As, I and Tamas, shared our adventures of life over a cup of tea and coffee, Tamas asked if I had visited the Windmills yet. I said, not on this trip. Since the sun had peaked out on a supposedly rainy day, he said, the weather is perfect, let’s go to Zaanse Schans. I’m all for being spontaneous because that’s what life is – unpredictable and you just have to seize the moments. Above all, he restored my faith that there are good people on this planet, who are willing to take that extra step to build friendship.
We took the train from the Centraal station and within 20 minutes were whisked to Zaandijk leaving behind the bustling city life for the serenity of farm lands and windmills. As we off-boarded the train, the aroma of cocoa was all around us, coming from the chocolate factory. It was too addictive, so we made a DIY cup of hot chocolate at the Cacaolab. Erk Lekker (very delicious) and perfect on a cold day like today.
This beautiful village by the east bank of the Zaan river is a photographers paradise. We were very fortunate to capture beautiful moments without visitors photobombing them. May be the cold weather and rain forecast scared them away, but we were excited as it worked out in our favor. The cloud dance in the blue sky was a spectacle I could watch every day.
Couple of traditional green wooden houses have been converted into chocolate or souvenirs shops, which is a great excuse to visit inside and imagine what it would be to live in one of them. I had no idea that this village is an idealized re-creation of a Dutch village from the late 19th century. O’well, it’s still a pretty village to visit. The major attraction are the handful of windmills which are still kept in operating condition. Just imagine how the sight would have been with 1100 windmills before the industrial revolution.
We visited the De Kat (paint mill) which still makes pigments from raw materials. The stones, weighing 3000 kg, grind the chalk and makes artists’ pastel crayons and paints. It was a very cool experience to see it in action. The view of the town from the top of the windmill was stunning.
Next, we stopped at the cheese shop to taste variety of cheeses. Did you know that the Baby sheep 🐑 cheese, simply means that the cheese has not been aged. What a relief!
Visiting the Clog making factory to see how beautifully they make the fun wooden clogs, which once were made completely by hands, can now be made using machines, reducing hours of making time to few minutes. If I had space in my over stuffed luggage, I would have picked up those diamond clogs. Just saying 🤭
As we were leaving Zaandijk, the rainbow came out to greet us goodbye. I searched for the pot of gold, only to realize that it was no where in sight. I suppose the search carry’s on…
