If youβre looking for a local bakery in the Netherlands that feels more like an actual cafΓ© experience instead of a quick pastry counter, Wim Koelman Bakery Heemskerk ended up being one of my favorite casual stops in Heemskerk. We originally came here because I wanted to try their famous Heemskerk Donkey Ear dessert, but the menu ended up being way bigger than I expected.
If youβre planning a spring trip through the Netherlands, this bakery works especially well as a stop while exploring North Holland outside Amsterdam. We visited while staying nearby, and it paired really well with our slower tulip season itinerary days outside the bigger cities.
If youβre planning a similar route, my Where to Stay in the Netherlands (Best Areas to Do in One Trip) blog may help you map things out.
Wim Koelman Bakery Heemskerk has been around since 1983 and is still family-owned. It was originally started by Wim Koelman and his wife Mary before eventually being passed down to their son and daughter-in-law.
The bakery became especially known for creating the βHeemskerk Ezelsoor,β also called the Heemskerk Donkey Ear pastry, back in 2009. And yes, I immediately needed to know why a bakery dessert was named after a donkey ear.
The story actually ties into local Heemskerk history. Strawberries have historically been a major regional product here, and farmers used to transport them by donkey to nearby auctions in Beverwijk. Because of that, people from Heemskerk were nicknamed βdonkeysβ for years. The bakery combined both parts of that history into a signature dessert shaped like a donkeyβs ear.
Honestly, this may be one of the more unexpectedly specific pastry backstories Iβve ever encountered.
The dessert itself is made with soft sponge cake filled with fresh strawberry bavarois, covered in almond marzipan, and finished with chocolate decorations. It became popular enough that they eventually expanded it into mini versions, XXL versions, and seasonal variations.
After a major renovation in 2014, the bakery updated the entire shop and branding, but it still feels very rooted in traditional Dutch bakery culture.
Inside, it feels like a mix between a pastry shop, coffee cafΓ©, and neighborhood bakery. The display cases were packed with pastries, fruit tarts, chocolates, cream-filled desserts, waffles, cakes, and rows of fresh bread. Meanwhile the cafΓ© menu itself was much larger than I expected for a local bakery.
You can come here for a quick pastry and coffee, but you could also easily stop for breakfast or lunch.
If youβre spending time in this area, my Best Things to Do in Heemskerk Netherlands guide includes a few more places nearby that worked well during our trip.
The drink menu honestly surprised me a little because it was more extensive than a lot of smaller cafΓ©s we visited throughout the Netherlands.
They had:
The smoothie menu especially stood out because there were a lot of tropical fruit combinations instead of just the standard strawberry banana situation.
We ended up ordering hot chocolate and fresh orange juice.
The hot chocolate was the only thing I felt didn't completely shine. It felt less sugary and more chocolate-forward, which I appreciated but overall wasn't that flavorful. The fresh orange juice tasted super fresh and paired really well with all the pastries.
We ordered:
And it turned into more of a full breakfast/lunch stop than a casual bakery visit.
The ham and cheese croissant was simple, buttery, flaky, and exactly what I wanted after walking around the Netherlands eating approximately 47 desserts.Β Sometimes you just need something savory to balance out your life choices.
The quiche made the meal feel more substantial and cafΓ©-like instead of just pastries and coffee. If youβre stopping here for an actual breakfast or lunch instead of dessert, I think adding one of the savory items makes a big difference.
The cream-filled croissant tasted very fresh without being overwhelmingly sweet. A lot of pastries in the Netherlands felt a little less sugary than American desserts overall, which I actually ended up liking quite a bit during the trip.
You could still tell it was dessert. It just didnβt immediately annihilate your sugar tolerance for the next six business days.
The strawberry tart was probably my favorite thing we ordered because it tied directly back into Heemskerkβs strawberry history and the bakeryβs signature desserts.
The strawberries tasted fresh, the pastry itself stayed light, and it felt very connected to the bakeryβs identity instead of just being another generic fruit tart sitting in a display case.
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Even if you order other pastries, I still think trying the Heemskerk Donkey Ear dessert is part of the experience here simply because itβs so tied to the town itself.
A lot of bakeries have βsignature desserts,β but this one actually has a very specific local story behind it, which made it feel more memorable than I expected.
Also, if someone casually asks whether you tried donkey ear dessert in the Netherlands someday, youβll have a confident answer ready to go.
Wim Koelman Bakery Heemskerk ended up feeling like much more than a quick bakery stop. Between the cafΓ© menu, the fresh pastries, the local strawberry connection, and the famous Donkey Ear dessert, it felt very tied into the town itself instead of feeling overly tourist-focused.
Iβd especially recommend Wim Koelman Bakery Heemskerk if you enjoy local bakeries, Dutch pastries, slower breakfast stops, coffee and dessert cafΓ©s, and trying regional specialties while traveling.
And if you go, go hungry, excellent decision honestly. The pastry cases make self-control significantly harder than anticipated.
Here are a few other resources that may help while planning your Netherlands trip:
If youβre driving around the Netherlands like we did, this is also the kind of stop that fits really well into a slower road trip day between tulip fields, smaller towns, and bakery breaks.
You can also compare rental car prices for the Netherlands here, and I usually check flights into Amsterdam using Skyscanner before booking trips.
A portable charger like my favorite power bank is also worth having if youβre out exploring all day taking photos, using maps, and aggressively tracking down pastries across the Netherlands.
The tulip fields in the Netherlands look exactly like the photos, except the photos donβt capture how massive the color blocks actually are stretching across the countryside. Or the windmills. Or the sheep randomly standing in the middle of everything like they donβt know theyβre in the most photogenic country on earth.
The honest caveat: tulip season moves fast, the fields rotate every year, and peak bloom is not a guarantee, it depends on the weather, the harvest schedule, and a little bit of luck. But thatβs also part of what makes it feel less like a tourist attraction and more like something you actually found.
Full driving route with towns, parking tips, and what to expect | linked in bio. π·
#netherlands #travelling #tulipfields #exploreeurope
Amsterdam has a way of making you feel like you need to see everything, and then rewarding you most when you slow down anyway. The museums and canal cruises are worth it, but so is just wandering neighborhoods, eating whatever looks good, and sitting along the canals with a grilled cheese and nowhere to be.
First-time visitor guide is on the blog. Link in bio. π·
#travelling #travel #amsterdam #visitamsterdam #traveleurope
10 stops. One very full day. Zero regrets. Amsterdam has one of the best food scenes Iβve experienced anywhere in Europe, but the honest caveat is that some of the viral spots come with lines that will genuinely test your character. I skipped a few. I regret nothing.
Hereβs what actually made the cut on my self-guided Amsterdam food tour:
Fresh stroopwafels at Hans Egstorf: made right in front of you, warm caramel, no line. This one won.
Lourens cookie croissant: flaky outside, gooey chocolate inside. Did not share.
CafΓ© Winkel 43 apple pie: one of the rare viral places that fully lives up to the hype.
Davieβs Amsterdam for the Lelie sandwich: pastrami, pickles, marbled bread. Deceptively simple. Absolutely excellent.
De Kaaskamer to end the day: 400+ cheeses, grilled cheese with what they call ketchup (itβs not ketchup, and itβs better), and bunker cheese aged in underground military bunkers.
The full route covers 10 stops through Jordaan, the 9 Streets, the canal district, and the flower market area with a Google Map included so you can just follow along.
Full guide with every stop, tips for beating the lines, and what Iβd skip vs. do again | link in bio.
#amsterdam #visitamsterdam #netherlands #travel #visitnetherlands #traveleurope
Thereβs a version of Gatlinburg thatβs all fudge shops and tourist crowds, and then thereβs the version that actually makes you want to come back.
Hereβs everything worth doing downtown, in the order Iβd do it: ποΈ
β¨ Start at @gatlinburgskypark before the crowds hit
β¨ Walk the strip mid-morning when itβs still manageable
β¨ @googooclusters stop (see my post from Tuesday: donβt skip it)
β¨ Dinner at one of the local spots off the main drag
β¨ Wander back out at night when the lights are on and it gets actually pretty
This isnβt your overscheduled Smoky Mountain itinerary. Itβs more of a βhereβs what Iβd actually do if I had one solid dayβ kind of list.
Full downtown Gatlinburg guide linked in bio. π
If someone told me Iβd spend five hours at SkyPark, I would not have believed them. And yet. π
Gatlinburg SkyPark sits above the strip and itβs one of those places that looks like a quick stop on paper and turns into most of your afternoon. The SkyBridge alone is worth it β longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America, and yes, you will look down.
β¨ SkyBridge (longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America)
β¨ SkyLift ride up with views of the Smokies
β¨ Walking trails with mountain views in every direction
β¨ Way less crowded than downtown
Fair warning: if heights genuinely freak you out, the bridge might not be your thing. The rest of the park is still 100% worth it. Full guide with tickets, tips, and what to skip linked in bio. π
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