Edam and Volendam, Holland

The beautiful Dutch countryside

As part of our CAPA tour, on Saturday morning we boarded the coach again to go to two more traditional Dutch towns, Edam and Volendam. I didn't know much about either, but was pleasantly surprised at how amazing they were. I think this was my favorite part of the trip, so I am so glad I went to Holland this way, or else I never would have gotten to see them! Above is a picture I took straight off the bus in Edam. This is right next to where we parked; I was in awe. It is so beautiful.

First on the list of things to do in sleepy little Edam? Go to the cheese museum, of course! I can definitely say I thought of all of my Wisconsin friends and how proud (and jealous) of me they would be! We got to sample a few different kinds of cheese, all made there, and these things called Stroopwafels, which are my new favorite thing in the world. They are the most delicious things I think I have ever eaten (especially from a cheese museum!) And apparently, every Dutchman eats about 20 stroopwafels a year. I definitely did my part while in Holland, and even managed to snag a few to bring back to my flat with me. MMmmmm.

Such a beautiful town. The water was so still and everyone had boats. I just love this picture - who wouldn't want to live here?

Piti and I trying out the Dutch clogs! They were incredibly uncomfortable, actually. Please take note of the entire wall of clogs behind us.

On our way to Volendam, we saw this windmill and convinced our tour guide to get our bus driver to stop on the side of the road so we could all take pictures by it! Turns out, it is one of the oldest working windmills of its kind, and the owner came out of that door in the side while we were taking pictures! AND he was wearing clogs! It couldn't get any better. Pictured is Veronica, Ali, me, Andrea, Amy and Lauren.

Once we got to Volendam, Amy and I were so hungry (we messed up the time difference and didn't make breakfast!) that we decided to spend our time eating a Dutch meal, right on the water. Volendam is so beautiful - the first glimpse we got was very similar to this picture, full of water and sailboats. This was taken from where we were eating.

And this is a traditional Dutch bratwurst and chips! It was delicious, but tastes nothing like brats you get in America.

After we ate, we did a little souvenir shopping and then I got some ice cream. We sat next to the water for a few minutes before we all had to gather to head back to Amsterdam for the rest of the trip.

Amsterdam is up next!