Netherlands: Zaanse Schans

On my last day in the Netherlands I visited a very cute, very touristic town called Zaanse Schans. I had read about it in various brochures, which advertised the opportunity to see a working windmill, wooden clog factory, and cheese factory. How could I resist?



Zaanse Schans is located on the banks of the river Zaan, and the cute, tourist attractions are all on one side of the river. The other side of the river looked more populated, but this side had windmills and fields. (FYI: What you see here is a canal, not the river.)




My first stop was the wooden shoe factory, where there was a 15-minute demonstration on how wooden shoes are made. In the old days one shoe took 3-4 hours to make. These days, with machines to do most of the work, the rough shoe is done in 3-4 minutes.


Here you see the shoemaker demonstrating the proper fit of a wooden shoe. It should be worn with a thick pair of socks, and leave enough room to put a finger between your foot and the back of the shoe.


I was very amused when I passed the shoe factory on my way back and saw the shoemaker out mowing the lawn in his wooden shoes. Clearly good for all occasions, which you can also see in the pictures below.

Be honest: aren't these just awesome?

I passed this lovely scene on my way from the wooden shoe factory to the cheese factory.

While I wasn't there when there was a live demonstration, there was a video playing that showed the process of making cheese, right up to the dipping in wax to seal and preserve it. I hadn't intended to buy any cheese, but they had samples available. I really couldn't resist.

Part of the cheese-making crew, who I saw on my way to the windmill.

These are the gears inside of the windmill which are turned but the wings on the outside of the building. In turn, these gears cause two millstones to turn against one another, which grinds to dust anything in it's path. It requires serious power to make those stones move. On the day I was there, the wind was doing an admirable job, and the wheels were turning. It was awesome. My only regret: no video. What was I thinking?

Here you can see the miller tying the sails and wrapping them around the wings, so that the wind is no longer being caught and used. He was getting ready to close for the day.

And I thought this was interesting: the wheel is used to turn the top of the mill (the part with the wings attached) so that it can catch the wind regardless of which direction it is coming from.

From there I walked through a quaint, little town with restaurants and shops for the wandering tourist. I just loved this house and garden - and the necessary access bridge across the canal.

And here's me standing next to the Zaan River with the windmills lined up behind me. It was a gorgeous day, but not warm. Still, I'll take chilly with blue skies over warm and cloudy any day.

I loved this day trip, and recommend it to anybody visiting the Netherlands. It was a great finish to a fantastic trip.