The reason I'm opening this post with a photo of a factory is the aroma of cacao that wafts towards you the moment you step out of the train at Zaandam Koog in order to go sightseeing around the famous windmills at Zaanse Schans.
Mmmmmmm ... The air was filled with a delicious smell of cacao and I got completely overwhelmed. I kept sniffing it in, not seeming to get enough of it. That scent, it was like a drug to me. Wonderful addiction!
The aroma of cacao accompanied us all the way to the mills on the other side of the river. On the way I noticed a great bar. Exactly like the one I'm going to open myself one day. I can imagine they make profit just from people stopping in their bar to sit down and enjoy the scent of yummy chocolate.
The area of Zaanse Schans is almost that of a fairy tale. You can take a stroll along the canal flanked by small green houses with green backyards with flowers. One of them used to house the first Albert Heijn shop (Albert Heijn is nowadays one of the biggest supermarket chain in the Netherlands. Besides, the guy is said to have invented the bar code.)
The sight of the windmills along the river is charming.
I once again performed my tour guide skills quite well as you can see on my explaining expression. :)
Another sunny day, another wonderful destination. Delft - my second most beautiful town in Holland.
With its romantic canals, lively markets, narrow streets, it evokes the feeling of coziness and warmth.
Our trip began as usual at the Leiden Central Station. I love trains. Back home, I never used them because in the valley I come from there aren't any and because in general train infrastructure in Slovenia isn't that good. So I'll definitely miss this aspect of Dutch life. Travelling by train is quick and comfortable, though it costs a lot. And despite many people complaining about the NS company, I really think they do their work well.
I guess what I like about train stations is, just for the same reason that I like hotel lobbies and airports, that hustle and bustle of people coming and go, meeting and saying goodbye, reading, listening to music, eating. All this activity, it just impresses me, that's all. Besides, there are free newspapers every morning, so the journey goes by even quicker.
Back to the main story.
Upon arriving to Delft, we were greeted by this lady with a pitcher standing at a table. It's a sculpure made after the Vermeer's painting Milkmaid. I had to take a picture of Irena next to it because I once bought her a puzzle with this motif which I don't think she's finished yet.
We took a stroll along the canals and learnt about the Dutch painting tradition on the way. There are such cubes with information on Dutch painters all around the town that you can rotate.
We also did some shopping and took photos of the famous Delft blue - china and porcelain painted in blue in the Chinese tradition.
That day, the town centre was even more crowded than normal because there was a flea market. In the Netherlands, flea markets are extremely popular. You have to be aware of one difference though. You have 'rich' flea markets where people sell precious things for huge sums of money and you have 'cheap' flea markets where people sell things that they simply want to get rid of and make some money on the side. The latter are usually organized by the local church or are held on the Queen's Day (Koninginnedag) on the last April's day. That one in Delft was of the former sort so I took just a quick look.
Eventually, we had to eat something and I once again failed to persuade my visitor to try a herring (Dutch haring) so I treated myself to een broodje zalm (sandwich with salmon).
We ended up in a small park close to the place where the famous Willem van Oranje had been assassinated. We sat down on a couch-like bench of stone, covered with splinters of Delft blue and recorded that the sisters Čušin were there!
If you follow my blog and read the news regularly, or if you check old posts, you'll have noticed I've had quite some visitors over the past year.
Consequently, I've developed a high degree of tour guiding :) and I've created, without previous planning, some sort of itinerary that I offer to most of my visitors.
Well, it does vary per visitor, of course, depending on their interests. A day or an afternoon on the beach, however, has so far always proven as a very good choice.
That was also the case with my sister.
She isn't much of a sports type, no disrespect intended, of course, haha, so I took many photos of her biking to the beach to prove the contrary. :)
We definitely enjoyed the time at the beach. It was one warm sunny day. The wind was strong though and highly unpleasant, so despite the sunshine, it quickly got quite chilly.
We still had enough time to look for beautiful shells.
Besides, Irena tried ordering the sea to stop and not
to get her wet. Somehow she succeeded, hahaha. I guess she's always been strict and persuasive. :)
is a must, of course.
We were extremely lucky with the weather. The days we spent in Leiden were mostly rainy and depressing, while the days we set out travelling were sunny and most beautiful.
This banner beautifully shows what the area of the present central train station looked like centuries ago. The area was a port and most of Amsterdam that is now streets and roads was once canals.
From the station, we strolled into the city along many a canal.
It might strike you as a joke, the way I placed the statue of Rembrandt in the Rembrandt Square in Amsterdam overlooking the Smokey coffeeshop, but in reality, it is exactly the same. Really, hahaha. Is it now the look of approval, disapproval or craving, we'll never know, hahaha. However, he does seem a bit stoned already, not minding that pigeon on his head.
Bicycles are central in the Netherlands, that's a fact. So this kind of street art is quite a logical consequence too, isn't it?
Hanging toys in a tree, on the other hand ... I don't know but it looks rather cruel to me.
Wandering the streets of Amsterdam, you can see plenty of interesting things, places (boats-turned-houses) and people. For example, this man caught my attention straight away. A somewhat mad scientist figure or an eccentric history teacher with a folder in one hand and a cigarette (a cigar would have been even better for the image) in the other.
One day, I took Irena to this coffee place Bagels&Beans in Leiden, just to get something to eat. She loved it so much that that cafe' became our haven from the commotion and bustle of the city in every place we visited.
A stop in one of numerous souvenir shops fits the role of the tourist. 
Speaking of various interesting figures in the capital, I'd like you to listen to this guy. He was sitting on the pavement at the Damrak (the main street leading from the central station to the center - the Dam). The sounds he produced with that 'dish' (I don't want to sound disrespectful. I really don't know the name of that instrument) were simply amazing and the whole atmosphere was enchanting. We couldn't but stop and listen. In the hustle and bustle of the city, he created an oasis of peace and delight. Not that I don't like a vibrant city life. On the contrary. It felt good back then, though. To just stop and listen for a minute or two.
Early September I returned to the Low Lands and this time I brought my sister with me. :)
It actually felt like home, coming back. I've really got used to being here.
When we finally arrived to Schiphol Airport (after almost 3 hours delay), I rushed to the famous yellow machines, got us train tickets and off we were. Where to? To the West (west is the best!), to Leiden Lammenschans (a train station closer to my flat than Leiden Centraal).
By the time we arrived to my flat, it was already night. Our flight back in Treviso was delayed, so we arrived several hours later than planned. As you can see, Irena didn't have any problems with that. Smiling, eager to travel and to get to know new things, she posed for me in front of a Dutch yellow-blue train.
I, on the other hand (and on the other photo), was completely exhausted and waited (like I had done for the whole day already) just to get to my cosy little kingdom.
