Windmills, Cheese & Clogs

Can you say you’ve been to the Netherlands if you haven’t seen any windmills? Our visit to Amsterdam was booked as a prolonged stop on the way to Ireland, and as we hadn’t been before, we were keen to soak up sights that are unique to Dutch culture.

When researching tours from Amsterdam we came across the Zaanse Schans, Cheese Tasting and Volendam tour- a half day trip exploring the more traditional side of the Netherlands. As it ticked off alot of the iconic sights we were keen to see, we locked it in and headed to the countryside.

Zaanse Schans

Our first stop of the day was Zaanse Schans, a quaint village located in northern Holland. The tour bus dropped us off after a short 30 minute drive from Amsterdam, and we wandered around the pretty town admiring what makes the area famous.

Ranging in colour and size, Zaanse Schans has a collection of eight historic windmills, the majority of which were brought to the town as part of preservation efforts. Each windmill is unique and come from different mills around the country- such as paint, oil and saw mills. Built in 1656, the oldest flourmill in the Netherlands is also located in Zaanse Schans, and is known as De Bleeke Dood (The Pale Death).

Zaanse Schans has many boutique shops where you can pick up handmade trinkets, unique souvenirs, and locally produced food. There are also museums where you can learn more about the windmills, locally made cheese, and traditional shoe making. We enjoyed a 10 minute demonstration of how the legendary dutch clogs are made, which runs every 20 minutes.

Tip: as Zaanse Schans is located close to Amsterdam it’s a very popular tourist spot. We booked a tour that departed early in the morning, so arrived around 9am before it got too busy. When we left, multiple coaches we arriving so I’d highly recommend an early start to avoid larger crowds.

Edam

Next on the tour was a visit to Edam, which if you couldn’t tell by it’s name is well known around the world for one thing… cheese! Since the 17th century, the area has been synonymous with it’s famous export, so it would be rude to visit and not do a tasting in one of the traditional factories.

Our guide gave us an informative overview of the centuries old cheese making traditions and how the different varieties are produced, but by far the best part of the stop was the tasting. We sampled over 20 different types of cheese, from soft young Gouda to rich aged blue and smokey Edam. Not being able to pick a favourite, we left with our bags considerably heavier and 6 blocks of cheese safely tucked away for later.

Volendam

Volendam is a small picturesque fishing village where the streets are lined with colourful wooden houses. There are many cozy shops and cafes to check out, with many offering traditional dutch clothing and delicacies such as smoked eel or stoopwafels.

Our final stop of the day, we wandered around Volendam and hunted for some unique souvenirs. With our bellies rumbling and to escape the rain we settled down in a cozy warm restaurant overlooking the harbour. Not being overly keen on smoked eel, we enjoyed a hearty lunch of soup and pasta, and finished off with hot chocolate and pie for dessert.