Day 16 ... highlights broadened our horizons outside of Amsterdam and explored other parts of the Netherlands a bit today ...

Markam, Voldendam, Zaanse Schans, Delft, The Hague & Madurodam

... went on bus tours today exploring the villages of:

• Markam [famous for clog making],
• Voldendam [famous for cheese],
• Zaanse Schans [famous for its continued use of windmills for local industry],
• Delft [famous for their blue & white china],
• The Hague [famous as the home to the International Court of Justice & the Peace Palace]

... in Markam we were treated to a demonstration on how clogs are made in today's world with slick machinery while still using the same high standards and applications of past tradesmen. An awesome clogmaker by the name of "Bart" provided the demonstration along with great humour - he also provided us some intersting history on clogs and the various types including the "smuggler's clogs". Sabine was enraptured with the footwear and invested in beautiful Holland-looking pair of clogs

... in Voldendam we were treated to a demonstration of cheesemaking and got to sample 20 different varieties of cheese and spreads ... ended up getting some smoked goat cheese [wow! is but a word to describe this cheese] and some cumin-spiced gouda with some green mustard ... scrump-dilly-icious ...

... in Zaanse Schans we walked through a working windmill, the one we chose was one used to grind up the base ingredient to create oil paint ... imagine the super, uber fine grind you get with this technique ... finer than powdered sugar and then they add the pigment and voila ...

... in Delft we were provided with a tour of a ceramics factory and provided with a demonstration on the making of fine, hand-painted Delft china and pottery ... amazing process in both artistry and chemistry [the paint reacts with the clay and the gloss creating/resulting in that lovely blue and white china that Holland is famous for] ... ... then we spent time in the city centre square where the markets were in full swing ... had a great experience with one of the tradesmen there -- he kept pulling my leg and I kept falling for it ... ... must be lack of sleep?? ... was all good fun ...

... we drove through The Hague and were treated to the sights of the Dutch Houses of Parliament, the International Court of Justice, the Peace Palace and the residences of all the international embassies ...

... just outside The Hague we visited Madurodam an outdoor, interactive museum of sorts that depicts in miniature famous sights and towns of the Netherlands. Sabine loved this, everything is basically doll-sized but the architecture and construction is 100% life-like replicas scaled to 1:25 the actual size of famous Dutch castles, cathedrals, buildings, etc., examples include: Rijksmuseum, canal houses, the harbour, Amsterdam Centrum [including the Red Light District ] ... very cool!

It was a long, busy day and I am completely bushed which is good ... everyone is asleep again except me ... must try and get some shut-eye today. I've been having trouble on that end again - wish there was a way to connect with my guru buddy RJ [need advice and good vibes ... all good though ... will continue to rely on inner-strength and Beanie's sweetness].

Today's photo: again - it was a tough one but I chose a photo from Zaanse Schans, I had climbed to the top of the windmill and exited out onto the upper balcony and looked back @ the other windmills / I chose this one because the effect that I used makes the photo striking in appearance and the sky very dramatic / this photo also looks good in the sepia mode but I love the way this one turned out ! Try opening it up so you can see it in its "full glory" ...

Cheers All - RGR

P.S. ... OH I WISH ... if there was a way to capture a video for you with sound I'd take one of a long red boat of 20 professionally dressed fellas that [and this is my personal opinion and observation] seem to work at their desk jobs all day then board a long red boat at quitting time ... with beer and music and drums ... and they slowly make their way through the canals for about a 3-4 hour period ... playing their music softly but with all of them singing those old Dutch songs at the top of their inebriated lungs ... they just passed our abode and I've got the windows wide open - they're all so bloody charming [at a distance ] ... it's actually a sound I've been seeking the last couple of nights ... along with the clock tower bells that bong and chime every 15 minutes ... and I mean this truly I'm really not being sarcastic