I absolutely love markets and will always seek out a local market when I go away. During my recent visit to Amsterdam the top recommendation from Google was the Albert Cuyp Market. Apparently this is the largest market in Europe with 260 stalls and is named after a painter from the 17th century. Fantastic! That's the final day of my itinerary sorted. Market in the morning, followed by a quick wizz in Amsterdam city centre before I head off home in the evening
I arrived at the market around 10ish and it was still fairly quiet. It was perfect to check out all the stalls with less people around.
There were some fresh produce stalls, selling fruit and veg, and of course tulips were in season, some were selling at €7.50 for 50. I wish I could buy some to take home with me! And boy the fishmonger stall smelt so fresh and fishy.
Cheese was another of my favourite stall. Even the Gouda I bought in the supermarket the previous day tasted delicious and I wanted to make sure I buy some. I saw this particular stall had a lot of local customers and figured I can't go wrong here.
Apart from fresh produce, and market sold a range of other products but it wasn't the tacky trashy stuff.
These clocks are all recycled, I loved the vintage look of them.
And it was good to see a crypto enthusiast here, maybe he'll accept Hive next?
These outfits look so stylish, too bad I'm too short and can't carry it.
Quick! Somebody call child services please!!!
And of course, with Amsterdam being Amsterdam, there's bound to be stalls that sells related iconic products.
And finally for the crème de la crème. Food!!! Markets are always the best place to get the best food. I love fresh raw fish of any kind, sushi, cerviche, smoked salmon and herring. And I don't come all the way to Netherlands and not have any herring. I remember the first time I tried them was on my first visit to the Netherlands years ago and it was just yummlicuious. This stall was at the end of the street and the sign says it dates back to 1916. There was a film crew here, they said they're making a documentary about no pin (credit card) stalls. The guy said it's kinda random and he didn't seem to be quite convince in what he was doing.
Anyway the stall owner seemed to know what he was doing, and sure enough the herrings were delicious. We had three in the end. I could have had more, but I needed to save tummy space.
Final stop, dessert of course. This store claims to make the original stroopwafel. Not sure how you verify that to be honest. When I walked past on the morning, it was very quiet. By the time I finished my herrings, a queue had built up. I did the touristy thing and joined in. The stroopwafel was freshly made on the spot. It had a bit of caramel in the middle, and half of the top was coated with chocolate. One was enough for the two of us as it was quite sweet and heavy, perfect to round of the visit to the market.
In the end, I spent so much time at the market that I never made it into Amsterdam city centre and had to head directly to the airport. I wish bought another herring, craving already....
