Netherlands. Zaanse Schans

 Zaanse Schans is a small village and open-air museum located in the municipality of Zaanstad in the Netherlands, near the center of Zaandam. It features examples of Dutch wooden architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries, well-preserved historic windmills, and houses, most of which were relocated here from the surrounding area in the 1970s. There are also museums dedicated to the production of the main symbols of Holland - cheese and clogs...

  The first thing that catches your eye when approaching this village is, of course, the windmills. Interestingly, the main enemies of Don Quixote here have their own names. From left to right - Seeker, Cat, Crowned Poelenburg, and Servant...

  Up close, the windmills look even more fascinating...

   The small houses are compactly and harmoniously scattered throughout the village...

 The Netherlands is one of those countries associated with many things. For example, since childhood, we all know "Dutch cheese," a name that clearly defines one type of this dairy product for us. Here, however, all cheese is Dutch—not by name, but by production—and the wide variety of cheeses makes your mouth water just thinking about it. Visiting a cheese factory museum, where it is produced and sold, we observed the production process and tasted different types of this delicious product. We also loved the extraordinarily tasty mustard served with the cheese...     

 In the next museum, we were shown how traditional Dutch wooden shoes—clogs—are made. This lively Dutchman crafted a pair of clogs from a piece of wood in just a few minutes right before our eyes...      

By the way, about 3.5 million of these funny clogs are produced annually in the Netherlands, indicating their great popularity among tourists...

   

   At the museum exit, there is a huge clog in which you can fit standing up...

 The village of Zaanse Schans delighted us with its traditional Dutch color. Here, we tried to experience the Dutch village of the past, tasted famous varieties of Dutch cheese with very tasty mustard, and watched how the clogs we liked so much are made...