Touring the Dutch way

Zaanse Schans on a cold winter day.

Thanksgiving is no longer a holiday on our school calendar being at an international school. It does make me a little sad because Thanksgiving is one of the more family friendly and thankful holidays that Americans celebrate with less commercialism going on. Most years overseas we haven't had the traditional meal with turkey and trimmings because we are usually traveling so I guess in the end, not having the day off doesn't change much for our family.

Because of it being a school day, we actually stuck around and were able to celebrate with our chapel family at a very nice thanksgiving feast. Chaplain Hubbs shared a well thought-out mini-sermon that evening and the food was yummy.

The next morning we left for a trip to Volendam. We had been invited to join our good friends, the
Beardens, who are still stationed in Germany and were touring in that area for the holiday weekend. It was so fun to see them again! We had lived in the same village near Schweinfurt for a couple years and always rode together to Wednesday morning women's Bible study (PWOC).

Friday we drove up to Utrecht on the way to Volendam (about 2.5 hours total away) and stopped at a fantastic train museum that was perfect for kids. We spent most of the day there before finishing our drive to the hotel in Volendam. The lights and canals in Volendam were beautiful as we drove into the city after dark. Saturday morning we met up with the Beardens and toured for the whole day.

It was so cold out (about 40 degrees F) but we still walked around Volendam and then visited Zaanse Schans where we saw Dutch clogs being made, bought some for Loralynn and Tana, and did some yummy cheese tasting. Loralynn was right by our side and wanted to try each cheese except the green pesto flavor. Our lunch was super yummy eating Dutch pancakes with cheese and bacon. We watched them make it on a giant lazy-susan grill. After eating, we continued our walk around the windmills and just had a nice time being with friends in the freezing cold all afternoon.

We went back to the Bearden's rented farmhouse briefly to check it out and then headed to a local restaurant. Loralynn sat with the older Bearden girls, but Tana wanted to be at the adult table. It was sad to say goodbye after a fun day.

Sunday morning we woke up and drove into Amsterdam to visit a fabulous science museum called Nemo. The tickets were pricey but we spent the entire day there and the girls loved it. If we go again, we'll have to remember to bring a picnic lunch because the food for sale was limited, not great, and pricey.

Our Schweinfurt friends minus their oldest daughter.

It was cold but beautifully sunny!

I love the windmills in the Zaanse Schans area.

At the clog making shop, we saw many other uses for clogs.

The wedding clogs were my favorite.

I wondered how a violin clog would sound...?

This was the most expensive clog in the shop!

The clog wood was so green and wet that it dripped water when blown into.

Wall of clogs to buy. Most pairs were 20 euro or higher.

The giant clogs outside were fun to pose in.

The girls could actually fit down into the toe of this clog.

This is the restaurant where we bought our Dutch pancakes.

Dutch pancakes are often savory and super yummy!

You can go up inside the windmills to see how they work.

We all toured together for the day.

Most of the windmills are fully functioning still but are used now as tourist attractions.

The Beardens shared some of their licorice bark.

The licorice bark was literally a stick of wood.

Licorice sticks were used to freshen breath in the 1800s, I believe.

I just love the rows of Dutch houses.