Zaanse Schans

On a sunny but windy Friday in June we visited Zaanse Schans, an outdoor museum about 15 minutes north of Amsterdam.  This entire area was created to preserve the way of life in Holland in centuries past. 

All of the windmills are working mills.  They produce linseed oil, mustard, flour, lumber, and many other products.

The houses were dismantled elsewhere and brought to this location and painstakingly rebuilt just as they were in their original form.  The river provides a beautiful setting for the east side of the village.

Modern visitors use the ferry to go from one side of the river to the other.

What a different world from the one we came from in Utah.

Some of the molens were open to the public but at 3 euro per person, it wasn't hard to decide if we wanted to go in.

The Dutch word for windmill is molen. 

The Andersons and Elder Beckstrand stop in front of  four of the molens on this side of the river.

This one contained a sawmill inside.

You can't be a George and not be interested in the sheep - they're quite different than the ones our family raised

 back in Utah.  I wonder what breed this is.

 

We went inside a gift and souvenir shop in the area.

The clerks in the store wore traditional Dutch costumes and caps.  It was quite interesting to see all of the Dutch products that were on sale.

The traditional Dutch cap from a side view.  It has a high, peaked top with wings on the side.

I can't say I would be really excited to wear one.

 

What a colorful antique mail box.

The roofs of these old homes have the traditional 'connecting with heaven' design. 

The green and white color scheme on many of the homes was reminiscent of Marken Island.

Everything is clean, tidy, and very picturesque.

It was fun to see this original Albert Heijn store.  This very building was the original flagship for the company, which has grown into a multi-national business.  We shop at Albert Heijn in Diemen at least once or twice a week.

This sign indicates that the company was founded back to 1887 - 124 years ago.

As always, the flowers are beautiful.

We walked across this little bridge to return to the parking area. 

An a lovely time was had by all.....