Before we left home, I bought an Amsterdam Pass, which gave free and discounted tickets to certain attractions. So today and tomorrow we will do tourist stuff on 'the card'.
We caught the free ferry across the river just behind the station,
and at 9:00 got on a bus full of other tourists. We went through the countryside, learning about dykes and polders
until we came to Edam, where we dutifully followed the orange umbrella through the Sunday quiet streets of the town.
We were lucky to be on the spot when a drawbridge was opened for a couple of boats to go through.
Then we went on to a cheese factory, where we were told rather briefly about the making, then got to taste lots of different varieties.
Second stop was Volendam, a fishing village on part of the inland sea, Markermeer. Before the big dykes were built, they fished way out on the North Sea, but now only a few boats fish for eel, and the others catch tourists. We walked around, and had early fishy lunch - eel, herring, cod, calamari and prawns.
An older couple didn't come back at the appointed time, and tho' we waited 10 more mins, and the guide went looking for them, we went without them. I hope they are ok.
Last stop was Zaanse Schans, a village recreated from C16 wooden houses and working windmills which were moved onto site. We all went to see a clog making demonstration, then went our own way for 30mins. This wasn't really enough to do much, with the crowds that were there. We went into the spice grinding windmill, but there was no time for others.
Back in Amsterdam, we went to "This is Holland". This is billed as a 5D experience. You are lap-belted into a seat in a bank of about 8, which is then launched forward over a void inside a 19m diameter space. The seats move like a plane, tilting, climbing, and with the all-surrounding video playing, you feel as if you are skimming the tops of buildings, storm waves and landscapes. You feel the water spray, smell the tulips and hang on tight at times. It probably only lasts about 15mins, but it's pretty spectacular.
From there we went next door to the viewing platform on their 22 storey tower, and watched a liner pull out and head down the river to the ocean.
The laundromat man never came back from lunch, and we walked for 30mins before we found somewhere for dinner, which we ate out of boxes sitting on a plinth.. Then I accidentally wiped all this post.
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