Port of Call -- Rotterdam/Gouda

We departed Southampton docks at 5 and headed out into the English Channel (biggest shipping area in the world).  After zigzagging across the Channel during the night, we arrived in Rotterdam, Netherlands just as we ate breakfast.  The harbour is long so we spent a couple of hours on our balcony watching the passing scene.

Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, began in 1270 when the Rotte river was dammed (hence the name).  The city now spans the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt river delta and is the second largest city in the Netherlands.  It was heavy bombed by the Nazis during World War II so much of the architecture is new and exciting.  Most of the city is built behind dikes and is below sea level.  We passed the lowest point of 6.76 m (22 ft) on our bus tour.  It was neat seeing the North Sea flowing above our heads.

The Royal Princess pulled alongside the old Holland America Quay, now known as the Cruise Terminal Rotterdam.  Many immigrants left Europe via this pier on their journey to make new lives for themselves.  The terminal now welcomes about 20 cruise ships a year.

I booked all our tours before we left Canada so when we got to our cabin, we had an envelop containing our tour tickets.  It also told us where to meet our groups.  Princess has organizing shore excursions down to fine art and we were given a coloured sticker and number (Yellow 3) in one of the dining rooms.  We boarded the Yellow 3 bus and were on our way.  We had two criteria for our tours.  One, walking must be involved and two, there had to be drinking and or eating.  Along the way we hoped to glean some neat facts and take lots of photos.  The tour in the Netherlands we chose was to Gouda (pronounced How-da with a guttural H) and of course, involved cheese tasting.  It was billed as a strenuous walk and limited to 40 people. Turns out Princess tours' idea of strenuous and ours are two different things.

We began by viewing the ship from a local park so we could take a photo then the driver wound his way through Rotterdam while our guide, Stephanie, pointed out the sites.  Then we traveled along a dike road through the countryside.  Our guide was amazed our driver took this route and at times, it was scary looking out the window down into farmers' fields.  The fields were laid out with canals running between them which reminded me of photos I'd seen of Canadian soldiers in WWII slogging through soggy fields driving the Nazis out of Holland.

Gouda is a delightful town known mainly for its cheese.  It also makes those long clay pipes you see in old paintings and lovely candles.  Our guide insisted we try some stroopwafel, a local sweet made of two waffles with a caramel syrup in between.  Very tasty.   Another claim to fame is the longest church (123 m or 404 ft) in the Netherlands, Sint Janskerk, known for its stained glass windows.

Our guide led us along the town's cobbled streets, past the church, and into the town square.  It is dominated by a Gothic city hall (built between 1448 and 1450).  Around 1100, the town was a marshland next to the Gouwe River and the townsfolk harvested peat.  A canal connecting it to the Old Rhine river transformed Gouda into a trading town.  Several great fires and devastating plagues affected the town's economy and the term Goudaner became synonymous with beggar.

Behind the city hall is the market where cheese was and still is, traded (every Thursday).  Ironically, Gouda cheese is not made in the town but the cheese is traded there and must pass strict quality controls.  Across from the market is the Waag or weigh house.  Built in 1667, it was used to weigh goods (mostly cheese) so the local lord could levy taxes.  Inside is a cheese museum and Stephanie led us upstairs for a cheese tasting.  We were given samples (big chunks) of four different ages of Gouda cheese and wine.  From what I have told you, you should know that Gouda is not famous for its wine.  For good reason, it was pretty rough.  The fact there were glasses of wine leftover tells the tale.  After a local volunteer told us all about the cheese industry in the area, we were given free time.

Both Glen and I wanted to see Sint Janskerk's famous stained glass windows as they are on the UNESCO list of Dutch monuments.  The church is dedicated to John the Baptist, the patron saint of Gouda.  During Reformation, it was plundered but the windows were left intact.  In 1573, the Gouda city council prohibited the practice of Roman Catholicism so it became a Protestant Dutch Reformed church as it is today.  In 1939, the windows were removed which saved them from destruction during WWII.

The church entrance is a glass room which we thought sold souvenirs and the famous Gouda candles.  As we tried to enter the church, a man yelled something that sounded like "cash".  How embarrassing--we didn't know we had to pay to enter (about 7 euros each).  The man then provided us with headsets and a recorded description of what we were seeing.  I soon dispensed with mine as I wanted to take photos and we didn't have time to linger.

Our driver took the ring road back to the ship which was much faster.  We boarded minutes before everyone was supposed to be back.  I had been worried we might miss the sailing but Princess does wait for her own tour buses to return.


To see photos of our Gouda tour, go here.