Today we started off the day by packing up all of our belongings and boarding our private van. We drive about 20 minutes to the countryside where we visited Zaanse Schans. Zaanse Schans is a village of shops, tourist attractions, and windmills. It is free of charge to enter the village, and has something for the whole family. The village is on a river, boats often pass through the water, and ships even go through the bridge which can move up and down. Many of the building, barns, and windmills are green with white trim, making the whole town look like something out of a storybook. The many windmills that line the village date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Despite being such a tourist attraction, people still live in the houses surrounding the area.

First, we visited the Henri Willig Cheese Factory at Zaanse Schans. We learned about the process of making the cheese, the aging process, and the shipping details. The company, Henri Willi, is only 50 years old, and is onto the second generation of family owners. We were let out into a gift shop, where you could taste test all the cheeses and spreads. I, an allergy child, opted for a Henri Willig brand bottle of nice, cold water. While in the gift store, I found a Dutch Barbie doll decked out in her finest countryside, windmill-chic look.

We also stopped into a clog store, where they had a clog making presentation. My favorite pair of clogs that were on display, were obviously the blinged out diamond clogs!

The are was scattered with goats and ducks. These goats were very entertaining and kept us occupied while we had down time. A small group of us went off into the little nearby town to have lunch. I ended up not being able to eat at the restaurant but rest assured there was a Spar, the most convenient, little grocery store, next door. I got my tried and true bakery bread, salami, carrots, and hummus for lunch… what more could a girl ask for. Anyways, we headed back to the town and met up with the others in the group. We walked through all the indoor shops, and eventually found our way to a bakery. I got a vegan apple beignet.

After we finished everything to do at the village, we boarded our bus and made our way to Rotterdam. Everyone slept on the bus, I’m not sure if anyone ever really recovered from the strange sleep patterns formed when traveling. Now we are off to our luxurious dinner at the world renowned… McDonald’s!

See you tomorrow!