Last day in the Netherlands

Well, I didn’t think I would ever do this, but it was looking grey and rainy in Amsterdam, so I joined a tour-bus, and went to see some stuff outside the city!

It was grey and rainy there too

Milling for peanut oil

We started off by going north to Zaandam and in particular to the little village of Zaanse Schans, which has been created in a 18th//19th century style by relocating houses and windmills there. Two of the windmills are still in their original sites; the others come from different places but are still working. We were taken round one that processes peanuts for peanut oil; another grinds minerals to create dyes for painters, and there are a couple of sawmills. It’s very much a no-cars area (though lots of bikes!) and most houses access via small bridges or canals. 

And of course the obligatory Zaanse Schans cat....

From there we went east to Volendam on what used to be the ZuiderZee, but which is now a freshwater lake. When the ZuiderZee was dammed in the 30s, Volendam, which used to be a fishing village, lost its saltwater resources (it also lost its regular flooding, so it was a fair bargain!) and the fishermen turned to eel fishing. Another very touristy ‘seaside’ town – every other shop seems to be selling stroopwaffels or poffertjes, or tourist tat. 

We had a visit to a gouda cheese-making demo (I actually think the one in Wensleydale three weeks ago was better!) and a cheese-tasting – like the Wensleydale, they’re now adding extra things for the cheese for “specials”, pesto (a bit bland), cumin (I liked that!), peppers (yes!)  and nettle (couldn’t really taste it). The older cheeses had good bite. I was tempted, but NO EXTRA BAGGAGE!

Looking for handouts...

With both these outings, we had a background audio presentation on the bus, the special presentation and then time to wander – so I could break free of the group and go do my own thing.  Our tour-guide was Diana – a native Spanish speaker with heavily accented English which was sometimes a little hard to understand, so I was thankful for the recorded presentation.

Leaving Volendam

Arriving in Marken

We took the ferry from Volendam south to Marken. Marken was originally an island in the ZuiderZee, and remained an island with the transforming of the inland sea into a freshwater lake.  There is now a causeway carrying a road that joins the village to the mainland. Most of the houses are black or green; black is for the tar water-proofing that was spread on the outside of a house.and green was for the mixture of grass and herbs that were spread on some homes. In Marken we visited the clog museum and watched a clog being made – I liked the demo and the museum that followed, but not the forced exit though the fancied-up clog-shop!

Clog-making demo

Museum

Clog shop

Even the wooden cows wear clogs!

Glad I did it – wouldn’t do it again like that, but it might make me do a solo visit, another time!

The EyeFilm Museum

Looking over at the cruise port - the morning's big ship has gone

Arrived back in Amsterdam to more rain, so I took the chance to have a belated lunch, draft out this blog and re-pack my suitcase ready for tomorrow.  The sun emerged and so did I – another bout of walking, but this time keeping it to the area around Centraal Station – got my ticket to Schipol for tomorrow, watched the boats on the river, and the ferries crossing – thought about going over, but I didn’t want to be tight on time for the concert.

The Basilica - from outside Centraal station

The performance was at St Nicholas Basilica – Catholic, with High Masses in Dutch and Spanish, though their music director, Giles Brightwell, is English. The concert was given by the National Youth Choir of Scotland, on their last concert of a European tour, and they were a joy to listen to – seventy young, really well-trained voices singing in a space that enhanced everything. Their dynamic range was wonderful and it was a really powerful program. My only quibble would be that Britten’s “Rejoice In The Lamb” (heard for the second time this holiday) was really hard to synch with the organist, who was playing from the back of the church. They also offered a set of contemporary pieces by Stacy Garrop (?) which, for me, didn’t work in the resonant acoustic – it would probably have been fine in a concert hall, but you could barely hear words.  The cream of the program was the Duruflé “Requiem” which I would just love to do again – sadly, there isn’t an organ in Richmond that can begin to do that wonderful French sound!

Huge and ornate!

I’ve been doing battle with a bug (no, I’ve tested and its not COVID), and I got one of those annoying tickles midway through the Requiem, and had to slide out and find some water. I think I’m going to mask for the journey home, and not share my cold germs...