This little village is just right outside of Amsterdam. A short train ride (about 20 minutes) from Amsterdam takes visitors to the Zaanse Schans’ train station-Koog Zaandijk. Once there follow the signs and then across the bridge, destination is on the left (with 5 windmills across the waterfront that is enough to makes any visitor to stop and snap their pictures). Welcome to Zaanse Schans!
Had it be spring or summer, the fields would be full of flowers and goats. Too bad it was winter time, though we enjoyed the quietness , only a few shops (including the windmill) were open during our visit, hence cut down our time spent here. That being said, however, we still enjoyed this trip. A few groups were there taken by the tour guides, which brought out the cheese making demonstration in the cheese shop. We managed to squeeze into the group and pretended to be part of them so we could watch the demonstration. :p
Only one windmill was open that day-Da Kat, which grinds dyes to make paint. It was still fascinating to be inside the windmill and see the mechanical operation generated by the wind. Climbing up to the top floor (while trying not to make my winter coat dirty – it was a challenge) and small balcony outside the mill was a plus for me (my sister was scared to climb of course). The top balcony gives a view of the ground field, though not too high but was enough of excitement for me (imagine in spring time, the view would be stunning from this position).
The most fun part of this trip perhaps, was the giant yellow Dutch wooden shoes outside of the shoe/gift shop. Literally myself and my sister would fit into the shoes displayed outside (hmm.. free bed for the night in summer, anyone?). This of course cost me a lots of shots from my camera. The scenery was too beautiful and colorful! 10 minutes of fun outside the shop, we finally decided to go in there for some souvenirs. I must say, this shop did not disappoint me. I had never been to any tourist shop that attracts me to stay for more than 45 minutes. I lingered and lingered, enjoying the products they displayed. Every little thing was cool and worth buying for. Tulips shaped products, wooden shoes (big and small), and all other Dutch made products that can be turned into souvenirs can be found in this shop (they even have a spot to demonstrate shoe making process). My words wouldn’t do the justice, check the photos below for a visual. Maybe an hour later, we made it out of the shop with lots of things (a bit victorious but mostly painful as my wallet shrank too much!). Sigh! Broker my record of souvenirs shopping in foreign trips.
The most exciting part of our day here (other than seeing the windmills) was interacting with an eager goat. This little guy was standing out in the field trying to find food when we saw him while walking out of the cheese shop. A few tourists spotted him first and attempted to take photos with him. Well they weren’t so successful as they did not have the key thing to attract him-food! We decided to make our attempts as well. Heck! Why not. This seemed fun! Surprisingly as soon as we approached him, this little guy did not walk away from us like what he did to the other tourists. As we were trying to snap a photo of him, we suddenly realized he was trying to jump over the fence to get the chocolate my sister was holding. Oh! That is why! He wanted the chocolate! Well aren’t you a smart guy and knew what you were sniffing at! The chocolate my sister was holding (and eating) was a handmade chocolate from the world famous shop in Bruges Belgium. The eager look in his eyes also made me to hand over some chocolates to him…but wait, goats eat chocolate?! Wasn’t sure what would happen to him if he ate chocolate, we hesitated. As soon as we got a few photos of him, we walked away (did spot the previous group of tourists giving us envious looks though). Sorry little guy, wish we had other foods with us to feed you! But luckily for him, as soon as we stepped away from him, the couple behind us started to hand over some peanuts to him. Well at least the goat got his food!
Last but not least, stroll along this little delightful village for sightseeing of course. The green wooden houses, charming gardens, hump-backed bridges and the stars of the show-windmills (5 on this side along the Zaan river while the last one is located on the other side of the modern bridge). Together this forms the replica of typical Zaanse village from 17th and 18th century in the Netherlands. To me, this was more like a fairytale village! Enjoyed our time here very much! Hope one day I will be back here in either spring or summer.
FYI
From Wikipedia:
Zaanse Schans (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzaːnsə ˈsxɑns]) is a neighbourhood of Zaandam, near Zaandijk in the municipality of Zaanstad in theNetherlands, in the province of North Holland. It has a collection of well-preserved historic windmills and houses; the ca. 35 houses from all over the Zaanstreek were moved to the museum area in the 1970s. The Zaans Museum, established in 1994, is located in the Zaanse Schans.
The Zaanse Schans is one of the popular tourist attractions of the region and an anchor point of ERIH, the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The neighborhood attracts approximately 900,000 visitors every year
History of the windmills:
Of the thousand industrial windmills ever built along the banks of the river Zaan thirteen remain. Six survived and can be found at the Zaanse Schans today. More info can be found on its official website below:
Chasing Dreams 