It was good that we joined a social excursion organised by the conference to visit the outskirts of The Netherlands, Zaanse Schans and Edam.
If you're wondering why I'm dressed up so formally for the social excursion, my presentation was actually in the morning of that day
For if not, we wouldn't be able to see the traditional windmills and clogs manufacturing process. Our tour guide was very friendly and informative. He started talking to us about the history and geography of Amsterdam as soon as we left the departure site. Having worked as a tour guide before in The States, he knew a lot of everything and compared the places to The States and Germany etc. We were really fortunate to have such an experienced guide.
In the bus
The traffic jam didn't deter the guide to continue talking and introducing each place we passed by. In fact, he was happy to talk as we listened and responded with laughs to his jokes
Holy mama! Are we doing a stunt show to get over to the other side?!
Lowering the road bridge after a ship just went past
We got pretty excited as soon as we saw this and started taking photos non-stop
The first destination we stopped at was Zaanse Schans, a village popular for its windmills, cheese and clogs.
It was no surprise for us (since we are in a tour) that we were hurried into the clog-manufacturing hut to watch how clogs are manufactured. During those olden days, people had to carve them manually one at a time but now they have developed specialised tools and machines for a higher productivity. I recorded the process too and will be posting that video in another post but basically, they used a wet and soft block of wood to make a clog out from a template, much like making a key. By the end of the entire process, the man even showed that water can be blown out from the clog; hence showing how wet the block of wood is, which enables easier cutting and shaping. The clogs have to be put in the sun for a period of 4-6 months before they are totally dried which by then, it will be very hard. Apparently, people still wear clogs out in the muddy garden, like when they are planting tulips for the season. :)
So many clogs of different shapes, sizes and colours!
They even have ladybird and cow prints! :)
I tried on a pair, and surprisingly it was very comfortable! Perhaps because I was wearing heels the whole time already, so I felt a sudden comfort wearing the pair of clogs.
The shop also sold so many souvenirs and they were all so colourful that I was so tempted to buy all of them! :P
Next, we went to see how cheese is made. I like to eat cheese, but just the common parmesan or mozarella cheese. I don't like trying the goats cheese or blue cheese or anything that has a very strong smell of dairy because I think I'll puke. So we didn't buy any. Besides, we couldn't bring it back to Australia anyway.
Nom nom nom...
We also had the opportunity to visit the windmill and went inside it too! It was pretty scary climbing up the steep, wooden and narrow stairways up the mill. There wasn't any banister to hold on to so we had to climb in a single fashion, holding the steps instead.
Inside, we saw lots of gears moving at both horizontal and vertical directions. The wind blowing the blades converts the (wind) energy to rotational energy to pump water out from the canals to keep the low lands free from floods.
Horizontal and vertical gears
Up on top, outside the windmill
A vast land of greenery
We were given time to walk around the village and take some picturesque sceneries before going on to the next stop at Edam.
I love this picture so much
So much that I will post a photo of each of us. :)
Even though it is a repetition, it's worth it, looking at the reflection of the house on the calm water. :)
Thank God for having a bright sunny day! :)
After spending an hour plus, we were driven to Edam, another village famous for its cheese.
Remember I said in my previous post that buildings were crooked? Well, this is one example.
All the old buildings have this type of black bars stuck to the wall to bind the structure together so that they stand firm
Our tour guide told us that the people staying in this village are wealthy people. Looking at the houses, we weren't surprised.
If you can see, there are bells hanging outside the church, on the top. When the clock chimes, a beautiful melody can be heard, unlike the normal 'dong dong dong' you hear from the Big Ben.
You see, there are so many rich people who not only have a house and a garden, they also have a tea house in their compound where they have afternoon tea! Not forgetting that they also own a boat to ride along the canals!
Take a look closer. The building in the middle with a 3 chimneys is the house. Then there is a long garden stretched out to a smaller white hut which is the tea house! That's where the families have tea in the afternoon!! OMG. Another house just for tea?!
Tea house overlooking the canal. Nice right?
On our way back home, we drove past stacks of hay and cattle. What an enjoyable trip!
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