Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Day 17 : 21st May 09

The land of Windmills…

What’s famous in Holland? I came up with this list:

1. Tulips
2. Windmill
3. Dutch Clogs
4. Cheese
5. Red Light district .. hehe


We were so sad that the tulips had withered in the Keukenhof Gardens. Just less than 2 weeks ago, the tulips were still there. All I can say is … Bye Bye Tulips!

1. Tulips
2. Windmill
3. Dutch Clogs
4. Cheese
5. Red Light district .. hehe


Where else can we go? Did someone mention windmills? OK, here we go! We booked our trip to Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Edam and start moving North.

I know the names sounded odd but we were in for a trip of a lifetime :)

It’s still quite early in the morning (9am), the weather is cool and cloudy. I sat in the bus half dozing and half trying to listen to Mr. Butler’s* stories about Amsterdam. * Mr. Butler is our tour guide. We gave him this name as he looks like Batman’s butler, Alfred.

Ta-Daa! I woke up with this sight. Windmills!




We can’t stop taking pictures after pictures. Windmills! Windmills! Windmills! Mr. Butler’s photographer asked us to pose in front of the windmills. We posed anyway but we rather take them by ourselves.

Snap…Snap…Snap..



Snap…Snap…Snap..


Snap…Snap…Snap..


Su did something bad...again!


While posing in front of another windmill, Su pointed behind me “Ain’t that our group?”We were so caught up with our pictures that we followed the WRONG group.



Mr. Butler wasn’t so impressed as we were the last few to join them back.

“Quickly, quickly!” he shooed us inside the windmill. Wow…it’s hard to stay connected to the group after being free & easy for the entire trip!

Apparently, this is a windmill producing oil from nuts. The nuts were crushed and oil was gathered into a bucket. It’s dark & narrow inside. Not really suitable for claustrophobic or acrophobic people.





We climbed up the narrow stairway to escape the crowd downstairs. Wow, what a fantastic view up here. I am on top of a windmill! It’s scary with the wood creaking under our feet. The planks were sparse with large gaps. I could see clearly the person beneath us.


The blade of the windmill felt like cutting your head off if you stand nearer to it.


Let’s go down…

Remember yourself watching a Bollywood movie where the girl start singing and the man start dancing in the midst of their romance drama. They will go to some exotic places. Rolling along the hills and the next second they were back on top of the hill singing or maybe transported to a beach with a blink of an eye. Playing hide and seek among trees. Suddenly a bunch of dancers came out of nowhere and start dancing with them in the background.

Well, well. We caught them in action here in Zaanse Schans. Bollywood is here, everybody!

This umbrella man’s job is to shield the actress from … (wait a minute) … there’s no sun here. It’s a perfect cooling weather! Maybe shielding her from the wind?



Next up was witnessing how the Dutch clogs are made in the Klompenmakerij’s shop.This is what I saw.


Clogs galore!


And some cute looking clogs too!


Ah…but we decided to get a bigger one!


After fooling around for a bit with the Bollywood music in the background, it’s time to leave. We decided be good and were the 1st to wait in front of the bus as we did not want to make Mr. Butler unhappy again :P


The scenery at the Dutch country side was so beautiful and serene. So unlike the city yesterday.




We arrived in Edam where we had a short walk around the quaint little village. I prefer to call this place Eden and envy the people who live here. Here’s why…





Now you know why I call it Eden.

Let’s review our list again. So we have done the Windmills & Dutch Clogs. What’s next?

1. Tulips
2. Windmill
3. Dutch Clogs
4. Cheese
5. Red Light district .. hehe




We sampled the colourful cheese and got attracted to the caramel wafer. A thin spread of caramel sandwiched in thin slices of crunchy wafers. Yummy!Our final countryside trip is Volendam.

The next sight was an awesome revelation. It was just a tall wall covered with grass.



As the bus moved forward, we saw people walking and cycling on top of the wall.



I stood up and saw the wall's other side was a sprawling ocean.


Volendam – a Dutch fishing village now bustling with tourists. Shopping is great here. It’s so much more affordable than in the city.



Last few tulips. Now or next season!



We took a short cruise...


Nono…not with that speed boat. But on a large ferry…


Dog: Blurp…I feel sea sick. I don’t wanna take any boat no more. The kid is so cute!




Time to say goodbye. We were so sad and just wish that this trip will never end!


This is classic. Synchronize swimming ducks.


Finally, a shot with Mr. Butler.

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