These two had so many nice pictures that I created one Flickr set for each of them:
Volendam: https://www.flickr.com/photos/81692166@N05/sets/72157646087399977/
Zaanse Schans: https://www.flickr.com/photos/81692166@N05/sets/72157646088010267/
First up was Volendam. It was pretty miserable for most of the drive, but luckily it cleared up just a fraction, enough for it to stop raining for a while, and for a small amount of blue sky to break out of the clouds. After parking a way from the centre of town, we walked it to the centre of town, which was basically the waterfront. Volendam looks out on a harbour, and there are plenty of restaurants and knick-knack stores to browse:
Volendam's waterfront
One notable stop was the Volendam Cheese Factory. They've been producing cheese there since the year dot, and are still producing it by the truck-full today:
The cheese factory
We went a fair way down the harbour before turning inland a few blocks and walking back along the canals of the village. There were way less tourists further in, which resulted in a subsequent decrease in shopfronts and an increase in local charm:
The back blocks of Volendam
Walking back to the car took us along pretty much the same route. From the car we headed across to Zaanse Schans, which is a park containing 6 windmills that have been moved from their original sites. Each still performs its original function, like processing wheat:
Windmills of Zaanse Schans
There are also heaps of other smaller old buildings in the area, including clog- (wooden shoe) making workshops, chocolate factories and even private residences built along the teeny tiny canals:
The smaller buildings of Zaanse Schans
We successfully killed a few hours there before heading back to the apartment. Tomorrow will be an adventure, as I'm due to do some umpiring for the Dutch AFL association. See you then!
