Last weekend we had a guest from abroad, so we thought we'd do a little sightseeing, so we could show our guest a bit of our beautiful country. And the fun thing about showing tourists around in your own country is that you often visit places you haven't visited yourself before 😀
As it was quite hot last Sunday, we decided to go and rent some bicycles somewhere. Our destination was the towns along the 'Ijsselmeer'; Edam, Volendam and Monnickendam.
Edam, Volendam, and Monnickendam are three historic towns in Northhern part of the Netherlands, not far from Amsterdam. They are very close to eachother, so quite similar, but they all have their own character. They have traditions in cheese, fishing, trading.
We started our journey in Edam, which you might know of the famous cheese that is produced there. The cheese is exported all over the world and you might even find it in your local supermarket too.
Edam has a nice historic center with narrow streets, canals and old buidlings.
The canals have some old tow bridges as well. We parked just outside the center and walked to the bicycle shop to get our bicycles.
Edam has profited from its location near the sea, which made it a perfect place for trading. And the popularity of the cheese made it a real rich town. You can tell the rich history by the many elegant houses that are richly decorated. Just like this one below.
In Edam you can find a couple of cheese shops where you can buy the original Edammer cheese. They also organize a cheese market in summer on a central square.
A view over one of the canalf through the town.
When cycling towards the inner sea we spotted a coule of traditional boats in the canal. We cycled aling this canal towards the former sea, I say former sea because it used to be an inland sea (Zuiderzee), but the construction of a huge dike; the Afsluitdijk turned it into a lake (Ijsselmeer). They did this to protect the land from the sea. The Zuiderzee caused floods and danger for people living nearby.
The Afsluitdijk was built between 1927 and 1932. So, it took about 5 years to finish. The dike is about 32 kilometers long. A giant project for those times.
We left Edam and set course to Volendam. Volendam is known for its traditional wooden fishermans houses. You can still find a lot of them in the town.
Volendam is also known for the harbour. You can always find a lot of tourists there. As you can see on the photo it was already pretty crowded when we arrived there. The harbor has been active since the 14th century, so it is very old.
After the aforementioned afsluitdijk was finished, the water of the Ijsselmeer turned from salt water into fresh water, which made the fisherman change their way of fishing. Not everyone was happy with that.
When we walked over the boulevard, we spotted some people in traditional costumes walking by. I unnoticeably tried to make a photo. I always feel a bit uncomfortable to take pictures of people, but a lot of tourists did it, so this time I did it as well.
After leaving Volendam, we headed towards Monnickendam. We were planning to have lunch there and then head back to our starting point. When cycling through the polder we enjoyed the wide view and... especially for our visitor; a typical Dutch windmill!
When we arrived in Monnickendam we went straight to the harbor to find a nice place to go for lunch. We found a nice restaurant that had a terrace on a boat that was in the harbor.
The boat moved a little down and up every time a waitress or new guests got on, which was kind of special. But after a while we didn't notice it anymore.
After a well deserved lunch we headed back to our starting point in Edam to return the bicycles. Our guest really liked the little tour we made, but we also enjoyed it ourselves. I had been to Volendam in the past, but never to the other two towns.
The three towns are really characteristic and you can see there is a lot of history in them.
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Awesome adventure and I learnt a new thing today! That Edam is also a city haha! And it reminded me so much of Amsterdam!
It is more a village than a city like Amsterdam. Amsterdam is not far from them, but Amsterdam grew much bigger over the years.
I've been to Amsterdam twice, and if you didn't mention place was called Edam I would have thought this was Amsterdam! Love the Dutch architecture!
I’ve always wanted to see a real Dutch windmill up close, and your photo made me feel like I was right there. That restaurant on a boat also sounds super cool, I’d probably feel like I’m gently floating while eating 😂
Edam cheese at the local supermarket? But of course 😊
Indeed! Now you know where it comes from.
😋👍
Wow!
This city is magical!
Such beautiful and colorful places!
The contrast between each place you show us through these magnificent photographs is amazing!
Thank you for sharing them!
Happy Saturday!
Wow!
This city is so beautiful ❤️
That sounds like such a lovely trip! 🚲❤️ I’ve heard those towns are beautiful and full of history. Must have been so nice exploring them by bike, especially with a guest!
It surely was!
I've visited voledam and Edam 15 years ago and these two lovely places are still on my hearth ❤️❤️❤️
This post must be a trip down memory lane then.
I guess your guests will have enjoyed this one to the fullest, nice tour you had over there
The funny thing is...I have lived in Holland for more than 30 year on and off and I have never been to any of these places hahaahha. Oopsie!
The little canals are really cute! Was it super touristy did you find? (i mean...volendam for sure right?)
You often don't visit the places that are close to where you live.
Edam and Monnickendam are way less touristic than Volendam, but still you see some groups of tourists there.
Wow! What a great trip. What nice places. It's good that people remember their traditions. I really, really liked the photo with the mill.
Thanks!
The best thing about having visitors is that you tend to take them to places that you don't but should go, because you think it's too touristy. Now it's a three way win because you have treated us on Hive as well!
Indeed! By showing your county you see itnthrough thebeyes of a tourist yourself.
Stunning! The place is cozy and lots to offer. Glad that you enjoyed the tour. And what fascinated me was the design of the houses which A-type, somewhat not common in our place that's why it's new to me. 🥰🥰
Thanks! We actually don't see a lot of these traditional wooden houses in The Netherlands either. But there are still a few of them.
I love how you explored those towns by bike — it makes me want to visit the Netherlands someday too.The cheese shops and canals look so cute.
Thanks! Do it when you ever get the chance!
Wow, this looks like an excellent place to visit, it’s now on my list, thank you for such a great post and also for the great pictures.
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Great post with beautiful pictures! I once visited Edam with our 8 meter Daf truck for work, it was a pain to get trough the narrow streets, next time I'll park somewhere close and walk the last bit to deliver the goods 😅
A great adventure and nice to see every photo, I'm very amaze with it.
Wow! Such a wonderful and historic places. Each town has its own unique charm. Monnickendam has a peaceful feel with a beautiful classic windmill adding to its charm.
Wow beautiful place to visit.. I think more living there more traditional the way they wear there dress.. also good place near in sea good for walking around..even in the canal boat is available