we set off for Zaanse Schans in search of windmills! there are a number of places you can go, including villages such as Volendam which is 50 minutes away by bus with the fare included in the day-ticket at 7 euros. However, due to time constraints, we chose Zaanse Schans, which was merely 15 minutes away by train at 5.40 euros for a return journey. It's always good to keep your coins since you will need them to buy your tickets from the machine (there's an extra charge if you buy any ticket from the counter ).
so off we set for Zaanse Schans with Alfred waving not at all mournfully at us at the station before he went traipsing off on his own agenda. we were all so tired that we fell asleep as the train started off... dangerous since the journey was only 15 minutes. luckily, we didn't miss our stop and after a short and free ferry ride, we were there at the island of windmills!
the scenery was astounding!
the buildings looked very pretty too! the houses here were known for their green appearances.
and each house sorta had their own little canal in front above which was a tiny bridge joining the residents to civilisation. it was all so pretty!
our first stop was to a tiny pewter factory. the lady was very friendly not to mention amusing. not only did she tell us how she made the pewter pieces from scratch (including making all the moulds herself), she also recommended the pancakes to us.
she told us some interesting stuff too, about how the famous stuff from holland did not originate from holland itself actually, except for the food ---> pancakes!! windmills were from... errr... and the delftware was from... ??? gosh.. i can't remember. haha.. all i know is that wooden shoes were everywhere, just in different forms. (after a few discrete phone calls to my travel mates, here are the missing details... windmills were from france and the blue and white porcelain originated from japan. they just made their own since they were so expensive. bicycles? even china has loads of them, they're just not famous.)
we made our way to the windmills first of all. there were a number of them, each with their own unique function, for example making paint or saw wood. lunch was a simple affair of McD burgers on the bench. it was very relaxing though, being in the countryside.
after lunch, we made our way to the cheese farm. they even had specific instructions for the chickens there. i seriously doubt the capacity of the chickens to understand though. but none went in.
cheese was in abundance and all very nicely packed.
kelvin even got a photo with a dutch lady. cool~
after spending a long time there (a mite too long actually, haha.. coz they are still loads to see behind this shop), we saw a peculiar sight on our way to the other factories. communication between animals of different species??
anyways, we reached more souvenir shops (that's why don't spend too much time in the first shop. haha.. it's not the only one). the wooden tulips looked gorgeous, with the colours so vibrant! they were more expensive though.
i saw this in one of the shops and thought that it was quite interesting. it was a framed collection of all sorts of knots used by sailors. the price was pretty interesting too, no doubt bout that.
finally, we reached the clog factory. it wasn't much of a factory, but a guy was giving a demonstration there. it was pretty cool. he sliced off wood as though it were cheese. the matching pair was done easily using machines. after the clog was carved out, he blew into the clog and water just sloshed out. quite an impressive demonstration of how wet the wood was.
they had a giant clog out on display which predictably became the target for many tourists... including us!;p
.JPG)
outside the 'factory', the scenery was nice too. and i finally had a picture with a sheep. you know, that little white blob over there..
we were just in time to try the famous pancake before they closed for the day. we had to wait for 5 minutes while it was cooked though. but it was well worth the wait.
the three of us shared an apple+cinnamon pancake - 8.50 euros. it was huge though, but very thin.
however, after drizzled with a generous amount of honey and sprinkled with castor sugar... gosh... doesn't it just look so tantalising?? i can assure you that it was the best pancake i ever tasted!
we took a lazy slow stroll back since we were waiting for the golden hour... saw a very fat cat.
saw loads of ducks...
ate some dutch wafers... very nice! it had caramel oozing out from the middle, plus it was crispy.
finally, it was time to go back.
once again, we took the ferry back to the main island. we kept smelling the aroma of maggie curry, don't know whether there was some curry factory or we were just plain hungry.
anyways, we had dinner at Leidseplein --> eat-all-you-want spare ribs! for 12.50 euros. it was a really scrumptious dinner. loved the spare ribs. i became quite a carnivore that night. haha.. there was a choice of fries or boiled potatoes with cream. the guys also ordered a heineken each, one of the famous beer in amsterdam. it was sweet, really nice, maybe coz it's freshly poured (i had a sip).
the next day was our last day in amsterdam. even though our room on the boathouse was small, i kinda missed the place along with its very friendly owners - bart and his wife.
on our last stroll down damrak, we saw horses pulling beer! found it quite cute.
of course, we couldn't really leave amsterdam before trying their waffles, another of their unique dishes.
Finally, we were back in edinburgh. dinner was chilli con carne at a pub. i forgot the name, but the menu was exactly the same as counting house. the ambience was nice and quiet though, especially since we sat in the family area.
last but not least, as always, my souvenirs! tadaa.. this is just part of it, since i was too lazy to take pictures of them all. haha..
it was a great trip. thanks shu yin, kelvin and alfred for making this trip so memorable and such fun. =] for all others, i seriously think that amsterdam is a very nice place. really worth going. of course, the nice company makes it all the more nicer.=]
so off we set for Zaanse Schans with Alfred waving not at all mournfully at us at the station before he went traipsing off on his own agenda. we were all so tired that we fell asleep as the train started off... dangerous since the journey was only 15 minutes. luckily, we didn't miss our stop and after a short and free ferry ride, we were there at the island of windmills!
the scenery was astounding!
the buildings looked very pretty too! the houses here were known for their green appearances.
and each house sorta had their own little canal in front above which was a tiny bridge joining the residents to civilisation. it was all so pretty!
our first stop was to a tiny pewter factory. the lady was very friendly not to mention amusing. not only did she tell us how she made the pewter pieces from scratch (including making all the moulds herself), she also recommended the pancakes to us.
she told us some interesting stuff too, about how the famous stuff from holland did not originate from holland itself actually, except for the food ---> pancakes!! windmills were from... errr... and the delftware was from... ??? gosh.. i can't remember. haha.. all i know is that wooden shoes were everywhere, just in different forms. (after a few discrete phone calls to my travel mates, here are the missing details... windmills were from france and the blue and white porcelain originated from japan. they just made their own since they were so expensive. bicycles? even china has loads of them, they're just not famous.)
we made our way to the windmills first of all. there were a number of them, each with their own unique function, for example making paint or saw wood. lunch was a simple affair of McD burgers on the bench. it was very relaxing though, being in the countryside.
after lunch, we made our way to the cheese farm. they even had specific instructions for the chickens there. i seriously doubt the capacity of the chickens to understand though. but none went in.
cheese was in abundance and all very nicely packed.
kelvin even got a photo with a dutch lady. cool~
after spending a long time there (a mite too long actually, haha.. coz they are still loads to see behind this shop), we saw a peculiar sight on our way to the other factories. communication between animals of different species??
anyways, we reached more souvenir shops (that's why don't spend too much time in the first shop. haha.. it's not the only one). the wooden tulips looked gorgeous, with the colours so vibrant! they were more expensive though.
i saw this in one of the shops and thought that it was quite interesting. it was a framed collection of all sorts of knots used by sailors. the price was pretty interesting too, no doubt bout that.
finally, we reached the clog factory. it wasn't much of a factory, but a guy was giving a demonstration there. it was pretty cool. he sliced off wood as though it were cheese. the matching pair was done easily using machines. after the clog was carved out, he blew into the clog and water just sloshed out. quite an impressive demonstration of how wet the wood was.
they had a giant clog out on display which predictably became the target for many tourists... including us!;p
.JPG)
outside the 'factory', the scenery was nice too. and i finally had a picture with a sheep. you know, that little white blob over there..
we were just in time to try the famous pancake before they closed for the day. we had to wait for 5 minutes while it was cooked though. but it was well worth the wait.
the three of us shared an apple+cinnamon pancake - 8.50 euros. it was huge though, but very thin.
however, after drizzled with a generous amount of honey and sprinkled with castor sugar... gosh... doesn't it just look so tantalising?? i can assure you that it was the best pancake i ever tasted!
we took a lazy slow stroll back since we were waiting for the golden hour... saw a very fat cat.
saw loads of ducks...
ate some dutch wafers... very nice! it had caramel oozing out from the middle, plus it was crispy.
finally, it was time to go back.
once again, we took the ferry back to the main island. we kept smelling the aroma of maggie curry, don't know whether there was some curry factory or we were just plain hungry.
anyways, we had dinner at Leidseplein --> eat-all-you-want spare ribs! for 12.50 euros. it was a really scrumptious dinner. loved the spare ribs. i became quite a carnivore that night. haha.. there was a choice of fries or boiled potatoes with cream. the guys also ordered a heineken each, one of the famous beer in amsterdam. it was sweet, really nice, maybe coz it's freshly poured (i had a sip).
the next day was our last day in amsterdam. even though our room on the boathouse was small, i kinda missed the place along with its very friendly owners - bart and his wife.
on our last stroll down damrak, we saw horses pulling beer! found it quite cute.
of course, we couldn't really leave amsterdam before trying their waffles, another of their unique dishes.
Finally, we were back in edinburgh. dinner was chilli con carne at a pub. i forgot the name, but the menu was exactly the same as counting house. the ambience was nice and quiet though, especially since we sat in the family area.
last but not least, as always, my souvenirs! tadaa.. this is just part of it, since i was too lazy to take pictures of them all. haha..
it was a great trip. thanks shu yin, kelvin and alfred for making this trip so memorable and such fun. =] for all others, i seriously think that amsterdam is a very nice place. really worth going. of course, the nice company makes it all the more nicer.=]
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