Flowers and a nice walk
A blog from Saskia's husband:
My family has lived here for over 300 years. I was born under the Speeltoren, where the flower shop of SAS is now (not my Sas!). It used to be my parents' flower shop. Making bouquets was one of the things I always liked to do.
And I still like to make the bouquets for ourselves and for the guests of the Kaakberg. They are in the rooms upon arrival. If you are staying longer than a week, feel free to ask me and I will fill the vases again for you.
As a native of Edam, I have written down for you a long or slightly shorter walk along the most beautiful places, the best local shops and the beautiful monuments of Edam, one of about 45 minutes which can be extended to an hour.
We start from the parking lot P in Edam on the Baanstraat. You can stay there for a maximum of 4 hours with the blue disc. After 6 pm there is no maximum parking time. Don't have a blue parking disc? In the hall there is one in the closet, which you can use.
From the P you walk straight on over the Baanbrug into the Hoogstraat. On the right you see a wooden wall, because a few years ago a large fire destroyed part of the striking houses. There is a plan to rebuild them, but unfortunately what was there will never come back. Fortunately, there is still plenty left. You will notice that on this walk. Left opposite the wooden wall is butcher shop Taam, a good butcher.
Continue until Damplein. The Damplein, built in 1585, is enclosed by the former Town Hall, the former Post Office and the former Botermarkt of that same year. The current hall is a Tuscan-style wooden covered colonnade dating from the 19th century, inexplicably named "Lancester". This is now the terrace of the Damhotel. The former Town Hall is still used as a wedding hall, and is also the tourist office and the annex of the Edams Museum. Sometimes the door to the left to the wedding room is open. Then take a look at the beautiful wall paintings. The floor is, according to old custom, sprinkled with sand, so that the floors are sanded nice and clean by the visitors.
In front of you you see the former lock, a high Dam, over the water. Cross this and you are in front of the Edams Museum. Nice to visit, also with children, with curious paintings, such as the portrait of Trijntje Keever (1616-1633). At 2.60 meters she was one of the tallest women of all time. Perhaps the longest ever. Her history is sad, she was mistreated and put on display. Lydia Rood wrote a children's book (Girl on the chain) on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of the city of Edam. The Edams museum also has a floating cellar. Experience it yourself.
Continue from the museum to the right and then left again into the Breestraat. The corner building you pass is our former theater (Speeltheater), where we created and performed performances for 30 years and which, just like the cheese, went all over the world.
In the Breestraat you will pass a number of beautiful buildings on the right until you reach the corner building, where you turn right. This building is the oldest wooden house in Edam. Are you hungry? A little further is the Gorter bakery, a good bakery.
You walk on and, on the left before the bridge, enter the canal (Nieuwvaartje). As a child I saw the cows and sheep walking here that walked from the meadows to the farms. They are now all renovated luxury farmhouses. Note: this canal at no. 8, a beautiful relief with carvings and sayings.
Continue along the Nieuwvaartje until you see the Sint Nicolaaskerk. Widely known as the Great Church. Before the church, turn left onto the gravel path, you arrive at the side portal of the church, but we do not enter the church here, first we go through the gate on the right into the cemetery. Walk through the cemetery to experience how gigantic this hall church is. You will pass some beautiful old funerary monuments of prominent Edam families.
Now walk to the exit of the Cemetery and then left again to the main entrance. The opening times are from April to September 2 to 5, and from October to March until 4 o'clock. But pay attention! Check the website for the current opening times, because there may be a service or something else. The monumental hall church is one of the top 100 national monuments in the Netherlands. She is renowned for her 32 stained glass windows (1602-1627), her beautiful organ and a beautiful Librije.
After visiting the church, go out through the main entrance and to the right, then cross the wooden bridge on the left and again on the left onto the Brouwersgracht. You pass the courtyard of the Proveniershuis (here popularly called De Proeve). The gardens are maintained by a number of residents. The poor elderly no longer live there, as in the past, but nowadays it is mainly inhabited by older single ladies. The cottages are tiny, but beautiful.
Cross the first bridge on the left and continue until the Kaasmarkt. There you will see the former Waag, where the cheeses used to be weighed and traded. Now there is still a small market on Wednesdays, where you can buy fish, fresh vegetables and good quality cheese at reasonable prices. Or there is, in the summer, a touristic 'Cheese Market', where the cheese weighing and trade is reenacted for throngs of tourists brought in by buses, while there is busy filming with mobile phones to capture the 'authentic' Edam. For each his own.
From the Kaasmarkt you turn right into the Prinsenstraat. To the left is Visser's vegetable and natural store. Note: closed on Mondays. I suggest we skip the tourist center with the cheese shops. (You can always decide to take this with you later). Instead, we turn right at the (beautiful) cooking shop De Leuk Keuken, into Kleine Kerkstraat, which turns into Lingerzijde after the bend.
In the bend is the Speeltoren and the aforementioned flower shop SAS and my homeland. There are also some nice shops here: De Kast with toys and gifts and a good bookshop, where they might sell Lydia Rood's book.
You follow the bend and do not forget to look left and right at the beautiful houses. (also look to the right at the 2nd bend Lingerzijde). This actually applies to the entire city center. In the sixteenth century, Edam was the center of shipbuilding. There were no fewer than 45 shipyards. A rich town, which can still be seen in the beautiful houses of the rich shipowners such as the Schepenmakersdijk, Lingerzijde, and the Voorhaven. Later Edam lost this position due to competition with other cities. Edam increasingly became a sleeping town, also known as the Sleeping Beauty. But the silent witnesses of this glorious time are still there.
Do not take the bend from the Lingerzijde, but continue straight ahead through the Kwakelsteeg and you will then be in front of the Kwakelbrug, the smallest drawbridge in Edam. On the left you see the old shipyard and on the right the tea houses of the luxurious mansions (rear buildings Lingerzijde)
At the end of the short walk you go over the Kwakelbrug, left on the Doelland, after the bridge it is called the Bult here. At the end, turn left again, straight ahead over the Constabelbrug, immediately right after the bridge and right again over the Baanbrug. You are then back at the parking lot P.
For the longer walk you can continue after the Constabel Bridge into the Spuistraat, towards the tourist center. But don't buy cheese here! The prices are too high and it is often factory cheese. It is much better before the bridge, at the corner, to turn right and continue towards Voorhaven, because I will take you at point 18 to a good cheese warehouse.
You pass Mina, a small Lebanese shop, where, according to Ottolenghi, Mina sells the best hummus in the Netherlands. You can also buy Lebanese takeaway specialties here to eat at home.
Continue along Damplein straight ahead onto Voorhaven. Look right and left on the other side of the canal at the beautiful houses. The 3rd house on the right is the house with the Swans, next to it is the Lutheran church. The cheese warehouses are also located here. Bakhuis De Koophandel is located in one of these buildings. There you can buy cheeses and bread at good prices. The smell of delicious freshly baked bread greets you; buy real French croissants or good scones here for your breakfast tomorrow. The Bakhuis is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sat to 4 p.m. and Sun to 2 p.m.).
With your bag full, walk straight ahead along the Voorhaven and cross the second (narrow) bridge to the other side. You will see Café De Harmonie there. Here you can rent whisper boats to discover Edam from the water.
You can now also walk back along the Voorhaven and drink a good cappuccino with something delicious at the Mastenbroek pastry shop. After this you cross the Hoge Dam again and continue straight on, until you reach the P again after the Baanbrug in the Baanstraat
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