Albert Heijn is said to be the largest food retailer in the Netherlands, with a market share of about 30 %. The have six Winkels in Maastricht alone.

Winkels?

Yes, Winkel is a cute Dutch word for shop or store (reminiscent of the English words twinkle, sprinkle, wrinkle or crinkle and the German word Dinkel), so it’s no wonder I always enjoy shopping a lot more as soon as I have crossed the border into the Netherlands. Obviously it’s more fun to go shopping in a Winkel than in some grungy old supermarket or Lebensmittelgeschäft in one of the neighboring countries.

Riding past Albert Heijn

The Albert Heijn Winkel in the photos is the one on the square called Plein 1992, just across from the public library. The store is large, clean, bright and cheery and it has a huge selection of attractive products. And it is air-conditioned, which is a blessing if you happen to be in Maastricht during a blistering heat wave as I was.

Although Albert Heijn has a reputation for being up-market, I found the prices quite reasonable.

Of course there are always lots of bicycles parked out front, because that’s the way people go shopping in the Netherlands.

My photos in this post are from 2012. I revised the text in 2019.

See more posts on Maastricht, the southernmost city in the Netherlands.