Hot City

Hot City for Illustration Friday: City by Alison Day

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Design 

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Say Alkmaar, Say ‘Cheese!’

Alkmaar is a Grand Dame of a city at 750 years old, with 100,000 inhabitants, and is known as the Netherlands Cheese City. It can be reached in just over half an hour from Amsterdam Central Station by intercity train.

The main attraction is the cheese market which starts at 10.00 am until 12.30 pm from the first Friday in April until the first Friday in September. During this time the market place is full of enormous cheeses being bought and sold, a yearly occurrence that has been going on for the last 600 years.

The cheeses are sold by a method called, ‘handjeklap’ (literally ‘hand clap’), a traditional selling method in the Netherlands amongst farmers where the seller and the buyer clap each other on the palm of the hand, whilst speaking a secret language. This means that they are in the middle of ‘doing business’. When the clapping stops it means that one has decided that the transaction is finished. The cheeses are then removed after weighing in the ‘Waag’ (the Weigh House), by ‘cheese porters’. Dressed in white uniforms and straw hats with coloured ribbons, these men are members of a 400 year old Cheese Carriers Guild. They use ‘berries’, a sort of sleigh contraption which helps to lift the heavy cheeses by the use of a strap system round the shoulders of the bearers. The cheese museum can be found in the Waaggebouw (Waag building) a 14th century building, which has all the information about dairy production.

From the historical point of view Alkmaar has about 400 monuments including the 16th century Town Hall and the Grote St. Laurenskerk.  The latter is built in the Brabant-Gothic style (like French Gothic, but with a more ornate exterior) and contains a world famous organ. There is also a Dutch Renaissance house, as well as numerous other churches, small estates and buildings with marvelous facades some being a couple of hundred years old and dating back to 1573, when Alkmaar became the first city in the Netherlands to beat the Spanish army.

Being the largest city in the region Alkmaar is popular as the social centre and offers a broad diversity of restaurants, cafés, theatres and museums. 

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design

First published in the Connections magazine #11 Spring 2006 

What's on in Harlingen

This Friese havenstad was once a Viking settlement due to its easy access to the sea. These days it is home to about 16,000 inhabitants. Its close proximity to the Waddenzee (with its special nature reserve), regular boat trips to the Waddeneilanden (Wadden islands), the historical and touristy harbours which one can sail into and easily moor a yacht or motor boat has meant it is a very popular destination with visitors.

More about the rich culture of Harlingen can be seen in the perfectly preserved Gemeentemuseum Hannemahuis, a state owned house turned museum that was previously owned by the family Hannema for over 200 years. The museum includes a look into interior design of the day, tells about the local tile and pottery industry, and includes paintings, silverware, and paraphernalia from maritime history. Other museums include the 18 century Eisinga Planetarium, with its idea of making astronomy accessible to the general public; the Rock ‘n Roll Museum with memorabilia from the 50’s and 60’s and The Harlinger Aardewerk (Harlinger Pottery) and Tegelfabriek (Tile Factory) where tiles are still handmade according to the traditions of the 17 century

For the outdoor enthusiasts there are numerous things to do. City tours lasting an hour or two, bike tours the routes of which can be obtained from the VVV (Tourist Office), and a gallery walk with a diversity of artistic direction and talent awaiting your discovery. South of Harlingen there is an 88-hectare nature reserve called Hegewiersterfjild), which is rich in bird and plant life that inhabits a one-time clay quarry from the 1940’s.

For the fishing enthusiasts there are daily trips on well-equipped ships from the sport fishers’ fleet who know the best places to visit. More information and trips can be arranged via the local tourist office.

Accommodation can also be arranged via the local tourist office. If you are looking for a more unusual place to spend the night then there is always an old lifeboat equipped with all modern conveniences at your service, or for a more illuminating experience, the recently pensioned Harlingen lighthouse. Want to get away from it all? That is possible, in an old harbour crane (now considered an industrial monument), the interior of which can be described as ‘snug’, with only enough room for two.

For all this and more their website can be found at here

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design

First published in the Connections magazine #10 Winter 2006