The most visited village in the Netherlands: Zaanse Schans
I’m not yet done working on my Las Vegas fotos and I still have 3 entries to post—Mount Charleston, Las Vegas Hotels on the Strip and my American observations. However, since spring is coming—I hear birds chirping early in the morning already, I am in a way rushed to post my last month’s Dutch adventure in Zaanse Schans. The fotos are in winterish mode so I don’t really want to blog this in spring because there are better stories to talk about like my upcoming trip to Bella Italia this Easter (oh, exciting!).
So last February my visiting friends gave me a task. They want to see Amsterdam, obviously, and some windmills and a castle. Easy! Muiderslot Castle is less than half an hour drive from Amsterdam and so is Zaanse Schans, the best place to sight windmills when visiting the capital. There is another popular place for sighting windmills: Kinderdijk near Rotterdam, a UNESCO world heritage site but it’s a far drive down to South Holland.
Zaanse Schans is probably the most visited village in the Netherlands and I have actually been here before circa 2001 when I dragged the unwilling Dutchman to trace his roots, lol. It is a preserved open-air village and museum. There is a cheese farm; 8 windmills; a wooden shoe workshop; a variety of craft and gift shops; the first Albert Heijn store (biggest Dutch supermarket chain); 18th and 19th century Zaanse wooden houses, a couple of museums and 3 restaurants.
The Village
Zaanse style 18th and 19th century wooden houses and wooden bridges. The habit of painting the houses in green (different shades of green) was popular in the Zaan region for over 3 centuries (I have seen some in black as well).
More fotos of the Zaanse houses, on the left foto (see smaller left green house) is the first Albert Heijn store of the AH - Ahold supermarket chain. Middle foto is a small labyrinth garden. Wooden bridges are typically Dutch because canals are everywhere in the country.
Left foto is a beautiful door facade of a restaurant in the village where we had tea and chocolate milk and on the right foto is a nice view of a row of charming Zaanse style houses. These houses are inhabited by the way.
The foto is a bit dark but I am actually standing on the wooden drawbridge. On the right are more Zaanse style houses across the river. There is a boat service crossing the river to the other side during spring until early autumn.
Windmills
The windmills are also green like the houses! The 'Crowned Poelenburg' sawmill (circa 1869) is the last of the 200 sawmills in the Zaan region.
Ducks ashore and on the right is the "De Kat" paint mill (between 1646 and 1696), this one of a kind mill grinds raw materials to make pigment paints the traditional way.
Wooden Shoe Workshop
Wooden shoes outside the wooden shoe workshop and next foto is the workshop inside.
There is a museum inside that details the evolution of the design and use of wooden shoes, not only in the Netherlands but all over the world. Trivia: did you know that the Dutch still wear wooden shoes up to this day? Mostly for gardening because the mud don't stick on the soles, and they are lightweight and dry.
Cheese Farm
Cheese Farm museum and cheese for sale. Cheese is best eaten with mustard. In this shop, they sell different kinds of cheeses and mustard as well.
Crafts and Gift Shops, Museums... and Apple Tart
I think this is the pottery shop with a diamond store (targetted for the Asian tourists, mostly the Japanese) and Dutch apple tart, arguably the national tart of the country.
Bakery Museum on the left foto and Antique Interior and Costume Museum on the right foto.
Not sure if the items on the left foto are antique but on the right you can see vintage wooden ice skates with leather straps and the insoles handpainted with winter landscapes of the Netherlands, really cool.
More fotos are here: Zaanse Schans - Zaandam, The Netherlands
Like any normal inhabited village, people actually live here so visitors are asked to be mindful of the privacy of the locals as they go about their daily routine, mostly older women who live on their own (I think, as I saw a couple of them coming out of their cute homes). I guess the people living here are already used to the horde of tourists coming every day and every hour, in bus loads.
Admission to the village is free but car parking and entrance to some of the museums you have to pay separately. For more information go here: Zaanse Schans (there is an English version)
There is also a boat that crosses over to the other side of the river where more beautiful Zaanse style wooden houses can be sighted. The boat trips only start going during spring. We were able to have a good view of the pretty houses across the river though.
Since we came by car I am not sure how to get here by public transport but with further research online it should not be a problem because the Netherlands is very connected. It is easy to travel by train and bus all over the country.
Travel Period: February 2010
Destination: Zaanse Schans (North Holland), The Netherlands
So last February my visiting friends gave me a task. They want to see Amsterdam, obviously, and some windmills and a castle. Easy! Muiderslot Castle is less than half an hour drive from Amsterdam and so is Zaanse Schans, the best place to sight windmills when visiting the capital. There is another popular place for sighting windmills: Kinderdijk near Rotterdam, a UNESCO world heritage site but it’s a far drive down to South Holland.
Zaanse Schans is probably the most visited village in the Netherlands and I have actually been here before circa 2001 when I dragged the unwilling Dutchman to trace his roots, lol. It is a preserved open-air village and museum. There is a cheese farm; 8 windmills; a wooden shoe workshop; a variety of craft and gift shops; the first Albert Heijn store (biggest Dutch supermarket chain); 18th and 19th century Zaanse wooden houses, a couple of museums and 3 restaurants.
The Village
Zaanse style 18th and 19th century wooden houses and wooden bridges. The habit of painting the houses in green (different shades of green) was popular in the Zaan region for over 3 centuries (I have seen some in black as well).
More fotos of the Zaanse houses, on the left foto (see smaller left green house) is the first Albert Heijn store of the AH - Ahold supermarket chain. Middle foto is a small labyrinth garden. Wooden bridges are typically Dutch because canals are everywhere in the country.
Left foto is a beautiful door facade of a restaurant in the village where we had tea and chocolate milk and on the right foto is a nice view of a row of charming Zaanse style houses. These houses are inhabited by the way.
The foto is a bit dark but I am actually standing on the wooden drawbridge. On the right are more Zaanse style houses across the river. There is a boat service crossing the river to the other side during spring until early autumn.
Windmills
The windmills are also green like the houses! The 'Crowned Poelenburg' sawmill (circa 1869) is the last of the 200 sawmills in the Zaan region.
Ducks ashore and on the right is the "De Kat" paint mill (between 1646 and 1696), this one of a kind mill grinds raw materials to make pigment paints the traditional way.
Wooden Shoe Workshop
Wooden shoes outside the wooden shoe workshop and next foto is the workshop inside.
There is a museum inside that details the evolution of the design and use of wooden shoes, not only in the Netherlands but all over the world. Trivia: did you know that the Dutch still wear wooden shoes up to this day? Mostly for gardening because the mud don't stick on the soles, and they are lightweight and dry.
Cheese Farm
Cheese Farm museum and cheese for sale. Cheese is best eaten with mustard. In this shop, they sell different kinds of cheeses and mustard as well.
Crafts and Gift Shops, Museums... and Apple Tart
I think this is the pottery shop with a diamond store (targetted for the Asian tourists, mostly the Japanese) and Dutch apple tart, arguably the national tart of the country.
Bakery Museum on the left foto and Antique Interior and Costume Museum on the right foto.
Not sure if the items on the left foto are antique but on the right you can see vintage wooden ice skates with leather straps and the insoles handpainted with winter landscapes of the Netherlands, really cool.
More fotos are here: Zaanse Schans - Zaandam, The Netherlands
Like any normal inhabited village, people actually live here so visitors are asked to be mindful of the privacy of the locals as they go about their daily routine, mostly older women who live on their own (I think, as I saw a couple of them coming out of their cute homes). I guess the people living here are already used to the horde of tourists coming every day and every hour, in bus loads.
Admission to the village is free but car parking and entrance to some of the museums you have to pay separately. For more information go here: Zaanse Schans (there is an English version)
There is also a boat that crosses over to the other side of the river where more beautiful Zaanse style wooden houses can be sighted. The boat trips only start going during spring. We were able to have a good view of the pretty houses across the river though.
Since we came by car I am not sure how to get here by public transport but with further research online it should not be a problem because the Netherlands is very connected. It is easy to travel by train and bus all over the country.
Travel Period: February 2010
Destination: Zaanse Schans (North Holland), The Netherlands
