Gouda you get to Cheesetown? Well, firstly, know where you’re going and how you get there.
And that there is a difference between Gouda and Edam.
Not just that they’re different cheeses, and they’re both made from sweet curd.
But that Edam has a red skin on it and Gouda a yellow one.
Oh, and Edam is north of Amsterdam and Gouda south.
My own little Sat-Nav
You see that’s the thing about directions when you’re abroad, you can go around in circles until you arrive back at the start point.
My own little Sat-Nav prides herself, as the daughter of a topographer, in taking charge of directions when we’re abroad.
And in most part she has got us there.
When I didn’t even know where there was.
Apart, of course, on our first trip together abroad when we decided to cycle to Edam.
And Herself, a head full of first love, suggested we take a turn in the road.
Two hours later, and in the icy cold of a Dutch November night, we were back where we started.
Crepe pep
We eventually did make it into Amsterdam.
And not even a warming crepe and hot chocolate restored feeling to my cramped legs.
And so the take-away from all of this is that map out your route…
Or put yourself into the hands of professionals.
Star of the canal
Such as boating experts Emerald Star who will set you on the right course.
With the beautiful thing about canal breaks is that there’s no tricky options…
You just set your boat off in front of you and go.
Emerald Star are offering a return cruise from Vinkeveen, a popular summer holiday spot great for water sports, swimming and lake-side dining.
Cruisin’
Amsterdam is less than five cruising hours to the north.
So guests can explore the city before returning to Vinkeveen.
Or continue their journey through green pastures and small fishing villages, to explore more of Holland.
To the southeast of Vinkeveen, the trendy university city of Utrecht is reachable in just four hours.
While the cheese-making towns of Gouda and Edam (see we told you so), the famous Keukenhof Flowerpark at Lisse and the windmills at Zaanse Schans are all within two to four days of cruising from Vinkeveen.
Ambitious holidaymakers can cruise as far as Hindelhoopen.
It’s best know for its art and its traditional dress and lies north of Amsterdam in the Friesland region.
No experience necessary
A seven-night, self-catered stay on board a Elegance, which sleeps up to six people, departing 24 May, starting and ending in Vinkeveen.
Costs €2,809 per boat, €468 pp (down from €3,749 saving €940 – saving 25%). No boating license or experience necessary.
Emerald Star (071 962 7633 or visit www.emeraldstar.ie )
And so you’ll never need to ask Gouda you get to Cheesetown?