Zaanse Schans

We took a guided bus tour today to Zaanse Schans, which is a residential area north of Amsterdam, in which the 18th and 19th Centuries come together.  There are working windmills, pottery making, clog-making, bakeries and much more.  This is a saw-mill which still uses old cutting methods to make original pieces of furniture and other lovely items which are sold around the Netherlands.  After a demonstration of how the saw-mill worked, it was back on the bus to the beautiful village of Volendam, where we visited the local museum, went to the cheese-shop for a talk and cheese-tasting.  Then on to a local seafood restaurant for lunch, then next-door for a stroopwaffle making demonstration.  We were then taken on a half-hour boat trip to Marken.  It was a beautiful wee place and there we saw a clog-making demonstration.  After all that, it was back on the bus to Amsterdam.  After a busy day we spent the lovely warm evening just chatting on the balcony...eating more cheese!