Today was definitely eventful! Between having our group get split up at a crowded tram stop and then just barely making it onto the train, the day took quite a few unexpected turns before we even got to Zaanse Schans! Not to mention the constant rain, which made today’s plans a bit more difficult to execute. 

When we finally reached Zaanse Schans, there were three main areas that we got to learn about. The first was learning about the history and manufacturing of clogs. Clogs are a recognizable symbol of Dutch culture, and they are representative of several important facts concerning the history of the Netherlands. People in the Netherlands have been wearing clogs for centuries. These shoes are water resistant, easy to slip on and off, and they offer protection. People don’t wear these shoes as often as they used to, but they are still occasionally worn as protective clothing in agricultural or industrial environments. It was really interesting to see this process first-hand, and it was interesting to see the machines that they can use to make clogs in as little as 5 minutes! 

We also got to learn about how the cheese is made at the Henri Willig company’s factory. There was such a wide variety of different cheeses that were available to be sampled! They were made from different kinds of milk, some were pasteurized and others weren’t, and many of them had different flavor additions such as truffle and different herbs. After this stop, we made our way to the saw mill.

The saw mill was definitely my favorite part of the day. This saw mill was powered by the wind to cut into large pieces of wood. As the wind speed and power changed, so did the speed of the saw. An interesting fact about this specific mill is that the workers give the sawdust to the farmers, which helps to ensure that no materials are being wasted and sustainability is kept in mind. 

It was a very enjoyable trip to Zaanse Schans (despite the rain!) and I am really looking forward to visiting the tulip fields tomorrow!