Today we visited the village of Zaandijk Zaanse Schans. This beautiful village is right next to the Zaan, which is a small river in Holland. Multiple windmills towered over the village. Surrounding the village were various livestock grazing areas containing sheep and goats. The village contained numerous shops filled with various items. Some had tourist trinkets, some vintage items, and others food.

We visited a cheese shop. Here, we saw a very popular cheese made by a man named Henri Willig. We were shown how the cheese was made, a process needing much effort. First, a cow, goat, or sheep is milked. Then a curd is collected from the milk. In order to get the crude a 1:10 ratio of curd to milk is needed. Then enzymes and a “secret” coagulant is added to the mixture. This is then added to a large bowl where it sits. After sitting for a period of time, the mixture is cut up. This cut-up mixture is then formed into a cheese.

The lady that spoke to us about this informed us that the milk used to make the cheese was unpasteurized, so we were unable to bring it into the US. However, Henri Willig cheese offered many other types of cheese that could be brought in. They have over 36 flavors of cheese to satisfy almost any customer.

It was very interesting to see the variety of cheese and complimentary items (i.e. meat, dips, bread) that were also sold at Henri Willwag. It demonstrated the business strategy of the company.

We also visited a shop that made wooden shoes. There were shoes with ornate detail that must have taken hours to meticulously carve. There were roller skate clogs, soccer cleat clogs, big clogs, small clogs, and even diamond clogs! Clogs used to be made by hand but now thanks to modern innovation can be made easily.

We arrived in Rotterdam today as well. The area seems more modern than Amsterdam. Nonetheless I am excited for what’s ahead!