Today we decided to head north of Amsterdam to a village that is reported to be the most beautiful in the Netherlands. The village in addition to being beautiful also has the very nice name of Broek in Waterland. Our metro pass got us to the end of the subway line in North Amsterdam where we planned to transfer to the bus. When we got to the bus it turns out it is a different company than the one in Amsterdam, so we were back inside to get tickets. We ended up with all day passes that would allow us to explore the province of North Holland.
The bus ride to the village was short and we found ourselves in a very picturesque village. The town was originally a port, but due to a change in the course of a river it became landlocked. But it was close enough to Amsterdam that the merchants of the city kept their summer homes there.
The village was exceptionally clean and all of the homes were well maintained. There were many gardens facing the roads, and while they were nice now, we thought they would be exceptional in a couple of weeks adding to the beauty of the village.
While Broek in Waterland is beautiful, it is also quite small. We took a couple of passes thru the village. But after an hour we had seen all of the village. We decided since we had all day passes for North Holland we would visit one more town.
Monnickendam was one stop up the road. It is a larger town and is still connected to the waterway system so it has a small port. We walked from the main highway down to the port. The town was bustling compared to Broek in Waterland.
Monnickendam also felt very prosperous. Several of the businesses were closed today because of Good Friday, but there were a couple of restaurants open that seemed to be doing good business.
After a turn around the town we decided to head back to Amsterdam. The public transportation in this part of the Netherlands is the best we have ever come across. We have never waited more than 15 minutes for our train, bus or tram to arrive, even out in the countryside. It has allowed us to get around very conveniently.
We decided to head back into Amsterdam and check out a plaza we had seen yesterday with a couple of interesting statues. The plaza is dedicated to Rembrandt, and has a statue of him, but we were more interested in a new statue showing a gold Astronaut posed like Rodins The Thinker.
The city center was even busier than yesterday, but Ton had one more place to check out so we headed to Wijnand Fockink Proeflokaal a name that doesn’t get any more Dutch. They have been producing liquor there since 1679. It is located down a small road off one of the canals.
After a short quiz by the bartender on what we liked she recommended a ginger liquor which we both enjoyed. We ordered two glasses, mine was cut with some lemon juice, but Ton ordered hers straight. The tradition here is that they fill the drink to the rim, so that you have to bow to take your first drink.
We headed back to the campground and when we arrived we were startled to see a line of about 15 campers in the parking lot next door waiting their chance to register. The place is really hoping tonight. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain all day so we are planning on indoor activities. Hopefully, every other visitor to Amsterdam isn’t having the same thought!