Day trip to the Windmills in the Country

Yesterday we took a day trip to a little town called Zaanse Schans to escape from the city, enjoy a slower pace and tour the windmills! The town is only a 20 minute train ride from Amsterdam and short walk to the town. You walk over a bridge before getting to the town. Super Nel was walking way behind me taking photos and not paying any attention to his surroundings. The drawbridge bell started to go off and he didn't realize it. Luckily, a nearby local shouted at him to move on the other side of the barrier. He made it just in time. Apparently a tourist fell into the water a few weeks ago. 

Here comes the boat. 

The town of Zaanse Schans is extremely quaint and quiet but they have plenty to explore. When you arrive to the town you are greeted by some green Dutch houses. I loved this art peice in the garden:

I have a friend who has started learning how to make tile mosaics. This design reminded me of her.

Shane and Pedro (the twinsies) are ready for a day of fun in their matching outfits. 

Miss Delia and I standing on one of the towns many mini bridges. 

One of the mini museums was an old barrel makers house. It was interesting to see how this was done. It was obviously an important job. Where else would you store the liquor?

Barrel stacks

Next I went into the working clog museum/factory. 

There was so much to learn about the history of the clog shoe. And there were real clog makers hard at work. I think the nursing Dansko shoe came from the original clogs because they had some similar inside. 

Just like my Danskos

So many different styles and each one with a specific purpose. There were clogs with long horns on top used by fisherman. They used the horn to anchor the nets. The ones with spikes were for people who lived in the snow. The decorative clogs were made for Sunday's. 

These are bridal clogs. Very intricate carvings were done by gentleman hoping to win the hand of a special lady. They used this clog to propose marriage and the lady wore it after engagement. 

The diamond clog-for those big ballers. 

Clog maker hard at work. I loved this museum and the best part is it's free. 

After this museum, Super Nel and I sat down to eat our picnic. We get free breakfast at our hostel so we stocked up on food for lunch-hard boiled eggs, bread, sandwhich meat and cheeses and fruit. They have the sweetest pears here. 

While eating all these ducks came over to get a snack. 

Josef loves to feed the ducks. 

There was a variety of animals just wandering around-ducks

I liked that white feathered bird. 

I loved the goat. But I only fed him gass because too much bread will kill him (just like humans!)

This locals bike had Pipi Longstocking strapped to the front. 

There was a cheese farm/museum. They had some tasty samples!

Mmmm....cheese

The walk along the water to the windmills was very scenic and relaxing. People would ride their bikes and others were walking their dogs. 

There's a saw mill and oil mill and a few others. These are actual working saw mills! 

Some have their own dock. 

Josef was freezing from standing on the tiny pier but I promised him the photo would be worth it. Don't you agree?

Pedro volunteered to take a shot of Super Nel and I if we got the perfect shot of him with the windmills in the background. 

Super Nel and I tried to do something special for this photo as a thank you to everyone who contributed to our honeymoon fund but it was so windy. Arnel kept yelling "This isn't gonna work!" And I replied "Not with that attitude." We ended up laughing about it and decided to try our special photo another time. We took the shot above instead. 

Our little superheroes pose for a photo with the windmills. The scenery is so crisp and clear it almost looks fake-like a mini golf course. 

As our group was starting to leave we ran into Jose, Chris and Maria who had just arrived to explore the town. 

When we arrived back in Amsterdam some of us went to the Beir Fabriek (Beer  Factory). This is a local brewery that has beer taps at every table. You get to pour your own beer and they charge you by the liter. This could be dangerous! 

Each table has taps, mugs and peanuts and you throw the shells on the floor!

Miss Delia pours her first pint. 

A little too much foam...

The little superheroes loved this place. 

We had a plate of chicken that was so full of flavor and just fell off the bone. We commented that their rotisserie chickens are smaller than the ones we see in America-probably because they aren't pumped full of steroids and drugs to plump them up. 

Getting a refill of peanuts. 

By the time we returned to the hostel I was exhausted. I had fallen down the day before (walking on flat land) and had hurt my ankle. I was ready to rest my foot. Some of the guys went out to the I Am Amsterdam sign. 

Tomorrow we depart for Berlin...