If you have a chance to go outside of Amsterdam, you should! It is beautiful. There are many tours to see parts of the countryside, but if you get the Amsterdam pass, the hop on hop off tour is included. There are 6 stops including the tour office and you can get off in as many or as few as you want. There is about 45 minutes between buses and you can stay in any one location as long as you want. Of course we had it planned out down to how long we would spend in each place.
The tour office is called This is Holland and is just after you get off the free ferry from behind Amsterdam Centraal. A’dam lookout is there (which wasn’t open when we got there but we visited afterwards) as well as the Eye, which is an art museum.
First stop is Zaanse Schans. It is a neighborhood in the Dutch town of Zaandam, near Amsterdam. Historic windmills and distinctive green wooden houses were relocated here to recreate the look of an 18th/19th century village. There are houses that showcase different aspects of Dutch life from cocoa to cheese making.
The windmill that is used as a mill was also a gift shop.
We visited a Henri Willig farm where there is also a cheese shop.
We tasted some awesome cheese! Not the plastic stuff shown here but really awesome cheese like the baby sheep (Becca’s favorite) and original sheep cheese (my favorite).
I had been hungry for ice cream and for licorice and was lucky to find…
You guessed it…
Licorice ice cream. Very tasty. The ice cream had a hint of licorice and only the pieces of licorice mixed in provided enough taste. I loved it. I always look for a unique ice cream or potato chip wherever I go to try.
Areas of Zaanse Schans smells like chocolate. There is a chocolate boutique there that sells exquisite confections. I resisted.
We skipped the Edam stop and instead started on the bus until the next stop, Volendam. This is a very quaint fishing village.
We walked down to the water. Originally this water was salt water from the Zuiderzee inlet of the North Sea. A series of dykes reclaimed land and created a fresh water lake called Markermeer instead.
More cheese tasting.
We visited a wooden clog museum which is very interesting why they were used as shoes for so long (they insulate and can withstand many weather conditions with the bonus of knowing where your kids are) and how they are made both by hand and by machine.
Back along the waterfront.
We stopped at a street vendor selling salted herring. We split a sandwich of herring. I am up for trying anything new.
We skipped the Henri Willig cheese stop. I know, but we had enough cheese for the day.
Last stop was Monnickendam. It is a classic ancient Dutch town and you can tell by looking at how some walls lean differently from adjoining walls.
The stone on the roads and sidewalks are amazing.
The old church.
We stopped at a couple boutique cheese and chocolate shops.
I found beer made from salt water. It was very mellow and mild. Being dehydrated I drank it pretty fast.
The town was beautiful.
Now to head back to Amsterdam for more sight seeing. All in all we spent about 4 to 5 hours on the tour.