OK, today I'll "show and tell" the Alkmaar cheese market. Alkmaar is a short drive (about 30 minutes) from Amsterdam in the province of Holland. If you ever go, beware of guided tours of the market. During the high season, the tour guide will leave you at the market and tell you where to meet them again after a couple hours. You won't get any explanations other than what they tell you on the bus. Because I wasn't told about it or directed to it, I totally missed the museum, which would have given me a decent view of the market and which would have helped me understand the unique auction system they use. I had to climb up on a teetery pile of cement blocks on the outside of crowd in order to take most of my pictures, but honestly, my camera saw more than I did. Oh, well, live and learn!
However, the Viator tour I took was a success in the end. After Alkmaar, the tour took us on a very good tour of the polders and windmills, with access to the inside of one of the windmills. After that, it took us to a cheese factory near Edam. Those two aspects of the tour were well worth the trip. Next time I go, I will go to Alkmaar on my own, without time constraints, and experience the cheese market better, now that I know how to go about it.
First, a little history: As early as 1365, Alkmaar had a weighing house for cheese. The oldest "ordinance on the cheesebearers" dates from June 17, 1593. In 1916, an average of three hundred tons of cheese were sold on every market day! That is 600,000 pounds of cheese! Think of all the milk - all the cows - it took to produce that much cheese!
Since 1939, Alkmaar has been the only pace to maintain the cheese market in its traditional form. Every summer, for twenty-two Fridays, the market takes place on the Waagplein.
Since 1622, the Biblical text regarding weights and measures has governed the weighing of cheese at Alkmaar: "A false balance is abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight." (Proverbs 11:1)
The cheese carrier's guild moves and weighs the cheese. The guild has four groups of seven men. Each group has its own colour: red, yellow, green or blue. The carriers wear the traditional costume of white suits and straw hats with ribbons in the colour of their group.
Here is the courtyard of the Alkmaar cheese market, with the old weighing house in the background:
A nice close-up of the lovely old building:
In these next two pictures, you can see the carriers moving the cheese in hand barrows. It looks like they are walking, but in fact, they are moving pretty fast. They must practice their gait in order to make it look this showy. Notice the different colours of ribbons in their hats:
The long, white canopies in the background are market canopies, with dozens of "tourist trap" stalls selling souvenirs and overpriced cheese.
If one barrow is not called for at the moment, the carriers have a little fun giving rides to children in the crowd. The kids squeal and hang on tight as the carriers race around the market with them. When they are carrying children, the men run faster to give the kids a thrill:
Here is cheese that has been sold, loaded onto one of the carts to be taken to the buyer's truck:
The carts are delivered to the waiting trucks, and the cheese is loaded up for transport across the country and beyond:
However, the Viator tour I took was a success in the end. After Alkmaar, the tour took us on a very good tour of the polders and windmills, with access to the inside of one of the windmills. After that, it took us to a cheese factory near Edam. Those two aspects of the tour were well worth the trip. Next time I go, I will go to Alkmaar on my own, without time constraints, and experience the cheese market better, now that I know how to go about it.
First, a little history: As early as 1365, Alkmaar had a weighing house for cheese. The oldest "ordinance on the cheesebearers" dates from June 17, 1593. In 1916, an average of three hundred tons of cheese were sold on every market day! That is 600,000 pounds of cheese! Think of all the milk - all the cows - it took to produce that much cheese!
Since 1939, Alkmaar has been the only pace to maintain the cheese market in its traditional form. Every summer, for twenty-two Fridays, the market takes place on the Waagplein.
Since 1622, the Biblical text regarding weights and measures has governed the weighing of cheese at Alkmaar: "A false balance is abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight." (Proverbs 11:1)
The cheese carrier's guild moves and weighs the cheese. The guild has four groups of seven men. Each group has its own colour: red, yellow, green or blue. The carriers wear the traditional costume of white suits and straw hats with ribbons in the colour of their group.
Here is the courtyard of the Alkmaar cheese market, with the old weighing house in the background:
A nice close-up of the lovely old building:
In these next two pictures, you can see the carriers moving the cheese in hand barrows. It looks like they are walking, but in fact, they are moving pretty fast. They must practice their gait in order to make it look this showy. Notice the different colours of ribbons in their hats:
The long, white canopies in the background are market canopies, with dozens of "tourist trap" stalls selling souvenirs and overpriced cheese.
If one barrow is not called for at the moment, the carriers have a little fun giving rides to children in the crowd. The kids squeal and hang on tight as the carriers race around the market with them. When they are carrying children, the men run faster to give the kids a thrill:
Here is cheese that has been sold, loaded onto one of the carts to be taken to the buyer's truck:
The carts are delivered to the waiting trucks, and the cheese is loaded up for transport across the country and beyond:
posted by Me | 9:42 AM
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