Visit Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam

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Day 3: AMSTERDAM - ZAANSE SCHANS - AMSTERDAM: CANAL SINGEL - BEJINHOF - REMBRANDPLEIN - HERMITAGE - NIEWMARK - OUDE KERK

After the two days we took from our trip to Amsterdam today we set the alarm a little later, at 7 in the morning, to visit Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam, the destination we have chosen as the destination this morning.
There is three options to get to Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam: take bus 391 at the Central Station, the train to Koog-Zaandijk station and from there walk 10 minutes to the mill area or book this excursion to the Zaanse Schans mills in Spanish.
If you want to visit on the same day Volendam and Edam, two of the most Dutch villages, you can book this guided tour in Spanish.
We opted for the second, something cheaper, faster and that will give us the opportunity to get to know the surroundings of Amsterdam a bit.
Before taking the train that will take us to visit Zaanse Schans We had breakfast at a Starbucks station where we ordered the usual muffins with coffee for 10.50 euros.
No doubt that morning cinnamon roll takes me to the many mornings that we had breakfast on our trip to Japan.


After breakfast we will take the train tickets from Amsterdam to Koog-Zaandijk which is the stop where we have to get off to visit Zaanse Schans, in the ticket sales area, which is entering the station on the left. The Price of train tickets from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans is 7 euros each round trip.
We advise you to ask for information on the time and the platform since in the information panels, it is not that it is difficult, it is impossible to guess.
And finally at 9.17 in the morning we are already leaving Amsterdam to visit Zaanse Schans, the famous mill town.
After 4 stops we arrive at Koog-Zaandijk station at 9.35 in the morning, 20 minutes later, we leave the station in a straight line and take a free map of the area in a vending machine that we find a few meters from the station .

Newcomers to Zaanse Schans

From the Zaanse Schans station to the mill area there are about 10 minutes walk crossing a drawbridge, which stops when a ship that exceeds height has to pass.

Drawbridge in Zaanse Schans

Views of the mills from the Zaanse Schans bridge

We arrived at the mills area and we love it. It takes us in a minute to full XVII century.

Streets of Zaanse Schans

We are walking through the central street without stopping to take photos, enjoying an incredible sunny day, which reminds us, as we will not get tired of saying, the extreme luck that we are having over time all our trips, remember the trip to Iceland where It usually rains day yes, day too and it only rained one afternoon.

We arrived at the mill of pigments and being one of the attractions that enter the I amsterdam City CardIf the ticket does not cost 3.50 euros per person, we go inside to enjoy an experience that we had not had the opportunity to enjoy before: see the inside of a mill.

Interior of the pigment mill on our visit to Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans is that little town that seems taken from a story, beautiful, that we think is a lie is only 10 kilometers from Amsterdam.
Zaanse Schans have managed to recreate the atmosphere of the typical Dutch town of the 17th and 18th centuries in which windmills by the river are the main attraction.

Zaanse Schans

In front of one of the mills of Zaanse Schans

Book the best rated Spanish tours and excursions in Amsterdam by travelers:

- Tour to Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Edam
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- Offer: Guided tour + Boat trip
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- More excursions and tours here

Many of these mills continue to work, such as the pigments we just visited and were used to make mustard, oils or wood.
In Zaanse Schans we can also find a cheese factory, a clog factory, a museum, souvenir shops and a cafeteria.

Overview of Zaanse Schans

We take a good walk in the area, without visiting the interior of any other mill and back at Catherine Cheese, a store that Dutch cheeses where with the I amsterdam City Card they give us a 25% discount if we buy 6 cheeses. Guess what we have done, right? Buy 6 varieties that are not good, if not very good and with which we will surely carry some overweight on our return home.

Views from the door of the cheese factory

From here we continue to visit a couple of souvenir shops, where we also have a 25% discount and in one of them, where they make the famous clogs, we arrive at the moment they are doing a demonstration, so we kill two birds of a shot and we also take the opportunity to buy some wooden clogs without color, something more different from those we are used to and that are not "so touristy".

At 12.45 noon we terminate our excursion from Amsterdam to visit Zaanse Schans and we return to the train station from where a train leaves to Amsterdam central station at 13.07 noon.
No doubt after the experience we can say that Zaanse Schans is a must see, although touristy, it is shown as an open-air museum.

Clogs in Zaanse Schans

We arrive in 20 minutes and before we go to eat we go straight to the hotel to leave the cheeses that have given us a good overweight in recent minutes and we go straight to eat at GreenWoods, a highly recommended organic restaurant where we order hamburger, tuna sandwich , potatoes and water and coke (no alcohol) for 28.55 euros

Eating in GreenWoods

We just ate and we left walking along the Singel canal to Bejinhof, one of the most beautiful scenery in Amsterdam and a haven of peace in the city.

Flowers in the canals of Amsterdam

On the way to Bejinhof we also take the opportunity to go through the Okupa Groote Keijser Buildings, where we find a place of the most lively and especially picturesque.

Squat buildings Groote Keijser

We arrived at Bejinhof and the moment we crossed the door we felt like we were inside a story. A small patio welcomes us, hidden between small houses and gardens.

Begijnhof

The 14th-century Bejinhof is no longer a secret, but it remains an oasis of peace at the moment its door is crossed.
The Beguines were a Catholic order of single women or widows who attended to the elders and lived a religious life without having made monastic vows.
Here we can also find the oldest house in Amsterdam.
After a while of relaxation we follow our itinerary, this time engaging in the part of the tour of page 115 that we left yesterday in our tour of Amsterdam, without finishing, staying at the Flower Market, from where we left the tour by heading to the Van Gogh Museum.
We arrive at the Amstem River and we can enjoy the famous Europa Hotel following up Rembrandtplein.

Hotel de l'Europe in Amsterdam

From here, we continue to Reguliersgracht, the channel of the 7 bridges, which are 15 looking in all directions.
Walking east we reach the banks of the Amstel river again, being able to see the incredible Magere Brug and past the locks the roof of the Koninklijk Theater Carré.

Magere Brug Surroundings

How could it be otherwise and being in this area of ​​the city, we can not help stopping in front of the Hermitage, which despite not entering, remains in our minds for the next visit to this city that has fallen in love with us.

Hermitage

From here we begin the tour of the Niewmark area on page 85 of our Amsterdam guide where we start at the Waterlooplein market, where we find lots of hookahs although they are already closing.
Some of the most interesting points in this area of ​​the city is the Israeli Portuguese Synagogue, closed for being sabbath, which we also signed up for the next visit we make to the city.

Israeli Portuguese Synagogue

From here we go to the Rembrand House where we also do not enter, but we do not stop knowing its surroundings.

Rembrand House

Sometimes it is impossible to do everything and we have to leave things pending for another trip, so we also have a perfect excuse to return.
We continue with a splendid time and we arrive at the bridge and one of the most photogenic areas of Amsterdam.

One of the most photogenic views of the city

Although we have to say that we have found more photogenic places than this one 😉
A lot of atmosphere begins to be seen in the streets and on the terraces and although we are willing to sit down for a drink, we still have several things to see, so we continue our planning for a while longer.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Amsterdam

- 50 things to see and do in Amsterdam
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- How to get from Amsterdam airport to downtown
- 10 restaurants to eat in Amsterdam for cheap
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Amsterdam
- Where to stay in Amsterdam: best neighborhoods and hotels
- The 5 best museums in Amsterdam
- 10 essential places to see in Holland
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Holland

We continue even in Chinatown, where we stop a little more attention than we would have paid at any other time, perhaps for knowing and having already confirmed one of the trips next year 😉

Amsterdam Chinatown

The truth is that it is not too big and there is not much atmosphere, so we are not very long and this brings us back to Red Light District, where we already see some shop windows with the curtains discovered.

We passed by Oude Kerk, where at the entrance is the famous chest stone touched by the hand.
It's 5:45 p.m. and we go through the hair, since they close at 6 and here they are punctual.

Oude Kerk

Admission is 7.50 euros per person, but when you have the I Amsterdam City Card, the entrance is free, so we spent a few minutes getting to know one of the most famous churches in the city.
We left after 6 and now we stopped to have a drink on a terrace in the area. At this time of the afternoon we needed to rest a little longer than eating.
This city has enamored us and is killing us in equal parts.
The truth is that even if we have the transport in Amsterdam free of charge by the I Amsterdam City Card, we have always liked to move on foot, so we have not taken advantage of it so far.
After taking a couple more walks we stop at a coffee shop, where they do not serve alcohol by the way and ask for coffee and a coke for 4.70 euros

Coffee Shop in Amsterdam

It is almost 7 when we have renewed our energies and we are going to look for a place for dinner that although you do not believe it we did not find until 20.30 in the afternoon.
On Friday night, it starts at the Technology Congress, tomorrow the Free Museum Weekend, so everything has been against us.
In the end we end up in Van Kerkvijk, recommended on the Tripadvisor, where we have to sit outside, since inside they are full, but we do not discard the offer as you can understand.
We ask for water, beer and when they serve it, after waiting about 20 minutes another 20 pass until a waitress comes saying that they have no letter and that she will tell us what they have, anticipating that it is a menu and they have to be 3 Yes or yes dishes. We are making a mistake at this time, so we pay the 5.05 euros of the drink and we go to an Argentine we had seen before in a street near Dam Square. It is very clear that today is not our perfect gastronomic night.
We ordered a plate of meat, some empandillas, garlic bread and water for 35 euros.
We just past 22.30 and seeing what time it is we approach the Red Light District to see the atmosphere that is at this time before returning to the hotel.
A good option to visit this neighborhood is to book this guided tour in Spanish that also includes a canal cruise.

Red Light District

It is incredible the amount of people that gather at this time in front of the windows and in the streets. This makes us feel like we are in a "zoo", looking through the bars.
We have that mixed feeling, in which we don't know exactly why, we feel uncomfortable looking at something that is precisely for that, to be looked at.
After a good time in the area, after 11 pm and considering that we have been running since 7 in the morning, we decided that it is time to return to the hotel to rest. Tomorrow we have another full day in the city of canals, mills and coffee shops.

Canals in the city of Amsterdam

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The contest will end on December 7 at 10:00 p.m.

Day 4: AMSTERDAM - VOLENDAM - MARKEN - EDAM - AMSTERDAM

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