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Published: July 11th 2011
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Bakery museum
This is a great little place - it has been nearly untouched and unmodified and even still smells of sweet baked bread. Worth a visit if you're interested at all in food history. The Zaanse Schans tourist destination is so close to the city of Amsterdam, yet it seems worlds away from the hustle and bustle of the Amsterdam city center. There is a reason they call this big sky country - there are no mountains or hills to break up the linear green horizon, and as far as the eye can see the enormous baby blue sky dominates the view. Dotting the deep green terrain and in lew of mountain ranges, the molens or windmills - silent sentinel's - add romance to the scenery and seduce the traveller back in time to a supposedly simpler,life when people laboured hard and long, but took pride in their work and established cohesive communities.
The Zaanse Schans destination offers windmills, water, wind, small and large museums and an overabundance of kitsch souvenir shops; basically something for everyone. If you enjoy the mass-tourism experience, then you will enjoy the center of this destination as it has more than it's share of souvenir shops and photo opportunities. However, if a low-key experience suits you better (as it does me), I recommend a visit to the handful of small museums sprinkled around the property. The clock museum, Albert
Heijn grocery museum, bakery museum and of course the Zaanse Schans museum. If you walk along the river to have a better look at the Windmills, you will also find a small ferry service which will take you across the river and over to the Zaandijk where there are lovely homes, a great interiors museum (Honig Breethuis), a bakery and quiet cafe that are great for having a relaxing lunch and a more local experience.
One other thing that stands out in this particular location is the overwhelming aroma of rich chocolate brownies being baked. The several times I have visited, it is one of the things that I hear about the most in visitors passing conversations. If you take the train from Amsterdam to the Zaanse Schans destination, you are actually walking through what I would call a modern day Wonka's chocolate factory, although you wouldn't know that until you turned the corner at the end of the street to make your way to the bridge that crosses over to the tourist destination. You are essentially walking through the factory with trucks pulling in and out laden with raw and processed cocoa beans. If you examine the source
of the periodic crunch beneath your feed you will realize that you are trodding on roasted cocoa beans, something that has both built and broken empires throughout history. The ADM factory and the other cocoa processers in the area are responsible for processing 25% of the worlds cocoa, which makes the Netherlands the number one processor of cocoa in the world.
Unfortunately, many visitors don't learn about the fame and fortune of the Zaandam region, and most especially about the commercial history which began with the windmills as the main source of power for production. The Zaandam region has been and still is considered one of the largest commercial estates in Europe. It looks as though the ADM factory has taken a step toward opening up to the public and educating tourists about their work with a small museum and discovery center, however the museum is never open, and although I have rung the bell on a few occasions, I have not received an answer as yet. My interest in this location is one of curiosity primarily, however I am also a chef and masters student working on a project in culinary tourism in the Netherlands, so understanding the
food history of this region has become a bit of a passion. I am an American studying at a London university, but also entertaining the idea of remaining in the Netherlands and possibly beginning a food related business.
The pictures that I have posted are from May and June of this year and I think give a good impression of what a visitor can expect of the Zaanse Schans on a clear day. It is a beautiful, picture-postcard location and offers more than what the eye can see. If you would like a great, low-key day out I recommend it, especailly on the weekdays as the crowds are fewer. You don't need to take a bus or have a tour guide to get the most out of this site, you can take a train from Amsterdam Centraal to Koog Zandijk, and take a stroll through the grounds of the cocoa factory and then across the bridge which offers a great view of the Windmills. You can get discount tickets to visit the museums and windmills at the Zaanse Schans museum, or if you have a Museumkaart many of the venues are free.
Is it obvious I've spent a
bit of time here? I hope you enjoy your visit.
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