (originally from Antwerp) is the owner of this world famous beer bodega. Many times others have tried to copy the formula of café Gollem but to no avail.

Opening times: Weekdays 16.00-01.00 hrs. Weekend 14.00-02.00 hrs.

Bijlmerpark
http://www.kwakoe.nl

The Kwaku Summer Festival is the biggest multicultural festival in the Netherlands and is held every Saturday and Sunday in the months July and August. It takes place in the Bijlmerpark in Amsterdam Southeast. For six weekends long, the organization offers a very extensive program containing (live) music, movies, sports, food, dancing, information and meetings. The Festival has a different theme every year which is noticeable in the music, performances, art, literature and several elections.

Traditionally, the Festival functions as a platform for ethnic-cultural societies from all over the Netherlands. Thus the Kwaku Festival contributes in a special way to the (multicultural) society; a society in which acceptation and harmony between different communities and individuals is of essential importance.

Queen’s Day is a celebration in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba on April 30 (or April 29th if the 30th is a Sunday). Originally a celebration of the queen’s birthday, it is now mainly known for the ‘vrijmarkt’ (literally ‘freemarket’), the one day in the year that anyone is allowed to sell anything in the streets and ‘koninginnenacht’ (Queen’s Night) on the preceding night. It is also a Dutch holiday.

It started as a celebration of the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962), on August 31. After 1948 Koninginnedag moved to April 30 (the birthday of Queen Juliana). When Queen Beatrix succeeded Juliana on April 30, 1980, she decided to keep the holiday on April 30th as a tribute to her mother. Furthermore, the weather on her own birthday (January 31st) tends to prohibit the traditional outdoor festivities. April 30th, however, is renowned for having very pleasant weather.

During the reign of Queen Juliana, and the Queen would welcome people who came to the Soestdijk Palace. The Queen and her family would stand on a dais, and a long line of citizens would walk past, congratulating her and presenting her gifts. These days, Queen Beatrix visits one or two towns where she is shown traditional Dutch dances and demonstrations of old crafts.

This is a typical occasion for oranjegekte (orange craze), when the colour orange is a ubiquitous sight, referring to the name of the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange. There are orange banners, orange colored foods and drinks, and extreme amounts of orange clothing and creative accessories are worn as well. Sometimes even the water in fountains is dyed orange. It is not uncommon for people to impersonate the queen, not always in a flattering manner.

Freemarket

The so-called ‘vrijmarkt’ (’freemarket’) is similar to a nationwide car boot sale or Flea market. Owing to a holiday dispensation from the Dutch government, people do not need to pay taxes on their sales. Many people set up stalls or blankets in parks, on sidewalks and even on the roads themselves (cars are banned in some streets). The items sold are traditionally old rubbish, but for commercial traders this is also an extremely profitable day. ING bank has estimated the size of the trade in 2007 at about 200 million euros, with the appreoximately 1.8 million sellers making 111 euros on average. The freemarket in Amsterdam attracts the most visitors.

Typically, many children sell their cast-off toys and clothes while entrepreneurs sell food, beverages and almost anything else imaginable. Prices tend to be very negotiable and drop as the day progresses. By the end of the festivities, much of the unsold merchandise is left on the streets to be picked through until it’s hauled off by local municipalities shortly after. In Amsterdam, the main streets in the city centre are increasingly being taken over by commercial traders, pushing the intended car boot sale out towards smaller streets and the outer ring of the centre. There are, however, some areas where the original style is preserved. One of these is the Jordaan, a working class neighborhood, where prices are very low because the sale is just an excuse to have a nice day and a friendly chat with complete strangers. Sections of the Jordaan can become so full of pedestrians that they become completely gridlocked, despite the absence of cars. Another is the Vondelpark, which has activities more suitable for younger children. You’ll find face-painting, games, theatrical performances and plenty of food vendors to tempt tiny taste buds also at Vondelpark, children are proud to show off their lemonade stands, homemade puppet theaters or musical performances, and it’s truly endearing to see them smile at the clinking sound of a euro!.

Party

In recent years, Koninginnedag has become more and more of an open-air party, with many concerts and special events in public spaces, particularly in Amsterdam, which attracts anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000 visitors. Many Dutch people living abroad try to make the pilgrimage home (with many ‘clued-up’ tourists) to experience this holiday each year. Booking accommodations in Amsterdam and elsewhere for Queen’s Day is notoriously difficult, requiring booking 6 months or more ahead.

During the preceding ‘koninginnenacht’ (Queen’s Night) many bars and clubs throughout the Netherlands (particularly in Amsterdam and The Hague) hold special events catering to revelers that last all night long. This tradition started in the early nineties when pre-Koninginnedag riots were an increasing problem in The Hague. The idea of convincing the rioters that a celebration is a much better way to spend ‘Koninginnenach’ (without the ‘t’, as it’s pronounced locally), proved successful. The event draws tens of thousands of visitors every year.