Goudse kaas

I'm writing from Gouda, located in this tiny country called The Netherlands. These insanely tall Dutch people have a penchant for good cheese. I mean seriously good cheese. "Goudse kaas," is dutch for the infamous gouda cheeses. I've been here for only a day and a half and I have consumed so many different kinds of aged cheeses. Many are not even originally Dutch, but that didn't stop me from imbibing. Ones with cumin, a chedder with paprika, a brie-type cheese with truffle oil, a simple Gouda, a smoked gouda, muenster, a roquefort, a creamy cheese dip with garlic....the list goes on. Garlic in dutch is "knoflook."

An afternoon snack in Holland consists of a cutting board full of different cheeses and these little breads called krentenbollen that are basically slightly sweet rolls with raisins in them. And they're amazing! You simply slice open a little krentenbollen and slather with a bit of butter and add as much cheese as you can handle. The combination of a spicy, pungent or mellow cheese all go well with the sweetness of raisins and bready goodness. Lovely afternoon snack.

Now off to ride my bike along the canals!