Cheese, Chocolate, and Clogs

Wed Oct 2

Sam

In the morning when we woke up we went to go and get groceries because we had just made it to our house the night before.

When we go back we have lunch then decided to check out area so we went on a walk around the town for some houseboats and went through a park but overall we were still pretty tired so we just stayed close to our house for the day.

For supper, Mom made Nasi Goreng, a dish frequently served in the Netherlands even though it comes from Indonesia. Lots of popular food here comes from that area because it used to be a Dutch colony. The Nasi Goreng was spicy but really good.

Thu Oct 3

Charlotte:

Mom researched cheese making and found a place in a town called Zaandam. We drove there and it turned out to be a huge place with lots more than just cheese. It was called Zaanse Schans.

The first thing we did was go to a wooden shoe making shop. When we went in there was a kind of museum with lots of different shoes and information on a tv. Then there was a person who have a demonstration about making wooden shoes. Back in the past they had to carve by hand and now you just need to switch on a machine. First they cut a block of wood and then they put it on a machine that makes the form of the shoe. Next they put on a different machine that scoops out holes for your feet to go in. The man then blew into the shoe and lots of water came out because the wood was really wet. They put the shoes into a special drying chamber for two weeks. Finally, they take the shoes out and sand them by hand to make them smooth and paint pretty designs on them. I learned that the shoe should have room for your foot and one finger behind it so that you won’t get blisters.

Sam:

We were walking towards the windmills and saw a sign for a chocolate shop. We decided to check it out. As soon as we got in, we saw a make your own hot chocolate station. It taught us to mix some cocoa, sugar, and cold milk together to make a paste. Then we went to the counter to get the cup filled up with hot or cold milk. Mom and Grandma loved it the most because it wasn’t that sweet.

We then saw the reason we were here in the first place: the cheese shop. When we went inside, there was a giant tasting area where you could taste tons of their cheeses. All of the cheeses were types of Gouda. There was cow, goat, and sheep cheeses. Don’t ewe worry – they all tasted gouda!

Some of my favourites were baby gouda, which was aged only two months, baby goat, and baby sheep. Dad loved the jalapeno one. He also liked the unpasteurized cheese. Charlotte loved the green pesto, the smoked gouda, and the herb and garlic best. Grandma didn’t like the goat or sheep, but she loved the baby gouda and pepper. Mom was surprised by her favourites: lavender (it was blue with purple edges), rosemary thyme, honey thyme, and truffle.

The traditional Dutch windmills were very big and you could pay to tour inside. We just took pictures outside because we had seen videos of how they work. Different windmills have different jobs. Some grind, some generate power, most pump water to higher ground. The last kind are found near the “dijks” that help the Netherlands keep the land from being under the ocean. Before they made dykes and windmills, over ¼ of the current land area was underwater.

Charlotte:

We drove to a second cheese shop and tried a new cheese called pumpkin gouda in Volendam. We also tried several smoked cheeses and red pesto cheese. A lady in a traditional costume talked to us all about how to make cheese. It was funny, though, because this cheese was the same brand as the one from the shop we already visited! We bought pumpkin gouda and date balsamic sauce. They are so yummy together!

In downtown part of Volendam, we went to a toy store that I wanted to go in. They had lots of different kinds of toys – some like at home (Lego, LOLs, Barbies) and some different ones (certain board games, Miffy/Nijntje toys).

After the toy store, we went to a bakery where Grandma bought us “snowy mountain bread.” Then we went to a shop so Mom could buy a birthday calendar. We also bought a fresh stroopwafel dipped in chocolate to share.

Since we were walking along the water, I got to run down to the beach and play in the sand for a few minutes.