Zaanse Schans

I was keen to explore Zaanse Schans and Haarlem on a bicycle, while in Amsterdam.

Plotting the routes on Google, it showed it would take 3.5 hours to cycle to those 2 places and back into Amsterdam.  Very doable within a day, or so I thought. 

I had a late night yesterday and had slept in longer than I preferred, so by the time I was ready to get on a bike it was already 12.30pm. 

Abel, whom I had met over dinner and drinks yesterday, had asked me for dinner tonight but I had already other plans fixed. So I invited Abel to join me for the bicycle trip instead, and I was so glad he did! 

Abel told me that the route which Google had plotted to get to Zaanse Schans, Haarlem and back would definitely take longer than what Google had indicated.  Furthermore, the route which Google provided to get to Zaanse Schans was an industrious area and not pretty at all. 

Taking a scenic quick boat ride from behind the train station with my borrowed bicycle, I made my way over to the opposite side of the water where I would meet Abel.

Abel brought me on a different route that was more scenic, passing by frozen canals, rivers and beautiful houses.

I would definitely had gotten lost countless of times if he wasn't there! :D

Abel had a humorous laugh each time I had to get my self back on the bicycle after a stop – the bicycle was slightly higher than what I was used to, so I needed to really tip toe or find a small ledge or street side kerb to get the height I need to get on the bike and build my momentum. 

Arriving at Zaanse Schans, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the area. There were about 5-6 windmills in the area, surrounded by quaint little shops, and traditional houses typical of Zaanse Schans.

A couple of the windmills in the area are still in use to produce paints or flour, and we went in to visit one of them.

Very interesting to see how the windmills work, especially knowing that they were built over 200 years ago, and still in operation till date. 

There was also a cheese factory as well as a shop that produced the traditional footwear of Netherlands.

The small rivers were still frozen, so we could also literally slide across the ice.

Good fun!

Temperatures dropped tremendously quickly in the evening as the sun started setting.

My toes were frozen as it went down to about - 5 degrees.

Abel checked to see if there was an option of taking the bicycles on the train but as it was close to peak hour, bicycles were not allowed until after 6.30pm.

So after a hot chocolate and a crepe, we brave the weather and cycled back to Amsterdam.

I am proud to say I survived the trip, even though my butt was fairly sore after being on a bicycle for a while.