【Travelogue】A Selection of European Mini Trips – The Dutch Windmill Village

 

It took a little over three hours to get from Cologne to Amsterdam by train. By the time I checked in at the hotel, it was already past 2 p.m.

 

I went to the train station to buy a ticket to Zaanse Schans, but after trying two credit cards at the ticket machine, I still couldn’t get one, so I had to go to the counter. The staff said there was a train every ten minutes, so I had time for lunch. It was my first time eating at a Burger King in Europe – and they actually charged me an extra 50 cents EUR for ketchup, whereas McDonald’s doesn’t.

 

 

 

It didn’t take even half an hour to reach Zaanse Schans. The route was easy to find — just leave the train station, go straight, then turn left and right, and you’ll see a bridge. Cross it and you’re at the windmill village (there’s a map outside the train station)!

 

 

 

Before crossing the bridge, the bridge slowly lifted to let boats pass, while cars waited on both sides. It was the first time I’d seen such a bridge — what a unique water town.

 

 

 

Entering the windmill village, the sight of windmills along with little bridges and flowing water was truly idyllic. I strolled into the village with the breeze in my hair, went inside one of the windmills to check out its structure and how it works, and of course bought a small windmill as a souvenir since there was a little shop inside.

 

 

After leaving the windmill, the shops in the village were all closed. Oh well, the scenery is really what I came for. I wasn’t particularly interested in the wooden clog factory or cheese factory anyway. While wandering around, I heard the sounds of sheep — “baa baa” — coming from all directions. The flock was chasing the shepherd, as if knowing he would lead them to graze. The shepherd opened the gate, and the sheep came running out one by one, each letting out a “baa” as they exited. It was hilarious. One got stuck on the bridge while trying to eat grass, blocking the path, another wandered off and couldn’t figure out how to get back into the pen, and one even fell into the river — a tourist noticed and alerted the shepherd. The rural charm here was way more captivating than the shops in the village. (I’ll upload the video to our Facebook page later.)

 

 

 

Back in Amsterdam, I wandered around the city center, passing by Dam Square, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, and more. There were street performers in the square. The entire city is surrounded by bridges and boats, but everything is well planned, so it’s not too easy to get lost (much better than Venice).

 

 

 

For dinner, I had something called beef ramen and sweet shrimp sashimi — total of 20 euros. The prices here aren’t cheap either... Then I went to visit the Red Light District. There were lots of tourists — it felt like a busy city street, and it was safer than I expected. There was even an Erotic Museum. After walking around for a bit, I headed back to the hotel.

 

Next Stop ~ The Netherlands ~ Amsterdam
http://travelwilson.blogspot.hk/2015/11/52-5-aug-2015-day-32-amsterdam.html