WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2013

“I sipped my beer. I could imagine
slipping on my comfortable
wooden shoes and heading out
to my own giant windmill...”
Story & Photos by Ron James
No trip to Amsterdam is complete without a visit to Zaanse Schans,
an historic community on the banks of the Zaan River where windmills
and wooden shoes still rule. With a little help from our hotel
concierge, we found the right train out of the Central Station to
the Koog-Zaandijk stop. Although you can get there by bus or even
boat, a 17 minute train ride through the flat green countryside is the
easiest way to go. Once you arrive at the station, it’s a pleasant 15
minute walk through the charming town of Zaandijk to get to the
historic area. If you don’t want walk, there are some taxis and at the
time we visited, bus service was available.
As you walk, you’ll see a very picturesque street on the left lined
with gorgeous green and white homes and buildings, many with
boats and yachts docked along the Zaan River. We were tempted
to visit the stores and restaurants, but we had windmills on our
minds. As we made our way across a bridge to Zaanse Schans, the
windmills come into view. It was like looking through a window
back in time.
In fact, more than 250 years ago, this pastoral community was a
thriving industrial area with more than 600 windmills churning out
lumber, paint, mustard, oil, grain and paper. It was the world’s first
industrial park. But it was also a community with homes, churches,
taverns and stores.
Left and top: Of the thousand
industrial windmills built
along the banks of the river
Zaan thirteen remain. Six can
be found in Zaanse Schans.
Right: One of the two smaller
hobby windmills in Zaanse
Schans.
Bottom opposite page: The
Interior of one of the grain
producing windmills with
two giant grinding wheels.
Wine Dine & Travel Fall 2013 | 28