Day 11

Well, we had our first day of real rain while sightseeing today. It was less than pleasant. The morning started off with nice weather. We walked through the city and along the Amstel River, which was very peaceful. We made our way through the city and found ourselves near the Dutch Resistance Museum. Even though that was scheduled for Monday, we decided to visit it today to free up some time. The museum was all about how the Dutch dealt with the German invasion during the 1930's and 40's. Some complied, some resisted and some just left. We watched a short film about the different paths that people took and about some of the more well known people. Then we walked through the museum and saw all of the different exhibits. Everything was translated in English so that was a bonus. I had no idea that the Germans had occupied the Netherlands during the second world war and what was even more shocking was that many of the Dutch people joined support groups for the Germans. Whether it was out of fear or true appreciation for the Germans, I do not know. But the museum was very interesting and a little shocking. So many people died during those 4 years of occupation including small children and infants. After we left the museum it was time for lunch. And we were hungry!! As soon as we stepped outside though, we got our first bit of real rain. But it was crazy. After 10 minutes of decent rain, it just stopped. And there were blue skies everywhere (except for behind us). Luckily I remembered seeing a really good Chinese shop a few streets down. I know, I know, too much Chinese, but it was so good! It was called Wok to Walk and it's like the Subway of Chinese food. You pick your base, add your meat and pick a sauce and they cook it up for you. And it was so good. I had rice, fried rice, mushrooms, veggies and teriyaki sauce. After our lunch, we made it just in time for our bus tour to Zannse, a town with 7 remaining original windmills. The ride was short but our guide was particularly strange. She gave the tour in English and Spanish, and I am actually convinced that she was a robot. When we arrived in Zannse our first stop was the wooden shoe factory. We saw how they were made in the past and how they are made now and we even got a demonstration. It takes about 5 minutes to carve them with the machines! The store was filled with them! But apparently, they're pretty comfortable. We walked outside and saw the imminent sky and ran to try and get some pictures of the windmills before it started to pour. We made it, barely. We walked along the lake and made it into a clear section of sky and spent some time admiring the land. It was almost time to head back to the bus and the sky was not looking good. We made it back safe and sound and were now in route to Edan. Now, for all of you non cheese lovers, Edan is a very yummy cheese. So imagine my excitement when I learned we were going there to an original cheese farm! I could hardly contain my excitement during the presentation of how cheese is made at a cheese farm. And then I was ecstatic when I learned that we would be sampling all of the different kinds of cheeses that they make!! I made sure I was first in line and took several samples of each kind to make sure that I liked it. And trust me, I did. I especially loved the 2 year old sheep's milk Gouda cheese. It was all so good, and if I could have, I would have bought it all up. But it's expensive, so I'll just have to wait until I get back. After the cheese farm, we headed to a small fishing village called Volendam. However, when we arrived, it was raining pretty hard, so the walk to the harbor was less than pleasant. While we were walking through the city, the rain started to let up and then completely stopped. We walked along the lake and got a really good feel of this fishing town. After spending some time in Volendam we took a ferry to the neighboring city of Marken. The ride was very relaxing and rain free. When we arrived in Marken, they wasted no time and put us right back on the bus. We finally arrived in Amsterdam around 7 pm and were ready for dinner and more relaxation time. And then it was time for bed. Hopefully the weather holds today!