As some attentive readers have probably already noticed, we have been in the Netherlands for a few weeks now. This has mainly practical reasons. We are already excited and full of anticipation for the next leg of our journey. Since mid-July we are forced to travel without our beloved van Ben. This opens up new possibilities for us and a lot of room for new experiences.

But don’t worry, we don’t want to continue traveling without Ben: Soon, the journey will continue in Mexico! But for the shipping of our van, we need about one month time. Accordingly, we will bring Ben to Emden, Germany, to prepare the shipment to Mexico. Since Emden is located directly at the Dutch border, we spend the next weeks in the Netherlands. 

Besides short stops in Groningen, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Gouda remains a particularly good memory for us.

Housesitting in Gouda

We are thinking about the best way to spend all the time without prebooked plans in the Netherlands. What would be, if we had a permanent temporary residence in a beautiful Dutch city? Even better with a task like housesitting, because we are not only supposed to look after a house, but in addition to the garden and the dog. Let’s try it out!
At the last minute we register on a housesitting platform, create a profile (this is not done as quickly as we had imagined) and write to some available housesitting providers. We quickly receive a confirmation from Gouda. Great! We are allowed to look after a terraced house in the middle of Gouda for two times four days each.
The two days between the housesitting jobs we can stay directly with the homeowners and so the hotel search and especially the hotel costs for 1 ½ weeks are eliminated!

Charley, the dog of the traveling host family, is still a little shy on the first day. But from the second day he is very familiar with us and blossoms every day a little more. So, we adapt to the dog’s daily rhythm for this period and let the daily walks inspire us to new, leisurely daily plans. We are especially convinced of Charley’s very good behavior, with him we can go to any cafe or restaurant without us or the other guests being disturbed by his presence. A dream for any dog owner. A good dog training, as we experience first-hand here in Gouda, always pays off.

The townhouse of Gouda

By far the most prominent landmark in Gouda is the old, Gothic town hall in the center of Gouda’s market square. It dates from the mid-15th century and has been maintained over the centuries of existence with a few minor additions. The ancient building gives the whole square a historical appearance with great appeal. We pass the beautiful townhouse of Gouda every day thanks to our central accommodation, a few 100m from the market square. It is always an impressive eye-catcher in any weather and any part of the day.

The Sint Janskerk

In German, this church is called St. John’s Church. It is located southeast of the central market square and is a real sight and of course, as you would expect, a must-see for Mimi.
Saint John’s Church is the longest cross church in the Netherlands. A special feature in addition is the dual use of the church. It is a Roman Catholic church as well as a Baptist church. Even today, services of both faiths are held in this church. This is certainly a peculiarity that is rarely found.
Thanks to their long history since the middle of the 20th century, the stained-glass windows deserve special attention. They are among the oldest Catholic stained-glass windows and depict various scenes from the Bible. The craftsmanship that went into the windows still deserves great respect today.

Cheese market on the market square

During our stay in Gouda, we get to visit the cheese market in Gouda’s historic market square twice. We appreciate the hustle and bustle of the market, even though it is a very orderly, Western European type of market. Quite the opposite of our experiences at Asian markets. At the cheese market, it is probably a matter of course that cheese and, accordingly, cheese stands are the focus of the visitors. In addition, there are also many fresh foods such as pastries, meat and fish, as well as a few vegetables. But the market assortment does not stop there. In addition, useful household items and souvenirs are on sale too.
The market is one of the main tourist magnets of the city of Gouda. This also explains the rhythm of the city; Monday to Wednesday the city seems almost empty and super quiet. On Thursday, all the tourists come to the market and stay for a few days, so the crowd slowly decreases again until Sunday.

The cheese market takes place every Thursday on the market square in Gouda from morning until afternoon.

Small bike ride at the Reeuwijkse Plassen

We like to do our job as housesitters and want to treat Charley and us not only to the daily life in Gouda. So, in typical Dutch fashion, we take to our bikes and ride to a nearby lake area – Reeuwijkse Plassen.
The Reewijkse Plassen consist of several water basins and connecting canals. With the bike we can comfortably go around the lake via the dam roads. And we are really enthusiastic about our dog companion Charley. Without any fuss we place him in the transport basket in front of the handlebar of the bike and he rides perfectly quiet with Mimi.
During our tour around the lake, we discover a kind of dog playground. In the Netherlands there are many dogs for our feeling. Accordingly, especially the green areas in the center of the city – and we assume many cities here – are heavily regulated and there is a leash requirement almost everywhere. The more joy Charley makes of the unleashed running around and chasing after his tennis ball. Charleys’ joy also infects us. With many similar dog experiences, we say goodbye to Charley after our time in Gouda. Faster than we thought, such a pet can be taken into our hearts. And of course, the parting was planned from the beginning, but we would not have thought that we could get involved with a dog so quickly.

This timeout from traveling while traveling in Gouda really did us good. Finally having a fixed place to go home to in the evening for a longer period of time is great. Knowing what stores and options are available and being able to fall back on that knowledge for several days just feels good. The advantages of the sedentary life made for a good change for us – but of course we are really looking forward to the upcoming time in Mexico and Central and South America and the life in our bus Ben!