We have two days left to explore further a field as we have a car. First we go north hugging the coastline of what has been gradually expanded and reclaimed by building dykes by Holand.
Holland in places lies below sea level so is prone to rising water in its land mass. It also has shallow water in a reasonably thick belt around it which has allowed a process of draining the water by canals and separating from the sea by dykes. This often converting an island to a land mass connected to the mainland and there is lots of land interconnected by very long bridges.
We visit Marken which used to be an island and just a small fishing village in the past but now is connected to the mainland and has become quite the tourist attraction.We have lunch in a small cafe and go for the highly recommended fish and chips. It is mouth watering deliscious. The young man serving us tells us with pride after we rave about it , that he cooked it himself:)
The Buddha has arrived even in tiny Marken as we see in one entrance.
There are tiny streets and lots of canals around the small houses , all clustered very close together due to water encroachment issues.
We then go further and discover Edam, the town that makes lots of cheese but not Edam itself. Edam gets made in a completely different town not called Edam. The facts around Edam cheese are that no self respecting Dutch person eats Edam cheese , but worldwide it is exported as the most recognized Dutch cheese. The reason for this is that it used to be made in a small wheel and is of less fat content so it travelled well on ships as the Dutch explored. It kept well at sea and so made it around the world being recognized as a “favourite” Dutch cheese. We find this quite amusing as we were expecting to be tasting it in the local shops.
The weather gets a bit patchy but just before it comes pouring down we sneak in a few more tulip fields and the power generating windmills.
On the last day we decide to have lunch at a newish restaurant getting rave reviews for its food. We are not disappointed.
A great recommendation “Bakers and Roasters”. We end the day visiting northern Amsterdam accessed by a ferry. There is the architecturally stunning Eye Movement Complex with cinemas and galleries and next to it the rotating restaurant perched on top of a very high rise building.
We farewell Amsterdam with a crisp 1C morning and off to Paris we go.