The Hague and Utrecht are a stone’s throw away. Therefore Amsterdam and The Hague were definitely on my agenda for my week-long visit.
Schiphol, The Netherlands’ international airport, is just 15 minutes away from Leiden. However, wanting to do things the student way, I got onto a Ryanair flight from Ciampino, Rome, landed in Eindhoven, caught a bus to Eindhoven Central Station, a train to Dordrecht and finally, another train to Leiden.
By the time I arrived I was exhausted, to say the least. But I was immediately cheered up by the sight of the elegant canals and bridges, the windmills, the bicycles, and the general air of serenity that there is in this town.
Leiden University plays an important role in the way things are in Leiden today. This is mainly due to the fact that it is the oldest university in The Netherlands and is considered to be a prestigious university, with around 17,000 students and 4,000 staff members. This means that Leiden, which is rather small, is inundated with students so that the student vibe is felt everywhere. Yet the feel in Leiden is different from that in most other university towns in Europe. Leiden has a certain elegance and peacefulness that is difficult to find in other such towns. Here student equates with intellectual rather than cheapskate, rowdy teenager.
But Leiden has more to offer than just serenity and elegance: a number of interesting sites and an appetising cuisine, especially when it comes to sweets, give this old town particular character and I was eager to explore as much of it as possible.
Hooglandse Kerk
This is the main church in Leiden, a city known for its many churches. The gothic Hooglandsche Kerk is dedicated to St Pancras and its construction started in the 14th Century. In the 16th Century, the works were stopped so that it remains now incomplete.
Molenmuseum ‘De Valk’
A few minutes’ walk away from the Leiden train station there is the Molenmuseum ‘De Valk’, a beautiful windmill which has been transformed into a mill museum.
One of 19 windmills built on the city walls, this is the only one that still stands to tell the tale. An interesting history exists with regard to the ownership of this mill, which was at times so successful that grain had to be ground at night in order to meet the customers’ demands.
The mill also played its part in the war when on 1940, it was established as a military post by the Dutch military but after just a couple of days, the mill was shot at and it stopped functioning as a military post and returned to its milling duties.
After the war, the mill was left in a terrible state but it was restored by the local council so that now it is a majestic testimony to almost three centuries’ worth of history.
Hortus Botanicus
In a country renowned for flowers, in particular tulips, it is to be expected that there be a botanical garden. The Leiden version belongs to the Leiden University and is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. It is divided into different gardens, greenhouses and an orangery; the latter is sometimes used as a wedding venue in the summer.
A walk through the hortus is a very calming experience which may be enjoyed by different people – be it a horticulturist or simply someone after a relaxed afternoon walking in the midst of natural beauty.
Food markets
Food markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the city centre. This is the place to buy the freshest – and often cheapest - fruit, vegetables, sweets, chocolate and waffles.
I love visiting markets the world over – I love seeing the character of the country through its market and this one was definitely worth it. The Saturday market is larger than the Wednesday version and for a food-lover like myself, it was heaven. Stalls of fresh fruit and vegetables stand side by side with those of dried fruit which in turn neighbour with ones displaying chocolate. Guided by the mere smell alone I soon located a fresh waffle stand – the waffles were really out of this world. The wafers were paper thin and stuck together with the most heavenly caramel. The whole thing literally melted in my mouth.
Waffles, apples, chocolate and pastries
Apart from the divine waffles, the Dutch really have their way with pastries. Whether plain or filled with chocolate, fruit or cream, I am still to taste a Dutch pastry which is not heavenly. Luckily for me who was only there for a week, Leiden is full of cosy cafes offering these delicious treats. This is of course less appreciated by those who are there for a longer period of time and so cannot afford to sample three or four of these delicious treats every day.
The Netherlands is particularly famous for coming up with delicious concoctions of all things apple. From apple strudel and apple jam to applesauce to top practically anything, the Dutch really know how to make use of the fruit in the most appetising manner.
Much to my delight, The Netherlands can also boast of divine local chocolates which are bought by weight. The shape and types of the chocolates does not vary much from one shop to another – there are around 15 different types, but each worth a sampling. Most are available in the three varieties – white, milk and dark. My favourite were small circular chocolates topped with nuts and dried fruit – simple but delightful.
Shopping
Shopaholics are also catered for in Leiden with Haarlemmerstraat offering shops for all types of pockets – from Hugo Boss and Armani to H&M. For such a small town, there certainly are a lot of shops! One very strange thing though is the opening hours of the shops – most close as early as 5:30pm and almost all close by 6pm; in addition, many of them are closed Monday.
Houses
The smallness of many of the houses in Leiden and other towns in The Netherlands immediately catches my eye. I find it difficult to understand why there are such miniscule houses, especially considering that the Dutch are famed to be the tallest people in the world. When I ask about this, a local tells me that since the Dutch are tax-minded people and in the past, they used to pay a tax depending on the size of their house, they all tried to build their houses as small as possible in order to pay as little tax as possible. I am not sure whether this is entirely true but really, it does sound like a likely reason.
The Hague
Wanting to visit a couple more towns apart from Leiden I got onto a train headed for The Hague. It is a mere 15-minute train ride away from Leiden so I barely had time to make myself comfortable.
The Hague is the capital of the province of South Holland and is the third largest city in The Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Although not the official capital city of The Netherlands, it is the seat of government.
More importantly on an international front, The Hague is home to the Peace Palace, which houses the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law and the renowned Peace Palace Library.
The elegance of The Hague is difficult to beat. Abundant in its beautiful architecture and a general clean feeling, the city has few canals yet its Dutch character is still felt very strongly.
Amsterdam
Having already explored Amsterdam well on a previous visit, this time round I went with one main intention – to eat steak. Although it might not sound like the most likely place, Amsterdam is replete with steakhouses and a particular one had been recommended to me by many. In fact, Gaucho’s turned out to be all I was told it would be, and more. I started with shelled prawns and followed this up with the most delightful steak and a baked potato with sour cream. To finish it off I had a gorgeous caramel fondue with fruit.
Yet, of course, Amsterdam has much more to offer than just steak. It is the largest city in The Netherlands and what really impresses me is its multiculturalism. Moroccans, Turks, British and people from other nationalities seem to be living in complete harmony. The versatility and open-mindedness of Amsterdam means that it can transform itself to be whatever you want it to be and it is for this reason, I believe, that it embraces other nationalities and their respective cultures so well, giving non-Dutch people a home so that they can no longer be called foreigners but rather, integrate to become part of the whole do that is Amsterdam.
Once in Amsterdam I could not help but go around the various cheese shops. Having visited the Henri Willig cheese factory last year and loved their gouda, I returned for more of the same. From another cheese shop I also bought a pesto cheese which had the most interesting twist.
Going ‘home’ to Rome
After a calming week roaming among canals, flowers and cafes, it is time to go ‘home’ to Rome. I arrive after my long train-train-bus-plane-bus-metro journey to the hustle and bustle that is Rome and cannot help comparing it with the serenity in Leiden. They are both extremely beautiful but in such a different way.