It's Saturday morning in the Dutch city of Haarlem and the open market is in full bloom.
It's one of the larger and more lively market squares in all of the Netherlands.
Market day in a European city is generally a lot of fun.
You get a chance to mingle around with the locals then have a look at the produce, and
the cheese and the fruits and different clothing items for sale, participating like a resident
– and maybe you'll find something good to eat.
It's no surprise this big event is at the central market square right in the middle
of town next to the big church.
On the map you'll see the network of streets in the old town, that was shown you in another
movie and today we will focus on the market square, right in the center.
When traveling it's not always easy to strike up conversations with the locals but on market
day everybody is ready to talk, so by all means have some chats with the vendors.
So what's going on here?
This is the market, every Saturday from 9-to-5.
We have a lot of stuff here.
You can buy fresh flowers, fresh fish, fresh meat, fresh chicken, fresh potatoes.
You can have anything you like.
We have nice vegetables, food, that you can eat it right away – very much fun.
And it's a good place to work.
To work.
Yes it's a good place, it's fun.
We have nice buildings around us, and there are nice restaurants, lots of people, all
over the world, it’s nice.
Yeah.
We have them from America, from Canada, from Australia, from France, from Germany, so.
So it's a real social place too.
Yes definitely, definitely.
A lot of conversation, also yes, strangers meeting, also, and the people are coming from
everywhere.
They know this.
They come.
And it’s right next to the big church.
The big church, you can go inside, it's very nice.
And what are you selling here?
We're selling wool.
From Holland?
Yes, Dutch wool.
It's cold in the winter?
Well we have Dutch winters – they're not that cold anymore, but.
And I have some customers over there so I am going on, thank you very much.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
You'll find clothing for sale as well, and some hardware and other kinds of miscellaneous
gadgets including a nice variety of bicycle seats.
The Dutch love flowers and are major world suppliers but nothing is more Dutch than cheese.
Is this cheese from Holland?
Yeah it's almost everything is from Holland except this one and this one.
The rest is from Holland.
Every cheese is different.
Goat cheese, farmer cheese.
And how many kinds of cheese, how many varieties?
30, 30 kinds of cheese I think.
You want some?
Maybe a taste.
Yeah.
We've got some cheese from the farm and those are raw, from raw milk.
Not pasteurized?
Not pasteurized, yeah.
Like that one.
So, raw?
It's okay?
Try it, yes, sure.
Not dangerous?
Ha ha.
Creamy and spicy.
So it's not pasteurized?
No, no, it's raw milk, raw milk, yeah, handmade by farmers.
In America raw milk cheese is legal but not so common.
It is required to be aged for 60 days out of some health concerns but many argue that
raw milk cheeses are more delicious than pasteurized cheese with a spunkier, more natural and exciting
flavor.
Located in the middle of Europe and also being very open-minded, the Dutch like cheese from
other countries as well.
No Dutch cheese.
From France, Italy, Spain, Portugal.
Oh all over Europe, no Holland.
No Holland cheese, no.
Aha.
Pecorino with truffles, yeah.
That's a very exclusive cheese.
Of course the heart and soul of any open market is the produce, the vegetables, especially
fresh and locally grown – a lot better than frozen food from a supermarket.
What is this?
All organic food.
We have all vegetables, organic, so very healthy.
Where is it from?
All in Holland at the moment.
Most of the things are from Holland.
Aha.
Still, yeah.
Holland?
Is it the Netherlands or do you just say Holland when you talk about your country?
Netherlands, Nederland, Nederland, yeah.
OK how much is that?
4.50 please.
A bag of nuts is one of my favorites.
OK.
Have a nice day.
One of the most fascinating elements of Dutch culture are the bicycles, they're everywhere.
It seems like everybody has a bicycle, or if you're a tiny toddler you are on the front
seat or the back seat or maybe in a little cart that's attached to the bicycle.
It's endlessly entertaining to watch the variety of bicycles go by.
Sometimes it's like little pickup truck with capacity for cargo and a baby.
This clever lady gives her dog a workout and gets pulled along on a free ride – notice
she's not pedaling.
Somehow each bicycle is unique, and these carts and carriages seem unusual to visitors
from America but this is perfectly normal here.
Actually it's a great way to get around of course.
And here's how you load two frisky little kids into the cart.
Notice there is a front seat for the little girl and a backseat for big brother, and room
for cargo with a handheld loaf of bread.
Get their shoes on, secure them in place and push them along, get ready for the journey.
It's a normal daily routine.
I have a theory that one reason that Dutch are generally smart and sociable and outgoing
and alert is they grew up on the front seat of a bicycle with their eyes open and seeing
the world spin by them.
A very stimulating and daily experience instead of being trapped into the backseat of a car
as we do in many other cultures.
The typical Dutch bicycle is very efficient, with just one-speed direct chain drive, with
no loss of energy, unlike fancier bikes with multiple gears and derailleurs adding some
friction and resistance.
Another favorite item of mine are the breads, the incredible dark and rich and heavy breads,
with lots of seeds, and varieties, and textures.
And you find this kind of good wholesome bread throughout northern Europe – in Germany
certainly, and Scandinavia which bears many similarities to the Netherlands.
And here we have fresh bread.
Some of that's actually baked right on the spot, the some of these counters have brought
along their ovens and so they can waft that wonderful odor of fresh-baked bread out to
lure you in and buy a loaf or two.
Pick up some cheese to go with it and you've got yourself an instant meal, maybe a picnic
lunch or even dinner.
If you don't find anything to eat at the market there are a number of cafés all around the
market.
There's a beautiful corner bar here – people kicking back watching the parade of people
going by, having a drink or having a meal.
It's a perfect spot for a break before plunging back into the market.
And there's always some kind of opportunity for free samples so don't be shy, they want
to give it away to entice you to buy, for example these wonderful olives.
Where are the olives from?
From everywhere, from the Mediterranean.
Oh really?
So variation of I think maybe 10 countries.
Wow.
The buildings all around the market square are beautiful and historic.
Most of them date back to the 1600s.
You've got the old meat market, you've got the weighing house, the City Hall, and the
big church, the Grote Kerk, there is an archaeology museum and some former residences of the nobles.
You've got the visitor information office here so stop in for some free maps and advice.
Haarlem has a long history as an important market town as far back as the 14th century
when it was in its heyday.
It was collecting tolls on the canal.
It was a larger city than Amsterdam, and then later in the 17th century it reached its cultural
peak with artists such as Franz Hals living here and creating many great masterpieces.
It's long been the capital of tulip cultivation with the famous flower fields nearby in Keukenhoff
and, even today it's a major producer of a variety of flowers.
Well you can see how much fun this market is but you've got to be here on a Saturday
to catch all of this action.
So if you can possibly arrange your schedule, if you're staying in Amsterdam and you're
around on a weekend, by all means come on over to Haarlem and have a walk around the
market and then see the rest of town.
We have more movies about Haarlem so be sure to have a look at our YouTube channel and
subscribe so you can be notified about all of our recent uploads.
We've also got a series of films about the Netherlands covering many of the highlights
of this beautiful country, stay tuned.