Amsterdam, Holland - Day 2

We got up early Sunday morning and had a full day of sightseeing.  We started at Coster Diamond Factory.  They had some beautiful diamond there.  They were supposed to be about 20% cheaper than in the UK, but they were still really expensive!  Most of us were looking for the outlet shop, thinking we could find something that was a second, but we never found one!



The old fashion way to make clogs.



 Making clogs the new way!

This is a wedding clog.  In the old days the groom made a pair of clogs for the bride.  These were made by hand, so depending on how long it took to make them the engagement could be very long.  Also, the clogs that were made by the groom were supposed to be very beautiful and shown to the father of the bride before presenting to the bride.  Another interesting fact, they did not have divorces back then, if they wanted to end the marriage, they just broke the clogs.

Beautiful new houses going into Volendam.



In this picture and the picture below, you can see that Holland is below sea level.  This is the road leading into the small fishing village of Volendam. 



We left Coster Diamonds and continued on to Volendam.  This is such a wonderful little fishing village.  Our first stop there was a cheese and clog shop.  We received a lesson on how cheese is made, and of course got to sample the cheese, which was very good.  I bought some smoked cheese.  We moved to the next room where they have the workshop to make the traditional wooden clogs.  She demonstrated how to make them by hand, which they can make about 20 shoes per day.  Then she showed us the machines they use to make the clogs.  The machine reminds me of a machine that is used to make keys, basically it copies the clog and cuts based on the model that is in the machine.  With the machine they can make about 150 pairs of clogs per day.

The old fishing village of Volendam was such an awesome little place.  It is has cobble stone streets lined with shops and restaurants and coffee shops.  It looks like it is on the sea, but it is actually on a harbor that was dammed, so it is fresh water.  All of the canals that run threw the Amsterdam area are all fresh water.  I tried not to go crazy with shopping, but I did have to buy Morgan a little Dutch doll, and I bought me a Cuckoo clock.  Stephen is going to be thrilled.  He has commented before how the chiming would drive him crazy.  But I love it, I am sure he will get used to it!  My Grandma and Pa had a Cuckoo clock and I absolutely loved it!

Canals of Amsterdam, see the houseboat, that is actually someones home!

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Canals of Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

This picture is not good, but I had to post it to show you, this is a four level bicycle parking deck!

After we left Volendam,we were back to explore Amsterdam.  I had no idea that Amsterdam/Holland had so many canals.  When said that to Stephen, he said didn't you ever hear the story about the little boy that stuck his finger in the hole in the dike.  Well, of course I have, but until you actually see the area it very hard to imagine!   There are 100 kilometers of canals that run through Amsterdam and there are about 2,500 houseboats on the canal that people actually occupy.  Land is such a premium there, that people live in the houseboats.  They own the houseboat but have to pay rent and taxes on the canal area that their boat is docked.

Many of you may know that prostitution and marijuana are legal in Amsterdam.  We walked thru the red light district to get a taste of this.  It was really something, there were like small store front rooms that have beautiful girls, very scantly dressed, looking for business.  There were bars that sold cannabis.  The law is if they sell cannabis, they cannot sell alcohol and vice versa. I didn't actually go into one the bars, but I could definitely smell it!

Amsterdam is full of wonderful cheese, candy and pastry shops.  It was fun to wonder around and look in the shops.

We ended the evening with an hour long cruise through the canals of Amsterdam.  The last stop before the hotel was at Hard Rock Cafe to purchase T-shirts!