Rise and shine, the weathers fine! A welcome morning of blue skies, Good Morning Amsterdam. We were up well before everyone, bags packed, walking shoes on, and energy ready for the day. We were off to Zaanse Schans to see the famous Netherland Windmills.
The train ride went quickly, and deliciously, with our traditional chocolate milk. Our station was Koog-Zaandijk. We landed on the station with all the other windmill wanting tourists. A quick skip and a hop down the road, we smelt something so sweet and decadent, we just had to have it. It was the cocoa factory. Imagine the smell of chocolate fudge cooking. The part when it smells so good that you have to try and have some and then burn your hand. Well, this factory was that times ten! We were quickly distracted by the sight of windmills turning in the distance.
On one side of the river was the old town, green buildings with white rim. All in different shapes and sizes. Some pointy, some square, some wonky, some teeny tiny. They looked straight out of a Disney film. In the other side were the windmills, each spinning away with its own task set in mind. One was the paint mill, grinding down the minerals to make the dust for paints. Another was making sweet chocolate, grinding the cocoa to press into moulds. The next I stayed far away from, crushing peanuts to claim their oil. There was a saw mill which would cut wood to be able to make ships. The one at the end was over 300 years old, turning those blades to make the Netherlands a nicer place to live, rather than a swamp!
The next three places were the highlight. First was the Bakery Museum. In here we saw historical biscuit moulds and knives. Since we have been here, Lars has been asking after Stroop Waffles. Small, soft waffles coated in caramel sauce. The bakery had them, so we couldn't not! Next stop was the cheese house, any flavour you could think of; champagne to baby goat, Gouda to pesto. And vanilla, which was awful! We filled out bellies on testers and clomped on to the next building. The clog or klompen building. As soon as I walked inside the doors I was hit with a rush of nostalgia. I was seven years old again, the room hadn't changed. The smell of wet wood and the whir of machines. I was filled with the same emotions and need for a pair of wooden shoes as I was 19 years ago. I even stood in the same oversized clogs out the front as I had. But I didn't cry this time when we left! We watched a demonstration which happened very quickly. The man said that the clogs used to take 4 hours per clog, whereas now they take 5 minutes. Due to Lars and I being savvy with our money, we purchased a demonstration clog. €2 is better than €37.50! It was time for lunch and earlier we had seen an Albert Hein, which In the previous blog you will see that we love it there. It was in an old building like all the others, we walked in, eager to buy cheese and beer, and were hilariously amused to find that this was not a supermarket, but a museum of the first supermarket. Not helpful at all!
We made our way back to the stations and tried to read Dutch to find the right platform.
When we were back, we got ourselves some easy dinner to cook on the camp cooker. We made ourselves a nice picnic dinner in our new tent site, right next to the river. Then early to bed to be ready for an ex-cycling next day!
Labels: Amsterdam 2016
