Saturday, January 20

The Opel, Gouda, and John the Baptist

I know, you're thinking, "what can all those things possibly have in common?" right...

In between The Hague and Utrecht is nothing other than Gouda, home to famous cheese! So I stopped for lunch, wisely it turns out, it was an awesome little town.

Here's where I parked, can't afford any mistakes here or we'd get shipped to Rotterdam:

I read a bit in The Lonely Planet and it suggested I head towards Sint Janskerk for some stained glass followed by some lunch. The address for the law school in Utrecht is "Janskerkof", so I was curious who this famed person might be.

You got it, John the Baptist, silver platter and all:

I'm not much for the usual touristy activities, museums and such, but I do like a nice gothic cathedral and this, my first on the trip!, did not disappoint. The history of it is fascinating too, it was burned down roughly every 100 years for about a millenium, before finally living in peace. It is very well-known for the immensity of the stained glass works, and their vivid depictions of the life of Sint Janskerk:

Here's the church:

And a little canal outside of it: