The Sleepy Village of Hoorn

Today we're heading to a small town located in the North Holland called Hoorn. It's a sleepy harbor town situated on the edge of the largest lake in the country, IJsselmeer lake (two vowels side by side in Hoorn, 🤔 two capital letters in IJsselmeer 🤔).

The day is cold and rainy and we are stuck in traffic on our drive. My wife is behind the wheel though so I'm taking photos in our car.

The bike lane on the right side of the bridge also acts as a dedicated tractor lane. It's the first time I've ever seen such a thing. I even saw a tractor using it just moments before.

It's not a great angle of me but here I am in one of my many plaid flannel shirts, standard attire for any Canadian.

We arrive around lunch time but the town is still pretty dead. You can't be called "sleepy" if youre a bustling city.

It's a Friday though, so perhaps there aren't many tourists out today and I'm sure that most of the locals are working.

Tables are set up in the main square but not a single person is sitting down at them. Maybe everyone is inside the restaurants and cafes, where it is warm and dry?

A Brief History

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The golden age of Hoorn was back in the 17th century. At the time it was an important center for the Dutch East India Company, which was the largest enterprise to have ever existed up until that point in history. They specialized in the trade of textiles, silks and spices and made a lot of money at it.

Because of its booming trade, Hoorn was one of the more wealthy cities in the country along with Amsterdam and Enkhuizen and many historic buildings and monuments from that time can still be seen there to this day.

Over time it became increasingly more difficult for Hoorn to compete with Amsterdam though and eventually it lost its status as a major international port city.

Eventually it became just a small sleepy fishing village that mainly traded with locals and neighboring communities.

For lunch today we are having kibbeling. It's battered fish chunks covered in spices and served with a garlic sauce. It's delicious and in my opinion a must try snack in the country. Pickled herring is also very good. We try to get one or the other or both every time we visit the country.

I didn't do a lot of planning for our visit today, and that was an oversight on my part. We missed seeing the old harbor, which apparently has an interesting looking tower near it and an old historic ship in the water. Damn.

We are touring some of the streets and neighborhoods though and they are quite nice.

They're lined with traditional homes and buildings, many of which are now artisinal shops. I really like the strangley slanted facades. They look to be leaning into the street itself. I just like wonky angles I suppose.

The old churches in the Netherlands often have scenes depicting death on their outsides. I always find that to be interesting and unique as well.

A quick stroll along the water brings us past some nice looking homes with some nice gardens and patios in the back.

It's cold by the water though and I'm in shorts, like an idiot, so it's time to head back to the heated seats of our vehicle.

It's time to say goodbye the sleepy village with two vowels in its name.

Goodbye Hoorn.

Well thats it for now. If you are interested in seeing more of our trip to the Netherlands than stay tuned, there's more to come. Until next time, thanks for stopping by.