We were lucky enough to have the weather hold out for us the first two days of our visit. Today, that luck finally ran out as we traveled to Zaanse Schans to explore the famously Dutch windmills as well as to learn about the craftsmanship of clogs and the process for making Dutch cheese.
We had a little bit of a rough start this morning with the relentless rain and half of our group missing the first tram to our stop. Then, we almost missed the train to Zaanse Schans. It all happened so quickly, but I distinctly remember the entirety of our group sprinting after the train to catch it right in the last moments before it departed the station.
We did eventually end up in Zaanse Schans, but the rain continued to fall on us, so we definitely weren’t our most enthusiastic selves because let’s be honest, who is when they’re shoes and clothes are soggy? Still we braved the rain, and went on to visit the clog crafting house where we got to watch a live demonstration of clog making. Clogs are definitely THE article of clothing that comes to mind when we think of the Dutch, but I never actually understood why anyone would wear shoes that looked so uncomfortable and have this continue on for hundreds of years. However, the rain today made me realize why. We learned that clogs are actually waterproof, which we all really could’ve used today while we traversed the muddy grounds of Zaanse Schans in our soggy shoes.
Next, we went to see a demonstration of how the Dutch make cheese. If I’m being honest, after a long and exhausting day in the rain, most of the details of this process left my brain, but what I do remember noticing was the commonality between this process and that of crafting clogs. The Dutch seem to be very meticulous in what they make and nothing is a simple process. Each process has layers and layers of work involved to create the final product. Their “concept to consumer” process is one that includes a lot of steps and this may just be the key part of their brand – what makes Dutch cheese and clogs so unique and sought after.
Keeping with Dutch themes and values, the windmills play a major role in their commitment to sustainability. We specifically visited the saw mill, which cuts up logs and turns them into lumber that can be used for construction. While I know little about the engineering behind its mechanism, the basic idea is that the windmills use wind to move the saws up and down along the logs, converting them to smaller, usable pieces of wood. What’s even more interesting is that they take the sustainability aspect a step further by making sure the resulting sawdust isn’t wasted, but rather sent to a farm to use as bedding for cattle and filler for uneven farmland. The Netherlands sure is serious about their sustainability.
