Amsterdam - Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans is a neighborhood in the Dutch town of Zaandam, near Amsterdam. Historic windmills and distinctive green wooden houses were relocated here to recreate the look of an 18th/19th-century village. We did a bus tour to the area since it's about 30 minutes north of Amsterdam. We were scheduled to check out the clog maker's shop, cheese makers shop and then explore on our own for about an hour. Unfortunately the cheese shop had been robbed just a couple hours before we got there! So it was closed. We started at the clog maker.

But first a funky building we passed while riding the bus and some selfies!

Miffy the bunny - a favorite Dutch character from the 80's I think.

Bottle opening clogs and violin clogs!

All kinds of clogs!

Look at the tiny baby clogs on the right!

This is the beginning of the process. He started with a chunk of wood and they use this machine to get the outside carved. Apparently the wood is very wet and they use either willow or poplar.

The last machine they use will hollow out the inside of the shoes. Then they trim off the end pieces.

I missed the pic by a split second because I didn't know what to expect, but in this pic on the right he is blowing water out of the clog! I think about half a cup of water came out!! Once it's all carved, the clogs have to dry for about 3 days before being painted.

 

Then we all tried on some clogs! None of us bought a pair - take up too much room in the luggage. They aren't the most comfortable but not heavy. They are usually used for work shoes because they are very hard and protect the feet. Plus they keep the feet dry when walking through wet grass or mud.

After our tour of the clog maker's shop, we explored the area a bit. There were a few windmills in the area and a chocolate shop. It was a cold, rainy and windy day so we didn't really explore outside too long. We ducked into the chocolate shop for some hot chocolate!

It was disappointing we didn't get to go to the cheese shop - I was looking forward to the cheese tasting! But it was a fun excursion. Here are a couple goofy pics we took at dinnertime while waiting for our food!

Next up is our day trip to The Hague, Delft, and Rotterdam!