Around Amsterdam

Zaandam, Holland


Inntel Hotel

This time we decided to stay north of Amsterdam in the town of Zaandam.  The trains are so fast, up to 133 km per hour, that it is easy to commute into central Amsterdam and it takes less than 15 minutes to the airport.  Zaandam is known for the Inntel Hotel and main shopping street.

You can easily access the town from the train station and we stayed at the Zaan Inn Hotel west of the train station, an easy walk. 

In 1663 Csar Peteroff also lived in the Zaandam area and his house is open to visitors.



Draw Bridge and Lock on the Zaan River

This city is the main access for ships into Amsterdam from the Atlantic along the Zaan River.  The Zaan River is an industrial area that started when Holland was a major player in the industrial era and exploring the world.  Goods that were brought back to Holland from abroad were processed with the windmills along the river.   At one time there were over 600 windmills located along the river. 


Zaanse Schans Windmills


The town of Zaanse Schans has tried to preserve some of this region's industrial heyday.  You can check out the clock museum, see how  cheese is made, check out how wooden shoes are made by machine from green Canadian Popular along with a variety of other interesting stores.  The working windmills are an experience in themselves.

This area can become very busy during high season as it is close to Amsterdam and a frequent stop on bus tours.

You can also take a boat trip up the Zaan River to see merchant houses and industry that is still in existence along the river.


Van Gogh 125 years


Keukenhof is also not to be missed if you are in the area around March 20 to May 17.  This is the annual Tulip display.  Until you visit the gardens you can not believe the variety of spring flowers on display - tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils.  Thousands of people visit the gardens each year from all over the world.  Go early so that you can enjoy the gardens before the hoards of people arrive.  Access is easy by a special bus from Schiphol Airport.  We spent an enjoyable five hours strolling the gardens and visiting the different pavilions.  In 2015 the theme was Van Gough and they created a special mosaic in flowers to honor the famous artist.


There are thousands of tulips and flowering bulbs on display and you can visit the Orchid Pavilion for a different experience.

Visually Stunning!

Enkhuizen




Tulip Fields

Our last day of touring we decided to go north through Hoorn and stop in the town of Enkhuizen and visit the open air museum of Zuiderzee.  You can choose to take a steam train from Hoorn and the a boat to the open air museum or ride the fast train directly from Zaandam or Amsterdam.  Along the way I was surprized to see fields of tulips growing.  I just never imagined tulips as an agricultural crop.  It is quite beautiful to see the red, yellow, white and purple fields.  The picture below is an example of the fields. It was not possible to take a picture on the train going 125 km per hour.



The town of Enkhuizen is situated on the fresh water lake called Ijsselmeer, that was created in the 1930's when a dike was completed at Den Oever which held back the sea water.  The water gradually turned to fresh water.  The dike allowed several areas to be drained which created farm land.  Enkhuizen is located on the edge of the lake so there are a lot of boats and on the Saturday we visited many people were enjoying the lake on their sail boats.  This area must be very windy as we could see numerous windmills on the lake to generate power.

The old town has cobbled streets, smalls brick houses and some interesting sites.  There are has several canals running through the old town as this was their means of transportation in the past.  Now people moor their pleasure boats along the cannels. 

Cannel Entrance with Draw Bridge

It is a pleasant 15 minute walk from the train station along the sea wall to get to the Zuiderzee Museum.  There are two sections the indoor museum located before the outdoor museum.  The outdoor museum is a very interesting fishing village. You can see what life was like for a variety of different time periods.  The houses have been moved to this area from several areas located around the reclaimed land.  The live interpreters are a wonderful addition to assist in learning about life during the time period represented.  We spent about five hours visiting this area.



Zuiderzee Museum

Holland is a great place to travel.  There are no language issues as everyone seems to speak English.  If you plan to use a credit card it needs to be a chip card as some places no longer accept swiping a credit card.  Grocery stores do not accept credit cards.