Cloudy with some drizzle, 19-22deg.
The bikes stayed in the bike park today as we explored on foot . After brekky we caught the train to Alkmaar to watch the world famous Friday Cheese Market in the 'Weighing Square'. It first started about 400 years ago and the tradition has continued to this day, albeit with some theatrics for us tourists. Judging by the enormous crowd it is a very popular spectacle.
In short, a whole stack of cheese is carried onto the square on a shoulder slung platform by blokes dressed in traditional kit. The buyers then negotiate a price with the seller using a lot of secret slapping of hands and the deal is finalized with a handshake. The sold cheese is then placed on a hand-drawn cart and taken out for loading onto trucks. Not sure the whole thing is real or not or just a whole lot of acting for the crowd?
After a wander around Alkmaar we caught the train back to Haarlem for some lunch.
A visit to the archeological museum was next where we saw displays that trace the history of this place back 1,500 years. There were also details of all the particular sites around the area and what they recovered. We get the impression that by digging just about anywhere in Europe you'd uncover some ancient ruin or evidence of some battle either recently or way back. Truly an amazing place as far as history goes.
The drizzle finally convinced us that we needed to have a rest and watch both Le Tour and the Commonwealth Games, live.
Dinner was at the Asian restaurant next door after a couple of beers with a friendly and interesting barman at our hotel.