Last Day–Monnickendam

We had visited Monnickendam a few days ago, but on this last day in Nederland we stopped in again for Streekproduktenmarkt - a street fair by the harbor that features locally produced products. It was held in conjunction with Monnickendammer Visdagen. The events included lots of stands for folks selling local products as well as games for kids. Linda couldn’t pass up the freshly steamed mussels. It was a great time!

Monnickendam

This was another “close to home” day for us. Monnickendam is a small town that is only about 10 miles away and made a great day trip.

I found the lintel plates above the doors to be quite interesting. I had no more than taken the above photo when a gentleman poked his head out of the door and started speaking to me. I was half expecting a “how dare you take a picture of my house without permission” kind of exchange, but he said to me”Do you know what that is? It’s the golden hand of God which gives good things!” We ended up having a very interesting conversation and he invited us to see the inside of his home.

He explained that the building dated from about 1500 and that he knew the names of every owner since the 1600s. He had lived here for 35 years. He was particularly proud of his collection of items retrieved from the old well in his back yard. They were broken pieces of dishes and such, which he had been able to piece back together. He said that there were 10 homes in a row on this street from the same time period, but was the only one with a façade from the period. I’m embarrassed to say that after our visit I realized that I had photographed his home, but not him!

There Bontekoes on my mom’s side of the family. I’d never realized that it means “spotted cow”.

The above photo shows where the flood level from 1916 is marked next to the red door.

Lunch of Pannenkoeken at Pannenkoekenhuis "De Witte Swaen" in nearby Broek in Waterland was wonderful. The rain had moved back in so we didn’t wander the town to photograph it.

Zandhaas Molen

The Zandhaas Molen in Santpoort-Noord is another “must do” visit. I love this mill – if I could live here I’d sign up in a heartbeat to become a miller. Besides being fascinated by the technology, I love the baked goods that Linda makes from the flours that they grind. We always come home with a suitcase packed with things that we cannot get in the U.S.

The staff at this mill allow visitors to climb up into the mill and watch how it works. The last time I was here I forgot to shoot video that would capture the power and spirit of this incredible environment so I was really looking forward to it on this trip. Unfortunately, I learned that the mill was not operating due to some parts that need to be replaced for safety reasons. To my surprise, you can still get a good idea of it even though it is being run by electric motor as a temporary measure.

Video: Inside the Zandhaas Molen

There is also a great video by one of the mill staff that explains how the mill works.

Video: How the Zandhaas mill works.

The one good thing about the mill not running under wind power is that I was able to go all the way up into the cap of the mill. So here are some photos of the mill.

The plan is for the mill to be repaired by the end of the year. This means that I have to make at least one more trip back to the Netherlands so that I can shoot the video that I couldn’t get on this trip. Gee, that’s really too bad .