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I Associate Alkmaar With The Cheese & Heerhugowaard With My Late Aunt
I Associate Alkmaar With The Cheese & Heerhugowaard With My Late Aunt
As a child I went with my parents (1984-1988) to the cheese city of Alkmaar. The hustle and bustle at the cheese market was fascinating at the time. Nowadays the same cheese market is still held in front of the cheese museum, but it doesn't fascinate me anymore. It is very touristy, but a must see. A bit less crowded is Heerhugowaard a nearby town, where my late aunt lived. At the time, I thought Heerhugowaard was a small village (dorp).
Visit My Aunt In Heerhugowaard Between 1984-1988
Visit My Aunt In Heerhugowaard Between 1984-1988
As a child, I lived in Almere-Haven in The Netherlands from the age of 7 to 10, because my late father was sent to study SPD 1 & SPD 2 in Amsterdam. He completed SPD 1 and part of SPD 2 before my family and I emigrated back to Curaçao. Heerhugowaard where my late aunt lived with her family was one of the stops my parents made with us regularly on Sundays or holidays during the short period living in The Netherlands. When I returned to The Netherlands in 1997 to study, I saw my late aunt from Heerhugowaard only once before she died. When my youngest sister graduated from the Hogeschool van Amsterdam* with a HBO degree in Management, Economie & Recht (MER), my aunt and I were there to see her pick up her certificate.
Seeing The Cheese Market Twice
Seeing The Cheese Market Twice
I wrote a blog about the Cheese Market of Alkmaar 'Cheese, cheese, cheese or too many tourists?'. The cheese market is very touristic, but gives an impression of what the market used to look like, when it was still the place to buy cheese. As a child I was impressed. When I went again, I was an adult with a master's degree in Urban Geography and was fascinated by how the cheese market is the city's main attraction. The entire city marketing of Alkmaar leans on the Cheese Market. Not a wise decision seen from a business economics perspective.
The Cheese Museum
The Cheese Museum
In the cheese museum which is also described in the blog 'Cheese, cheese, cheese or too many tourists?' the entire cheese making process is told and showed. The entire cheese market can be seen from the cheese museum. Hang around the window for a while to observe the interaction between the cheese market and the tourists.
Didn't Weigh Myself On The Waag To Get A Certificate With My Weight
Didn't Weigh Myself On The Waag To Get A Certificate With My Weight
There is a scale at the cheese market on which cheese was weighted. Nowadays tourists are weighted and their weight is announced, just like the weight of the cheese was when it was weighted. Something I didn't do, but the tourist who does this gets a certificate with their weight, just like the cheese got after being weighted in the past.
Cremation Of My Aunt In Heerhugowaard In 2019
Cremation Of My Aunt In Heerhugowaard In 2019
In 2019 I was for the first time back in Heerhugowaard. This time not to visit my aunt and her family at their home, but to pay respect to my aunt before she was cremated. Heerhugowaard was in my memory a small village, but it turned out to have its own railway station.
After The Cremation There Was Coffee & Tea At One Of My Cousins In Heerhugowaard
After The Cremation There Was Coffee & Tea At One Of My Cousins In Heerhugowaard
As I already mentioned, I only saw my deceased aunt once after 1988. She and her husband, who died of cancer in the nineties, had two boys, my cousins. The youngest cousin I saw once before the cremation in 2010, when he and his girlfriend were at Altrecht to tell that I was partying, just like he and my youngest sister were doing in Amsterdam. The weird thing is I don't party and I had just returned from an event full travel with the Trans Siberia Express. No party vacation! I didn't recognize him and didn't know his girlfriend either. His brother (my cousin) I saw for the first time again at the wake before the cremation of their mother. After the cremation there was tea and coffee at his new house and a tour of the house. This was the last time I saw and had contact with the eldest son of my late aunt.
My Late Aunt’s Other Cousin From Heerhugowaard Helped Me Move In 2019
My Late Aunt’s Other Cousin From Heerhugowaard Helped Me Move In 2019
My aunt’s youngest son and his girlfriend helped me move when I asked on Facebook** who could help me move the last of my belongings to Nieuwegein. I had moved almost everything by filling a backpack and a suitcase which I took with me when I was painting my walls and cleaning my new apartment in Nieuwegein in 2019. I didn't have time to go more times from Eindhoven to Nieuwegein before the lease in Eindhoven ended, that is why I asked for help on Facebook. My cousin also hang my curtains for me. I was happy with their help. That was the last time I saw him and his girlfriend.
Stayed In A Hotel In Alkmaar During The Fieldwork At AH Alkmaar
Stayed In A Hotel In Alkmaar During The Fieldwork At AH Alkmaar
During the COVID-19 period, most work was uncertain and was regularly planned, unplanned or resheduled. I was set to do some fieldwork at the AH in Alkmaar and combined it with fieldwork for my blog in the area. I stayed in Grand Hotel. By doing this I was able to write the blog Cheese, cheese, cheese or too many tourists? and some other blogs.
A Walk Through The Center Of Alkmaar
A Walk Through The Center Of Alkmaar
As a child I only visited the Cheese market in Alkmaar. The whole city revolves around promoting the cheese market to tourists. It starts at the station by following the signs to the cheese market and then back to the trains to leave the city and check off one of the most important sights in The Netherlands. Sometimes a canal tour is made and the cheese museum is visited, but that is all the tourist do in Alkmaar. I wanted to see what else there was in Alkmaar and did one of the city walks of Alkmaar. On these city walks other parts of the history of Alkmaar is told and other parts of Alkmaar can be seen. These city walks go through less crowded area and show the beauty of the city of Alkmaar that can't be seen from the crowded Cheese Market.
Fieldwork In AH In Alkmaar
Fieldwork In AH In Alkmaar
During the COVID-19 period, I was still doing fieldwork for Inview and I took on the fieldwork assignment at AH Alkmaar. This fieldwork consisted of observing supermarket visitors during their buying process of chips. If the costumer chose the right chips, I had to talk to them. I just stood there most of the day, because the customers bought other chips. The assignment was partially cancelled due to the COVID measures. Also at other AH branches in other cities the assignment was cancelled or reshedulled.
Fieldwork At Alkmaar Station
Fieldwork At Alkmaar Station
Alkmaar Station is one of the stations where I did/have done fieldwork for IPSOS I&O. The fieldwork itself is okay, but sometimes I have to deal with people who are not okay during the fieldwork at the stations. Alkmaar is one of the stations where I had to deal with the wash out of society.
* I have a Bachelor degree in Business Economics from Hes Amsterdam and my youngest sister a Bachelor degree in Management, Economy & Recht from HvA. Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA) merged with Hogeschool Economische Studies Amsterdam (HES Amsterdam) in 2004 just after I graduated from HES.
** I don't have a Facebook account anymore. I'm on Twitter. I've minimized my social media.
Related blogs on my website
Related blogs on my website
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