7/1/2023: Windmills and Stranded on an Island

The Netherlands

Amsterdam > Marken > Volendam > Edam > Zaanse Schans > Amsterdam

Savvy planned a tour for us on our last full day in the Netherlands. Aspiring to beat our jet lag, we left the hotel/hostel before 9 to catch our tour bus.  We then met our tour guide who was a very nice, late 30’s Spanish woman who loved to talk.

She spoke for 45 minutes straight on the way to the island of Marken which was this super cute fishing town with narrow canals and a single super market. We weren’t enthralled by the guided walking tour and strayed off to grab some coffee and use the toilet. When we returned to the group, out tour guide still hadn’t taken a breath and was jabbering on about houses on the left and right. We strayed off once again to enjoy the peace and quiet.

And then, we couldn’t find the group. Our group of 25+ individuals with umbrellas and a slow trot had disappeared and the bus was no longer at the super market. We searched for Wi-Fi so we could get a text out to our friend to see where they had gone. They left. And their advice was, catch the next ferry to Volendam.

After a couple minutes of stressing, we relaxed into the idea of being able to do our own thing for awhile. The island was cute and taking a ferry to the next city didn’t sound shabby at all. In fact, the first mate was quite a gentleman and the ride was smooth and scenic.

In Volendam, we met the group for lunch and pretended as nothing had happened. A couple folks pointed, whispered, and chuckled amongst themselves, but all in all, the tour guide was just glad we didn’t get lost and we were back there to listed to her talk.

We visited Edin on the other side of Volendam for a slow, scenic walk and non-stop commentary by our guide. There was never a moment of silence. She never took a breath. Her commentary was so drawn out, it felt like someone asked for extra subtitles. “On this side of the street we have a house, which is across the street from the other house, and there is a street that runs in between the two houses.” “This is a cheese market where people come to buy and sell cheese. When there is a market, someone comes with the product, like cheese. Then there is another person who comes to buy a product, like cheese. Then one person asks to buy cheese and the other person sells the cheese to the person who wants to buy the cheese. This is how the cheese is sold…”

Our last stop was Zane’s Schans. Here, there were many restored and active windmills. Originally they were used to pump water out of the areas that were below sea level, now it’s mostly just for show and $. We got some great pics, hot chocolate, a syrup waffle, and much needed free time.