Travelogue: Zaanse Schans & Giethoorn

July 2022
Where We Stayed: Kimpton DeWitt Amsterdam

We took a day trip to Zaanse Schans and Geithoorn.  Zaanse Schans is a curated village of sorts.  The best anaology I can come up with is that it’s like Heritage Hill in Wisconsin… but is much better and Dutch themed (obviously).  We visited a cheese shop and got a lesson on how cheese is made (bitches, please, we’re from Wisconsin).  The Netherlands is known for their gouda, which they pronounced gowwww-da.

We also got to see how wooden shoes are made.  Fun fact:  in the early 1900s, my maternal grandfather owned the largest wooden shoe factory in the United States.

All of Zaanse Schans was adorable and we leaned *way* in to being tourists.

Geithoorn is a car-free village known for its thatched roof houses and waterways that are only 1 meter deep.  It RAINED AND RAINED during our time here, so I didn’t take many photos.  The experience just wasn’t what it could have been becaues of the rain, and that was a little disappointing. But we took a boat cruise, had lunch, and visited the local supermarket, Plus (pronounced “ploooooose”), because I am my father’s daughter and I love seeing grocery stores and food selections in other countries.

The hotel where we waited for our bus was decked out for Pride.
Cheese “factory”
Let’s make some shoes!
This bunny, Miffy, is a natural treasure.  Kind of like Hello Kitty in Japan.
The tulips weren’t in season, but you could buy wooden tulips everywhere.
Our dreary boat ride in Giethoorn
This water was only 1 meter deep. There were no safety briefings or precautions on our boat ride because as our guide said, “if we capsize, just stand up and you’ll be fine”
Struggling mightily with my Holland Tulips umbrella. #tourist
Much better!
Cool Americannnnn!
They do not refrigerate eggs — they’re sold on the shelves like all the other dry goods.
You can pick up a scanner and scan as you shop to save time at check-out.
Adios, Zaanse Schans, you were so cute!