Say Cheese - Euro Trip 6

 

The next day I woke up early and got ready for a big tour of Holland. R helped me to book a one day guided tour to country side. R was quite busy with work so he couldn't accompany me, plus I had a professional guide for the day so I was fine. By then, It was already my third day in Amsterdam and I was quite comfortable going around by myself. People were very friendly and I was always greeted with smile and given directions when asked.

A ductch house turned to souvnier shop

From Central station the bus, loaded with handful of tourists started to the Old Dutch city-" Zaanse Schans". The guide spoke with thick accent and I had hard time understanding him sometimes. He was very funny guy though, once he commented on the smoke from passing by factory as “this is how we make clouds in Holland”.

Cheese farm- Zaanse Schans, Old Dutch City

First we visited the cheese farm of Old Dutch city. I got down from the bus to this fascinating and calming sight, away from hustles and bustles of city. A place that looked right out of wall hanging.

It had breathtaking landscape of Old Dutch houses, sheep, cows, waterfront and windmills! All I wanted to do there was, sit down and paint. I wonder how it has managed to escape from Indian directors for red saree song sequences.

A countryside holiday cannot get better than this!

When I was shuttering the landscape, a girl from our group approached me and asked whether I could take a photo for her. I obliged with a smile and also asked her to stand in different way so the lighting would be proper. She was happy with the result and offered to do the same for me.

Miss Smiely by the pond

We started talking and became friends instantly. She is a Lebanese origin, working in Dubai and here on holiday alone, just like me (lets call her miss smiley).

We both had many things in common and she was so much fun to be with. We were very glad to have found company, to share the fun and take photos.

It took 10 littler of milk to make the cheese on those stands

We went inside a small house where the cheese is still made in the traditional way. The Dutch are world-famous for their long history of cheese-making, the famous cheese here are Gouda (pronounced "KHOW-duh" not "GOO-duh" I was told) or Edam both are named after Dutch towns. A lady in traditional outfit explained to us how cheese is made with so many minute details like temperature and preservatives.

After this the cheese (called baby cheese) had to be stored for 3 months before usage.Then as the years go by they would become harder, it would take more than hammer blows to break them then. I tasted at least 10 different type of cheese with chillies, spinach & other herbs. Most of them tasted delicious but I couldn't stand the smell of few.

The cheese brought here can be kept up to 3 years without refrigeration.

Later we walked around taking photos of the Old Dutch city and Windmills.

These guys still rocks!

I was dumbstruck to learn these handsome hunks are still working and used commercially.

We talked about each other on the bus to our next destination. She was quite excited to point out to me this herd of horses in the ranch and told me about her passion for horse riding. The weather, sights and the day seemed perfect .We kept laughing at each other jokes, but we had no idea about the astray that afternoon held for us.

p.s:  Happy Diwali to everyone.  " Manse raavan jo nikaaley Raam us ke man me hai" - The person who throws demon out of mind, make room for god in it.  Wishing you all a bright life, brighter than 1000 lamps of Diwali.