A Windy Day at the Windmills

It was a cold overcast day in Holland. The sun barely peeped and gray clouds hung over the sky warning us of impending rain. It was a blustery day too. You may say that it was a dreary day, but it was a perfect day to visit the windmills.

If you want to see the windmills in action, you need wind. And we had plenty of wind that day!

We headed 30-40 minutes north of Amsterdam to a village called Zaanse Schans. Constructed along the River Zaan, the windmills here are historic. 

Windmills were not invented by the Dutch, as the history of windmills dates back to the time of the Babylonians and Persians. However the Dutch made windmills iconic and became a symbol of their culture. In fact, Netherlands is known as the land of the windmills.

Visiting Zaanse Schans is like going back to the 17th-18th century. It was said that during its heyday back in time, this region is home to more than 600 windmills. Even Napoleon Bonaparte, the French general, was quoted to have said, “unique in its kind,” when he arrived in Zaanse Schans. Today, among its wooden barns, houses and museums, just 10 windmills are still in operation, grinding oil, spices and colorings.

In this village, you can also witness the old-fashioned cheese-making process and taste some real Dutch farmer cheese.

They even have sheep that freely roam the area. Are they the source of milk made into cheese? By the way, the Dutch word for sheep is schaap, and for cow is koe. Sounds similar, right?

You can also take a glimpse into Dutch craftsmanship on how they make the traditional wooden clogs, referred as klompen, each one is carved from one piece of wood.

I wonder if the reason it is called klomp (plural klompen), is because it sounds “klomp, klomp, klomp” when you walk with it.

One may also wander around the charming village with conventional wooden houses. However it was really windy that day that taking a long walk was a challenge.

But the real draw to this place are the windmills. These are the iconic windmills of Netherlands. I am not Napoleon, nor do I have Napoleon Complex, but I can say that they are really “unique in its kind.”

Despite of the gusty condition, we enjoyed our visit here. The wind was really strong that my hat almost flew away. I was able to hold on to my hat, but my thoughts were blown away.

From the windy village of Zaanse Schans,

Pinoytransplant.

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(*photos taken with an iPhone)