Today we visited Zaanse Schans, a vibrant wind mill farm that had several small shops lining the gravel paths. We were able to explore for thirty minutes before our visit at Henri Willig, a cheese factory, so we visited a clog shop where they display the tools needed to make clogs. We saw clogs of all different sizes, colors, and uses. There was one that was completely covered in diamonds, and one that was used to walk on ice. No matter what circumstance, they had a clog for it. It was very cool to see the employees of the store actually wearing clogs and having the opportunity to purchase some ourselves. 

Next we went to the Henri Willig store where an employee showed us how the cheese is made. The milk is put into a machine that mixes and cuts it, where it is separated into curd and whey. Curd is what the cheese is made out of, but the whey is not needed in the cheese making process. To not waste the whey, they make beer out of it and can even put the beer back in the cheese to make beer cheese. This makes the process more sustainable because only 10% of the milk becomes curd, so disposing of the whey would cause a lot of unnecessary waste. They also use microbial rennet, which is made from living organisms such as yeast or mould, instead of traditional animal rennet, which is usually retrieved by killing baby cows. This allowing Henry Willig to make cheeses that are suitable for vegetarians by protecting wildlife.

We then got to try several different kinds of cheeses. There was every flavor imaginable: garlic and herb, red chili, garlic, coconut, beer, truffle, lavender and so many more. Being a cheese fanatic, this place was my personal heaven. I tried all of them, and I have to say my favorite was the garlic and herb. I also tried their house-made mustard, which I really enjoyed given that I had never paired mustard with cheese before. Then we walked around to the rest of the shops where I had the most delicious freshly made waffle that was smothered in chocolate. We also visited an antique store that was beautiful but a little to expensive for our liking. After that, we packed up the bus and were off to Rotterdam! See you tomorrow Rotterdam!