I got up in
the wee hours of the morning to view the sail into Amsterdam along the North
Sea Canal…. The first thing I learned
that it was a very chilly morning…
Enjoyed seeing the sights along the way and was primed for our adventure
in Holland today. We
were met our Tours by Locals guide Eric Nieuwenhuize at the cruise ship
terminal and left Amsterdam to see windmills and the countryside. Within a few
minutes we were outside of Amsterdam where we got out and climbed up to walk on
Holland’s famous dike system. We were headed to an area north of Amsterdam and
known as the Waterlands, a rural area with the landscape shaped by grassy
polders, streams, colorful wooden houses and traditional Dutch farmhouses. The area is so unique, the Netherlands has
granted it National Heritage status. We continued driving along the countryside
roads seeing the charming historical homes on our way to the town of
Monnickendam. In Monnickendam we walked around this 16th century town seeing
the inner harbor and the oldest Speeltoren carillon bells which chime at noon
with a little mechanical show. Next, we made our way to the village of Marken,
strolling amongst wooden houses all painted in a dark green, along the harbor,
over draw bridges and down narrow alleyways…
It felt like you had gone back in
time. On our way to Edam we stopped at the Henri Willig Cheese farm and sampled
a variety of cheeses. Of course, Edam is famous for its cheese but is also a
beautiful 17th century historical town that was one of the most important
cities in the Middle Ages...we strolled through the flat, narrow streets of
this picturesque village to the Bell Tower and reveled in the history of some
of the houses here, which date back to the 1600s....before leaving Edam we
stopped at the oldest church in Holland with amazing stained glass windows. We
drove along the Beemster and Schermer polders...reclaimed land
that is a UNESCO world Heritage area...this area was once was a lake that was drained, using
windmills, to make farm land...next we stopped at the Schermerhorn Molen complex,
a series of 400-hundred-year-old working windmills...we were able to tour the
inside and get a close up view of how a windmill works. Next, we drove to the
old city of Haarlem, parked the car and started a walkabout...we walked to the
city's famous Grote Markt square, flanked by the impressive St. Bavo Church,
its ancient buildings, cobbled streets and winding waterways, the medieval city
of Haarlem is a beautiful scaled-down version of Amsterdam...spending time in
Haarlem was a great finish to our day in Holland.
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