The area around the Saan River is famous for its history: the first shipyards appeared here and trade began. The Russian Tsar Peter the Great once learned the art of shipbuilding here, working as a simple carpenter, incognito.

Old wooden houses and windmills XVII – XVIII centuries were moved from nearby areas and completely restored to their original appearance. It’s as if time has stopped here, and from the noisy Amsterdam you find yourself in the atmosphere of rural silence of the 18th century.

Zaanse Schans is an open-air ethnographic museum where real windmills spin, and in a shoemaker's workshop, wooden clogs (wooden shoes) are skillfully carved before your eyes, which you can then buy...

It is actually a great pleasure to visit here, especially, I think, for those who are interested in getting acquainted with the history of Holland. And, besides, this colorful Zaan landscape will not leave anyone indifferent, take my word for it!

Further our path lay in the old fishing village Volendam, located on the shore of the former sea. As a result of the construction of the South Sea barrier dam ( Zeiderzee ) turned into lake IJsselmeer ( Eilsmeer).

In the port of this village you can see a wide variety of fishing boats and yachts. Local fishermen are busy catching fish, mainly herring and eel. In the center of Volendam there is a fish auction building…

Volendam's houses look just like toys, even for toy Holland. Cobbled streets, gingerbread houses with tiled roofs; small windows through which you can look into the neat living room.. It seems that we are in Holland in miniature.

Volendam residents are said to be famous for their colorful national costumes, which they wear every Sunday when they go to church in the morning (the population is mainly Catholic). They wear pleated sweaters with blue or black stripes, over a seven-color skirt called a “zevenklürige rock.” But the most characteristic feature of the costume is the headdress: it almost completely covers the face and resembles a medieval helmet. Men wear short jackets with silver buttons, cinched at the waist, fluffy black trousers and round hats...

Volendam at the end XIX V. was a very popular place among Impressionist painters. In the old hotel "Spaander" ( Spaander ) (probably the only one in the village) you can see an extensive collection of paintings from the 19th-20th centuries - with them the artists paid for what they drank and ate. The walls of the hotel are all hung with canvases and engravings by little-known artists, the only value of which is that they are more than 100 years old.

After wandering through the ancient streets, where a strong wind was blowing, and it was already beginning to rain, we wanted to go to a fish restaurant and try the famous Volendam eels and Dutch herring. But, looking at the clock, we realized with regret that the time allotted to us for the excursion was quickly coming to an end (and it seemed that time had stopped for a moment!), so we had to buy sandwiches on the go with the freshest eel and herring (eel, by the way, I liked it better ;-)) and rushed to our bus, where we were already greeted by the satisfied faces of the “neighbors” and the interior of the bus, smelling of delicious fishy smells.

In the morning we meet with guide Katya and go by minibus to the decorative village of Zaanse Schans. This is the most popular tourist route around Amsterdam. The journey by car is nothing, it takes about 20 minutes to get to Zaanse Schans. This Amsterdam is unusually uncrowded. Bicycles are everything. The guide says that the value of housing here is determined by cycling accessibility. That is - if you can get to work by bike - it means close by. There are bicycle roads outside the city in general; it feels like they never even ended before this village. Last evening we read on the Internet that Zaanse Schans - a picturesque open-air folklore village-museum - is located on the banks of the Zaan River. Since we have little time to visit the Netherlands, we decided that we should see what kind of village it was there. We found the phone numbers of the guides, called - and forward. Well, here we are. Immediately landscape - the world-famous Dutch windmills.

And here is a view of the Zaan River, and that mill on the other side in the left corner is the same one that our Peter 1 helped build.
The village itself is really a working museum. Almost all the houses in the village are exhibits. Here is a workshop for the production of wooden shoes, which replaced galoshes for the Dutch.
At the stands there is a whole huge collection of shoes of different sizes, from wedding shoes to those equipped with skates. In the corner there are machines from antediluvian times, and on them two boys sharpen these same wooden caps.

Next is the bakery house, the headman's house, and some other houses. Everything is real, old, but in excellent condition, well-groomed, oiled and soaked. A windmill with stone wheels, a little further a cheese factory (active).


On the other side of the Zaan River there is a whole village, residential, normal. Boats are still made there, and there are working mills and sawmills. Somewhere there is a house where Peter lived when he worked at the shipyards of this same Zaandam. But we didn’t go looking for him - anyway, you can’t cover even half of it in a day, we’ll leave it for the next life. But this is the point for pumping water between the channels. With the help of such a mill, the Dutch drained their swamps. It is difficult to even imagine the amount of labor spent on digging these canals and building a drainage system. A hardworking nation, to say the least.
The guide says that you can spend four hours here exploring all the sights of Zaanse Schans, but we are here at a European gallop, so we decide that this is enough for the first time, and decide to go to the town of Volendam, fortunately it is not very far, about 20 minutes by car. Volendam, the second point of our trip, is an old fishing village, where life for centuries has been associated with the sea and protection from it. Its picturesque streets, modest houses and miniature canals with drawbridges are located below sea level and protected from it by an earthen rampart - a dam. The guide says that this is a typical Dutch town. Clean, well-groomed, everything is filled with flowers and trees, almost no people are visible.


The cemetery is very impressive. There is not enough space, they are buried vertically, so there is a feeling of a crowd underfoot. But very cute.
We go out to the embankment. Actually, this is a dam, since everything in the Netherlands is practically at sea level, and in order to protect themselves from the tides, they had to build these dams everywhere. Everything is very cute, there’s even a kind of doll-like quality to everything. You want to sit down and not move anywhere at all, which is what local comrades do in all the houses overlooking the bay.

While preparing for the trip, we read a lot about Dutch herring. It’s like there’s nothing better than it, many people come specifically because of it, there’s a celebration of the first herring, blah blah blah. We find a shop with herring on the embankment and try it. I can firmly say that our herring is better. But you won’t find it anywhere else in our country. They make sandwiches - bun, herring, or eel. It really suits me, I can count it as a plus for the Dutch.
Further on the embankment there is a house for meeting men. Local guys gather here in the evenings and relax without their Dutch aunts. You can imagine how picturesque it looks on autumn evenings...
OK it's all over Now. We get into the car and drive back. Actually, you need to go here to Volendam for the whole day, but be sure to do it in good weather. I would happily spend more than one day here. Of course, there is nothing to do here, but you can wander along the embankment, sit on the beach, eat herring, think about good things, eat ice cream, dine on seafood, drink Dutch beer, think about good things again... No, I will definitely come back here.

Netherlands. Giethoorn is a village on the water, or the Venice of the Netherlands.

Giethoorn is located on water canals with a total length of about 7.5 km. The village became especially famous after 1958, when Dutch director Bert Haanstra featured it in his famous comedy Fanfare. The village of Giethoorn has become a landmark in the Netherlands.

The village was founded in 1230 by a small group of refugees from the south of the country. When they found this place, the only thing that caught their eye was the huge number of goat horns that were left behind after a strong flood. This is precisely the secret of the name of the village - Goat horns or “goat horns”.

Over time, people not only changed the name of the village to a more euphonious one, but also discovered that it was full of peat. Delighted by the find, the residents began to dig up peat in those places where it was most convenient for them. As a result of such excavations, pits appeared, which later became lakes, and then a chain of canals, which now attracts tourists like a magnet.

Soon after, numerous visitors affectionately nicknamed the village “Dutch Venice” or “Venice of the North.”

Giethoorn is a place so attractive for tourists because there are practically no ordinary roads and paths here, and all sorts of canals and bridges are located all around. The only innovation that has appeared over the years is bicycle paths.

The houses located on the side of the canal that does not have a path have wooden bridges, rather hunchbacked. Such bridges allow electric robots, the largest watercraft in Giethoorn, to pass under them. In general, they move along the canals on anything - all kinds of boats, they are available for rent, inflatable boats, small boats. Everything is powered by electric motors, no diesel fuel.

The village itself has a population of 2,620 people. However, the indigenous residents believe that the main distinguishing feature of their village is not the canals at all, but the unique atmosphere of silence and comfort, complete relaxation. Everything here breathes the peace and leisurely foundation of an ordinary Dutch village of the 18th century. Almost all farms have been preserved in their original form, and are imbued with the spirit of that time.

Almost all the houses in the village are thatched - the swampy areas provide plenty of reeds. Previously, only rich people could afford a tiled roof and many used a thatched roof, but now the opposite is true, a thatched roof is more expensive.

Along the canals there are various signs, similar to those that can be seen on the roads of any metropolis, with traffic lights and right-hand traffic. The people of Giethoorn value visitors and tourism is now their main industry. The village has many cafes, restaurants, museums, and souvenir shops.

Then we walked to the pier, where the restaurant “Smits paviljoen” is located overlooking the large lake, you can order a delicious lunch, or immediately rent a boat, in general, enjoy an unforgettable vacation.

Of course, this village does not have the fame and scale of Venice itself, but it is distinguished by its unique charm and natural landscapes of unimaginable beauty. And if you're in the Netherlands, don't miss the opportunity to visit Giethoorn. And we leave the village to the tune of the emerging orchestra. And I know that I will definitely come back here again to take amazing pictures, and of course once again feel the whole charm of Giethoorn.

The weather cleared up outside and it became quite hot. There was a desire to swim, which we did when we found showers in a nearby parking lot, in a house under a thatched roof, 2 euros, and here it is, happiness! (photo from maps.google)

Volendam.

Volendam in ancient times was the main fishing port of Holland. The old fishing village is now almost completely adapted for tourists, located not on the seashore, but on a man-made lake, which appeared as a result of human activity, increasing the landmass. Indeed, in the Netherlands, people literally build their own island, fill up the shores, redraw coastlines, build dams, and dig canals.

It’s impossible not to stop near these courtyards, in the suburbs of Volendam.

I observe with what love this little man takes care of the flowers, so he took a pot with a flower and ran around with it for about 10 minutes, holding it carefully, like an unprecedented jewel, applying it to the wall, then to the corner, and finally found a worthy place for the flower.

Volendam is a port village with numerous fishing boats, yachts, pleasure boats and plenty of seafood. One of the main attractions of this village is the Dutch herring. I have never eaten anything so delicious in my life, tender, just melting in your mouth. Then we also bought herring in another city, but not the same. I will remember Volendamskaya for a long time.

On the embankment there are restaurants, shops and other attractions. We arrived at a cafe where people were drinking beer, eating their famous herring and smoked eel, singing karaoke, and dancing. We joined them, it was fun.

We can say that Volendam is like one big attraction. The houses in the village are like doll houses, small, colorful and always decorated with some kind of figurines. Fenced either by a hedge or a small fence, half a meter high.

Cobblestone streets, toy, gingerbread houses with crystal windows, and behind the window you can see through and through a neat living room with a fireplace, it has the same transparent window on the opposite side, behind it is a garden, a microscopic vegetable garden. Large windows for the most part are not curtained, looking into them is not forbidden, on the contrary, it is welcomed, but for whom then is everything so elegantly decorated?

If you decide to buy a house in this village, then it will be very difficult for you to do this, even I would say impossible. If circumstances arise and a Volendam resident sells a house, then either relatives or neighbors will definitely buy it. In extreme cases, the community will buy it. This is how they protect their traditions from outsiders.

We return to the embankment and see a heron walking freely there. She is not embarrassed by the invasion of tourists; apparently she has a place of bread somewhere nearby. Sculptures of a fisherman and a fisherman.

We are leaving, but my advice to all travelers is that if you are in Holland, be sure to visit this clean, quiet and very beautiful town! And don't forget about the herring.

Zaanse Schans.

Zaanse Schans is a pastoral picture. The blades of ancient mills rustle quietly, the smell of freshly baked bread, the shoemaker's workshop is knocking, the cheese factory is always full of visitors. Village houses, painted green, resemble pictures, with embroidered curtains, flowers on the windows, wicker furniture in the front gardens. Snow geese slowly cross the street, and fat sheep graze in the meadows. Zaanse Schans even has its own small, almost toy-like drawbridge.

This is a typical Dutch village from the past, and at the same time it is real, despite the fact that it has the status of a museum. In the 60s of the last century, in the vicinity of the small town of Zaandam, not far from Amsterdam, mills and houses that had been preserved in the country since the 17th-18th centuries were brought, which are examples of wooden architecture. Workshops, museums, and souvenir shops were opened. But at the same time, Zaanse Schans is a real village where people live. Only they know how easy it is to live in a museum that is visited by thousands of tourists every year.

Mills are a cult for Holland. Mills ran their entire production life in the 17th century on their blades. They ground everything: spices, grain, mustard, irrigated and drained the lands. The mills that can be seen in the village of Zaanse Schans are unique. All of them have been restored and are working. The oldest exhibits deserve special attention. The De Huisman mill was built in 1780 and now, as in the old days, grinds mustard.

"Koshka" is the only mill in the world today that produces paint. Its date of birth is 1646, and it was originally an oil mill. Its peer, “De Oyfar”, worked on wind energy until 1916, and was modernized quite recently. The De Zucker mill produces linseed, rapeseed and vegetable oil. "De Gekronde Poulenberg" mini-sawmill. Like all the other mills, it was practically destroyed by fire and after restoration, it was not possible to get it working again for a very long time due to improper assembly.

A little history. "On the banks of the Zaan River, for centuries there were typical medieval villages. No trees grew on the swampy soils of these places, there were no other sources of energy, only the wind that blew continuously, which came to the aid of people. 1596 is truly a fateful year for the history of Holland, it was then that lumberjack Cornelis Cornelizoon from the town of Uitgeest invented the first sawmill driven by wind power. Having patented his invention, Cornelis played one of the key roles in the development of the country's economy, productivity in woodworking industries increased thirty times. Fast and high-quality construction of ships allowed a fairly small the country to become one of the most influential world powers, discovering and conquering new lands.Cornelis, continuing to improve his invention, created many useful things, including the prototype of a centrifugal pump, and, of course, hundreds of industrial windmills for processing timber, grain, nuts, for the production of paints and tobacco, grinding stones and chalk."

A hundred years ago, almost a thousand industrial mills operated in this area; a real industrial zone was created here, by the way, the first in the world. Fires, time and war left their mark - by the middle of the 20th century, the mills, witnesses of the heyday of Holland, almost all fell into disrepair, and those that survived were transported to the village of Zaanse Schanse, laying the foundation for the museum.

Its creation began in 1961 and was completed in 1974. In order to preserve the cultural heritage of past centuries, not only old mills, but also wooden houses and other antiques began to be brought from all over the Netherlands. As a result, from everything brought, Zaanse Schans grew, which in 1994 was officially given the status of a museum.

This, on the one hand, is an ethnographic museum, and on the other, a completely normal village in the Netherlands, where people live, work, raise livestock and trade their products.

After about 15 minutes, we approach the bridge over the river. While the bridge was raised, we could admire the panorama of the museum town of Zaanse Schans that opened before us. There is also a chocolate factory in the town, which smells breathtakingly of hot chocolate.

We enter the town and begin to leisurely wander through the streets, fortunately every house is a living postcard.

The entire Zaanse Schans is a clear story of how Holland grew and became rich in trade, how wooden houses were gradually replaced by strong brick mansions.

There are also many museums and workshops in Zaanse Schans. We went to the first store of the nationwide supermarket Albert Hein. The branch is very small, but it is more than a hundred years old. And here are the mills.

Although the village seems to be a toy, the working process is real, all 6 mills make some kind of product, which means that they need both raw materials and goods to be fused somewhere. Ancient mills grind limestone and peanuts, saw logs, and grind spices. You can come in and watch the massive wooden mechanisms at work.

Some mills rotate around their axis from the very bottom. For others, only the tower rotates.

Some exhibits were already restored in the 21st century according to the drawings that were found.

All tourist guides indicate that Peter the Great was here and helped build one of the mills. the poster confirms this.

But all this is more likely to attract tourists. This page of history is a curious example of the additional work of the popular imagination. I was interested in this question, this is what I found. He didn’t build a damn thing there, he spent a week in Saardam, riding a boat and courting a tavern maid. And then he got fed up with everything, the tsar bought a boat and quickly sailed to Amsterdam.

The same mill. There is also a museum, a house in which he lived, and a monument. I think this is unnecessary. And this is a completely different story.

In addition to the mills, each of which is a separate item for a tour, there are three more words that are inextricably linked with the Zaanse Schans Museum Village - klomps, cheese and clocks.

The most delicious thing in the village is cheese. We visited the traditional Dutch farm Catherinahoeve, where cheese is still made in the old fashioned way. The local cheese factory produces more than 50 types of cheese, including “old” Dutch cheese, such as Italian Parmesan, goat cheese, cheese with paprika and spices, and classic Gouda cheese, everything is just gorgeous.

Cheese in the Zaanse Schans is made in the same way as in the old days, by hand, no mechanics. One kilogram of cheese requires 10 liters of milk. Of particular value is old cheese, which is aged on the farm for at least a year.

Real Dutch cheese does not spoil for months, so you can safely buy it and take it home, and then enjoy the wonderful taste for a long time. Which we did after trying it with different seasonings and with a special honey mustard for cheese.

The shop that sells cheese is amazing. The fillings are varied: garlic, cumin, paprika, cloves.

Another important place in Zaanse Schans is the shoemaker's workshop. Tourists are shown how the famous Dutch wooden shoes - klomps - are made. The area here is very wet, so in the old days these wooden shoes were worn with a thick woolen sock to prevent feet from getting wet.

You can leave the shoemaker with a pair of wooden shoes, precisely cut to the required size. Every province has klomps. The village workshop has shoes for work, for walking, for holidays and even for weddings. These shoes are made from poplar wood.

There is a corner where tools and machines for making clamps are shown, demonstrations are given and the history and manufacturing process are explained in detail. There is a store next to the workshop where you can buy these wonderful clogs of any size and type, whether for everyday use or for weddings.

Time stood still in Zaanse Schans. It stopped and gave everyone who comes to this special place the opportunity to live a few hours in the past of good old Holland. A local watchmaker can tell you more about all the secrets; in his shop, just like 150 years ago, antique clocks are ticking. Tower, ship and even oil.

in this post - our country trip to Holland, which (the trip) I got excited about back in March, almost a year ago, when I was studying offers for small local excursions. I wanted everything at once: Amsterdam itself, Volendam with its mills, see how clogs and cheese are made, visit a diamond factory, take a boat ride along the canals. and we have one day. But with all this, we found a suitable excursion!

It cost about 100 euros for two (bought in advance, from home) and included several parts that you could come to or not come to - this did not cancel out subsequent parts. so we surprisingly easily (and it was paid!!!) walked around the Amsterdam part and the diamond factory, and in the afternoon we boarded a bus that took citizens of all kinds of countries to the Dutch suburb with the desired canals, bridges and mills) about how we looked for this bus, written

First we were taken to the town of Zaans-Schans, and, sitting on the second floor, we watched with delight from the window typical Dutch fields, cut here and there by canals:

the trip took about 20 minutes, and now we are entering the parking lot in Zaans Schans:

Then Zhenya alienated me, almost giving me a heart attack. when the bus stopped, everyone was told that those who wanted to visit the famous establishment could approach the assistant guide. At this time, the main group will go to see Zaans-Schans, and the toilet comrades, led by an assistant, will then catch up. In general, Zhenko separated, and I went with the group. at first everything was very cool - wonderful houses (as they were in the 17th century), mills and canals at every step, bright greenery, spring and sun:

as I understand it, ordinary people live here and now, or rather, not ordinary people, but connected with this open-air museum, with the production and sale of souvenirs...

but then we arrived at the meeting place, a belated part with an assistant arrived, but Zhenya was not among them... I stopped delving into the story, instead looking around the group and the nearby streets - maybe he was there, behind them? maybe he doesn't see me? or behind?

Meanwhile, the excursionists were divided into English and some other part and began to talk about the mills. Five of them were visible from this place at once:

Moreover, they ground not only flour, but even coffee, spices, tobacco, churned butter, made paints, even sawed boards. and among other things, they served as signal boxes: if someone got married or a child was born, then the wings of the mill would spin differently, and the villagers could be happy for their neighbors, if someone died, there would be different waves again, and everything was clear to everyone without words... nearby there was a pier with the mills, and at first I thought that we were about to be loaded onto a boat. but Zhenya didn’t come, and I became more and more nervous.

Meanwhile, the group was launched inside the mill - there, in the semi-darkness, huge millstones were rolling with a roar. Sorry I didn't make a video:

and at the end they sold souvenirs - what I might have wanted was expensive, and postcards with magnets - what are they for? but ours, of course, hung there.

Having gone out into the street, I didn’t even have time to take a step (they explained to us that after the mill we needed to go on our own to the bus and showed where) I was immediately occupied by our aunts, who, not understanding a word, were terribly afraid of getting lost. let's go together. On the way, I was thinking about how best to convey to the guide that my husband was missing, and I couldn’t call him, because... The phones are turned off, they don't work here...

road to the bus

It is unlikely that the group will be delayed. Most likely, the guide will hand me over to the police, and the bus will leave. They will eventually find Zhenya, but we will have to get out of here on our own. With hope, I waited for my turn to enter - maybe he was still there. and what would you think? came towards us, after shaking the line in the narrow passage, he came down, damn it, in person!!! It turns out that he lost his people and - which is completely reasonable - did not go looking, but returned to the bus. I couldn’t even swear, I just enjoyed the thrill that this nasty boy was here and the trip wouldn’t be disrupted)

and we were already approaching another town - Volendam:

mills everywhere:

Here we got stuck - the traffic was blocked due to some kind of bike ride. stood for about ten minutes, but in the end light colored cyclists flew past, and the bus immediately drove into Volendam:

We all went out and, together with the guide, began to wind through the streets:

We passed a house with an old picture on the facade:

And we ended up on the embankment:

Marken-express, but not ours - ours will come later, but for now free time has been announced for a little over an hour so that people can... go eat! these are the pipes! what kind of food can there be when there is only an hour, and these houses with tiled roofs and yachts on the bright blue water are so beautiful?! Zhenya and I peed in water on the way the whole bread prepared for tomorrow)) but he refused to go for a walk - he said that he would sit by the pier. and of course I went. along the main street. there are people walking everywhere, full of restaurants and shops. Here's one funny one:

but what’s more interesting to me is these – the narrow streets to the side of the main one. Ordinary people live there:

Here's another one - I went down there on the way back:

a way to look at the bags so that the sellers don’t pester me)) I’m not going to buy...

This is where the shops end and the simple embankment begins...

With white yachts in the blue sea. the children, I think, are local.

I went into some spacious courtyard - it was empty, and something beautiful was blooming with might and main:

I went into one of the streets - there were houses, someone's yard, and at the top... a chicken was walking around))) other foreigners were the first to notice her - they were terribly amused. I joined)

It turned out to be very close to the meeting place - people in street cafes were enjoying the sun, and I decided to explore the opposite part of the street.

I came across this kind of entertainment:

Kissing the fish costs 250 rubles. in 5 minutes! We later saw this in Sochi - it’s cheaper there, 150 rubles. for the same period) and it’s even cheaper to stand for 5 minutes in one of the baths where the waterfalls flow - where the fish kiss and tickle absolutely free)))

the house is on stilts, and there is a sign on it that 250 meters from here is the Volendam Museum. again I regretted that they gave me so little time... I fell in love with this place - I could live here, although you can imagine how cold and windy it is here in winter...

someone, like Zhenya and I, prefers to eat in a quiet place rather than in a cafe:

at this point I had to return - Zhenya was already spawning there, that now I was missing, and the ferry was already leaving)) it really left. in about five minutes. when I managed not only to find a comfortable seat, but also to move away from the cold girl)