This was my first tour. I was fortunate enough to have both of my tours in English and Spanish so it was very enjoyable. Our first stop was to see the famous windmills and a little village. These were used in the past to pump water, but not so much anymore. In the 17th century there were over 10,000 windmills, but there only about 1,000 left today in the country.
We also visited a wooden shoe shop where we saw how they make the shoes. They used to carve them by hand, which took about 3 hours, but now they use a machine, which takes a couple of minutes. The reason they wear the shoes is because the land is so marshy and wet. They are also a lot warmer and protect the feet better. But they only wear them in the country, not the city, obviously. Also, the ones they wear aren’t painted like these ones. These are just for the tourists!
Our next stop was a cheese factory. Look at all the cheeses! They explained to us how the cheese is made and then we got to try all the different kinds. Gouda is delicious I must say! There was also a sausage flavored cheese…interesting. They roast it over a fire to give it a smoky taste. So they make cheese from cow, goat, and sheep milk. They only add flavoring to the cow milk because they produce tons more milk. The goat and sheep milk is always natural. So these cheeses are wrapped in a special kind of plastic and can be stored without a refrigerator for several months and in fact, taste better after a few months of sitting when they become more mature.
Our last stop was Volendam, a small village right on the ocean and is actually lower than the sea. Scary! Family - it was like a Dutch Zermatt…very touristy and practically as cold too! The harbor had ice in it! There isn’t really any authentic Dutch food, except they do serve Pea Soup only from November to February so I had some to warm me up. We then drove to Marken just to see it. It used to be an island until they built a dike to connect it to the mainland. The countryside is beautiful though! It’s like a flat Ireland with a lot more water. The land is always green!
We also visited a wooden shoe shop where we saw how they make the shoes. They used to carve them by hand, which took about 3 hours, but now they use a machine, which takes a couple of minutes. The reason they wear the shoes is because the land is so marshy and wet. They are also a lot warmer and protect the feet better. But they only wear them in the country, not the city, obviously. Also, the ones they wear aren’t painted like these ones. These are just for the tourists!
Our next stop was a cheese factory. Look at all the cheeses! They explained to us how the cheese is made and then we got to try all the different kinds. Gouda is delicious I must say! There was also a sausage flavored cheese…interesting. They roast it over a fire to give it a smoky taste. So they make cheese from cow, goat, and sheep milk. They only add flavoring to the cow milk because they produce tons more milk. The goat and sheep milk is always natural. So these cheeses are wrapped in a special kind of plastic and can be stored without a refrigerator for several months and in fact, taste better after a few months of sitting when they become more mature.
Our last stop was Volendam, a small village right on the ocean and is actually lower than the sea. Scary! Family - it was like a Dutch Zermatt…very touristy and practically as cold too! The harbor had ice in it! There isn’t really any authentic Dutch food, except they do serve Pea Soup only from November to February so I had some to warm me up. We then drove to Marken just to see it. It used to be an island until they built a dike to connect it to the mainland. The countryside is beautiful though! It’s like a flat Ireland with a lot more water. The land is always green!
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