Flowers and Breakfast on the Lovely Aurora

Every day the common rooms of the Aurora were filled with fresh cut flowers - in our rooms, too!

Thursday, April 21, 2022

We had a more leisurely start today, as we would take the van to Gouda for our morning visit.  We had planned to bike in the afternoon, after Andre had returned our bikes from Zaanse Schans.

Breakfasts each morning have been a treat, with a delicious sampling of meats, cheeses, breads and pastries, yoghurt, cereal, fresh squeezed orange juice and freshly brewed coffee drinks.  And eggs and bacon to order, as well as something extra.  Today Karina made a quiche Lorraine to send us on our day of sightseeing.

A little surprise every morning - here we have a present of stroopwafels

Quiche Lorraine and fresh squeezed orange juice

As the boat didn't move this week, every morning we had the pretty Nolet molen in our view

In the shadow of the windmill...

Easter lilies still looking fresh and angelic, and so, so fragrant

Love this Delft Blue vase

These tulips could rival Keukenhof, don't you think?

How about a Pub Visit after a Long Day Bicycling?

A Dutch pub in the town of Zaanse Schans

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

We finished our visit to the working village of Zaanse Schans at 5 PM and found a parking area to store our bikes.  However, we didn't get picked up by Andre, our van driver, until 6:30 PM.  To pass the time, we found a friendly pub in the town that served a number of Dutch and Belgian beers on tap, along with a few pub snacks.  Nice way to pass an hour after a healthy day of biking in the wind and fresh air.

Trees are greening in the Zaandan district after a week of pleasant, sunny weather

This local pub looked inviting.  Two of our group had eaten there for lunch and recommended it.

Many great beers on tap.  How to choose?

Our biking group

We arrived "home" at the Aurora after 7:30 PM.  Stopped for a shower, and Michael took a dip in the hot tub.  We had another delicious dinner waiting for us when we were all ready.

Blue and yellow table setting tonight

Grilled rounds of chèvre on toast with vinaigrette dressed greens

A rich and delicious boeuf bourguignon for dinner tonight

Karina's cheesecake with berries and creme anglaise

 

Klompen - Dutch Wooden Shoes

 

All sizes and colors available to purchase

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

The Wooden Shoe Workshop at Zaanse Schans is very popular.  It was the first craft demonstration present when the skansen opened, in 1974. Three generations of the Kooijman family have been making shoes since then.

There is a wooden shoe museum, with specimens collected by Jaap Kooijman over the years.  The machines used to make the clogs are salvaged antique machines, using the same techniques that have been used for centuries.

Welcome to the Klompmakerij, the Wooden Shoe Factory

Demonstration area showing how the shoes are formed and then hollowed out

Many types of clogs / klompen are available for purchase here

One example of a beautifully decorated pair of klompen from 100 years ago

Lively entertainment near the windmills

A working cheese farm, with samples if you wish to buy

Cheese warehouse/barns

And below, more examples of klompen on display in the Wooden Shoe Factory Museum.  My mom used to tell me to quit clomping around the house - did she get this word from the Dutch for wooden shoes?

Bridal klompen and carved shoes for children

Making Lumber the Old Fashioned Way - a Windmill Sawmill

 

Lumber seasoning in water prior to milling into planks.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

You could hear the working sawmill from a block away - Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh from the turning sails in the wind; whomp, whomp, whomp as the crankcase turned the gears to saw the log into planks.

The Het Jonge Schaap Sawmill (The Young Sheep) is a cap winder mill that was reconstructed in 2007 from a windmill demolished in 1942.  Cornelius Cornelisz from Uitgeest first discovered how to saw timber using wind power.  He used a crankshaft to drive framing saws.

To operate the mill, the cap with its four blades is turned by means of a winch to position the capstan wheel so that the blades are facing the direction of the wind. Once positioned, the capstan is anchored with a large chain. The rotating horizontal movement of the sails is converted to an up and down sawing movement through the crankshaft

Eight blades are being used with the framing saw to turn the huge log into planks

The volunteer points above to show Michael where the crankshaft is located

The frame saws move up and down, sawing about 1 mm for each movement.  A large iron ratchet wheel on the right pulls the carriage along with the loaded log.

The saw blades can be inserted at almost any width desired - at times 10 or 12 blades can be used in the frame - or as few as one or two.

The power of the wind drives these eight saws up and down, while the log is ratcheted forward

Friction from the sawing generates a great deal of heat - water cools and prevents sparking

Tree trunks are left lying in the water to season the wood before milling.  A pine trunk can be milled after soaking for 6 months. Hardwoods take between one and five years to remove the sugars and sap.  This makes it less prone to bending, warping and cracking when sawn.

A windlass, also attached to the windmill cranks, is used to pull the water laden trunks into the mill from the water.

Logs are soaked in water for 1 to 5 years to remove sugars and sap before milling

The windlass (black hook and chain on left) is used to haul the logs into the mill 

A ratched wheel is used to move the log forward as the saw frame cuts the planks

Fresh piles of planking cut today

The millworkers explained they have a busy "niche" market for their services.  When Napoleon conquered the Netherlands, he made them adopt the metric system, which is still in use for milling lumber today.

This mill has spacing for the non-metric measurements - and any house built before the 19th century needs these measurements for reburbishing or repairs.  When the winds are favorable, twenty logs could be sawed in a day.  There were usually 5 people staffing the mill from early morning until late evening.

I loved all the hand tools and the smell of the sawdust.  My father, lifelong carpenter, would have loved to see this production.

A wall full of non-metric spacers helps provide the measurement desired

Post mill air drying of the wood usually lasts about 6 months

The Young Sheep - Het Jonge Schaap mill

At its peak, there were 200 sawmills in the Zaan district

T

Zaanse Schans - an Historic Village and Working Windmills

 

The Mustard Mill at Zaanse Schans

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

We reached our destination of Zaanse Schans, a neighborhood north of Zaandam, by lunch time.  Similar to a skansen, it has historic windmills and green wooden houses that were relocated here to recreate the look of an 18th century village. 

It is a working village, with people living in all the houses.  Many craftspeople give demonstrations - weaving, cheese making, pewter casting and wooden clog carving.  A working farm and museum is also a part of the complex.

It was a windy day, and so fun to see all of the 17th and 18th century windmills actively twirling with their sails flying.

Each of these windmills was churning furiously in the brisk wind

The typical wooden houses in the area are green with white trim

Looking across the polder at the whirling windmills

From European Traveler:  "The first windmill along the Zaan River was erected in 1597. Through the centuries more than a thousand were built along the river and during the nineteenth century 400 windmills were operated simultaneously along the Zaan River.

Of the eight windmills at Zaanse Schans, six are classified as industrial windmills. They are:

• De Huisman (the homeowner) – a windmill used to grind mustard seeds
• De Gekroonde Poelenburg (Crowned Poelen Castle) – a windmill used to saw wood
• De Kat (the cat) – a windmill used to grind the elements used in manufacturing paint.
• De Zoeker (the seeker) – a windmill used to press oil out of seeds.
• De Bonte Hen (the speckled hen) – another oil windmill, and
• Het Jonge Schaap (the young sheep) – another wood-sawing windmill."

You can tour De Kat and Het Jonge Schaap - and they were actively making products today because of the steady, strong wind.

Demonstration farm and farmer's house

De Kat (the Cat) makes chalk from limestone for paint production

Homes and working craft shops

Spring!

An 18th century coffee shop - yes, you can buy delicious cups of coffee and chocolate here

Handmade soaps in this shop

We bought cute Miffy dolls (a traditional Dutch character) here for the grandgirls

A spice shop with a collection of antique forms for making gingerbread

We were ready for lunch after our windy 30 km bike ride.  Michael and I stopped here, at the Diga restaurant, to sit on the terrace and watch the windmills turn while we relaxed.

Diga restaurant, at the waterside by the main bridge

A tasty Caesar salad

Map illustrating the sites to visit at Zaanse Schans