My Netherlands: Gluten Free Travel.

My Netherlands: Gluten Free Travel.

Leandro. Clubs, infinite green, mills, Bicycles, Castles, Museums, big cities, small fairytale villages and beaches.

A thousand reasons to leave. Ours: the master's ceremony “LLMM” of our daughter at the University by Leiden (the oldest Dutch university).

For this reason we have chosen Leiden as our base and from which we started either by train or by car to discover the Dutch beauties.
Excellent choice also for the centrality and beauty of Leiden.

Alternatively, our best advice for your trip to Holland: at least two bases in the most comfortable towns for you from which with trains (they pass frequently day and night with the frequency of a subway – perfect service) you reach the largest and most well-known cities and with a car you set off to discover the soul of the Dutch of the smaller villages and towns and the countryside.

If you have time also a bike tour.

The three big cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag they have three souls and you completely different architectures to admire and discover that show the different history of these great cities.

The smaller towns with their own particularity and then the villages and the countryside.
The discovery and search for all these diversities are a journey within a journey.

Before departure, as usual, we have contacted the Dutch Celiac Association and all Dutch celiac groups and people who are present on social media.

Below us we will share contacts and information.

Our base – Leiden is truly wonderful. From every perspective.
Interweaving of canals overlooked by seventeenth-century buildings.

Rainbow of colors and the feeling of being at the center of the world: In addition 25.000 students coming from every corner of the world: Messico, Korea, Basilica, Canada, Rhodesia, North Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, USA, India, Spain, Japan, Canada and a thousand other places.

You will see many statues depicting different subjects: two more than the others impressed us.

The light. Find me

The future. Together.

Poems on the walls – Walk randomly through Leiden and observe the walls of the city and you will read poems by poets from all over the world in the language of origin.

Legislation.

Share.

Wandering through its narrow streets, Squares, crossing the bridges over its canals or sailing them by boat sipping a drink or sitting down to have a snack: you will love Leiden. A cosmopolitan city with a human dimension.

Sensations that are worth the trip. If you can, live or let your children live this experience.

Amsterdam with great charm – its channels, the colors of the flowers, bohemian city, with its museums ( among the many you must definitely visit the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House – we advise you to book online in advance).

If you have some time, take a boat and go around the canals before starting to walk through the streets and squares always surrounded by rivers of bicycles: you will have a better idea of urban development and its history.

Den Haag (the capital) – more aristocratic city – shows its institutional function already with its architecture. Seat of the Dutch Parliament and the Noordeinde Palace, of the sixteenth century, is the place of work of the king.

The city is home to the United Nations International Court of Justice, based in the Peace Palace and the International Criminal Court.

Perfect in its beauty – maybe even too much. Worth the visit even if I don't know if I would live there.

Rotterdam – Destroyed by war, it is perhaps more than the others the symbol of a country and a dynamic people that is projected into the future.

The multiple modern architectures are the best both architectural and engineering genius can create.

Read the history of these three cities before your visit: you will better understand the differences, the particularities and facets of a people.

Rent a car: two days on tour from Leiden.

• First day: Leiden > Castle De Haar – A stage not to be missed (Visit the beautiful castle and continue with a walk in the beautiful parks around).

Then to Utrecht: ancient university city built around the Duomo and its tower.

Lose yourself in the multicolored and charming pedestrian center.
Cross the canals: the characteristic cellars with tables along the docks offer the opportunity to eat and drink something by the canals.

After by car to Delft to see up close the cradle of the famous Dutch white and blue ceramics.
Return in the late afternoon to Leiden.

When you can, try to avoid the highways and make the secondary roads: the small villages, the canals and the boats that sail, the house boats and around expanses of green fields where the herds of cattle graze quietly.

• Second day: Leiden> Haarlem: explore the city wandering pleasantly through the narrow streets, admire the historic palaces and visit St. Bavo's Cathedral.

Then by car to Zaanse Schans – country museum – reconstruction of a typical village of the Dutch countryside of the past centuries (mills, small houses, Fields, livestock canals, cheese).

So direction Edam pretty town famous for its cheese “Edammer“: a walk and a stop for lunch in a delightful square.

From Edam along the sea you reach the village of Volendam – ancient fishing village -, famous for its charming port and fishing trade.

Do not forget to taste a typical dish that you will find everywhere in the kiosks: fresh herring with chopped onion and cucumber. It's worth it.

Return to Leiden trying to transit – as always, when possible – for secondary roads: the journey is longer but worth it.

Eight days in August 2021.

We would have liked to visit much more in Holland and maybe do some bike tours.

Will be for next time.

Our daughter (lived a year in Holland) also recommended the Groninghen area and the islands in the north of Holland (Texel) where she had spent a few days of vacation with some colleagues from the university.

Small fragments to entice you to discover the Dutch and a pleasant curiosity of a beautiful way of living life: you can often meet young and old in the afternoons who sit on a bench positioned outside the door of their house while sipping a glass of wine and / or eat around a small table.

It also happened to us one evening in a central street of Amsterdam and in Leiden.

For those who, like us, are lucky enough to come from a nation (Italy) in which the protection of celiacs and the opportunities to eat safely, surely you will not find our choice and offer of products or restaurants / Bistro / pastry shops / gluten-free and safe bakers.

The structures indicated by the Dutch Celiac Association are not many.

Anyway don't despair – you'll be able to do your tour, with sufficient peace of mind, if you request information before departure and with due care.

In many places you will find the signs (gluten-free options – glutenvrij) but most likely those who cook and waiters do not know the cross-contamination or do not follow the due attention.

Surely you have to be a little lucky: we have always been.

Tips before leaving (the Dutch are very helpful and courteous):

• Contact the Dutch Celiac Association: they will provide you with directions with the connected structures (not many) all very good; here the contacts:

Celiac Association Holland > Nederlanse Coeliakie Vereniging

Here you will find an overview of restaurants in the Netherlands affiliated with Lekker Glutenvrij HTTPS://bit.ly/3k2zcj5

Dutch Celiac Association
glutenvrij – Everything for a gluten-free life. Products with the barred ear quality mark in Holland https://bit.ly/3A3q2Ip

Association of Young Celiacs Holland (16 -26 years) : coeliactive
nederlandsecoeliakievereniging https://bit.ly/3A90Ccw

• Browse social media: Facebook, instagram and others: you will find both groups of Dutch celiacs and individual celiacs who will do their utmost in advice on places where they have eaten safe and gluten-free.

A) glutenvrijevader Edgar è estremamente disponibile e consiglierà i luoghi testati direttamente;

(B)) Facebook group Gluten-free and Dutch Celiac Association: we requested some advice and many answers and useful tips arrived in no time;

(C)) I prepared a small backpack with snacks and snacks before leaving (as always and for sudden needs);

You protest to visit a city where you have no advice or the recommended place is far from your location.

Before sitting, ask if they cook gluten-free options and in any case always look for what can be cooked with the least risk of contamination and (unfortunately) Good luck.

We have always been lucky.

In addition to the restaurants / bars / bistros recommended by Dutch celiacs I also recommend:

 Bagel & Beans : You will find a Bagel & Beans in many cities. You find some glutenfree options. We had lunch at Utrecht – Catharijne Esplanade 10 for a snack ;

 Edam: we ate in a beautiful square: the outdoor tables of the restaurant of the Dam Hotel – Keizersgracht 1, Edam . The stop was really pleasant and relaxing and the restaurant has several glutenfree options.

 Amsterdam: The Avocado Show – Keizersgracht 449, Amsterdam . Central, overlooking a beautiful canal, you have many gluten free options: all with avocado. Tasty choices served in perfectly decorated dishes – some conceived by @Fooddeco

 Leiden:

to) Yoghurt Barn – Aalmarkt 19, Leiden. Really recommended. We ate in several breakfasts. Both internally and externally seated and overlooking the main Leiden Canal. Many gluten-free options and you travate the locations in many cities;

b) Rose– Butter market 12, Leiden. It offers some gluten-free options – look for the easiest to prepare also because the kitchen environments are united and not sufficiently differentiated;

c) Casa Ramon – Oude Varkenmarkt 1A, Leiden. We stayed twice for dinner – Several gluten free options and there is a waitress (gluten intolerant) who will recommend the best gluten-free choices: highly recommended grilled options;

d) Pannenkoekenhuis de Schaapsbel – Beestenmarkt 7, Leiden . You can eat gluten-free pannenkoeken but be careful: not all the ingredients of the fillings are gluten-free and also ask when they close because you could remain without a course because the kitchen has just closed and they forget to warn before;

and) Dende – Nieuwe Rijn 5, Leiden. You will find many glutenfree options.

In addition, below us indicate some places “glutenfree” that our Dutch friends suggested: we have not tried because far from our routes.

Amsterdam: Craft Coffee & Pastry

Gouda: Miss Nice Banana

Rotterdam: Happy Food & Health

Rotterdam: Buurtbistrot Laurensius

Harderwijk: Kok Experience Harderwijk

Utrecht: The Food Club

Hierden: Klein Azoren

You can find gluten-free products in supermarkets. The older ones also have gluten-free products with their own gluten-free logo on their products: glutenvrij means gluten free.

We bought in:

JUMBO supermarkets