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My short summervacation in Zaandam (part 1/2)
By way of summervacation I took 4 days off and arranged a short stay in a fancy hotel in an unknown town in the Netherlands: here's a picspam of my first day in Zaandam. This town is mostly used as a extension of Amsterdam for tourists and it shows; the whole decor is aimed at foreign visitors and oozes colourful kitsch. The village and its surroundings is a collection of Dutch history as a lot of buildings (and mills) were moved or rebuild in the Zaan area for conservation. It was fun to see how the Netherlands presents itself here:)
On Wednesday August 11, I cycled to the trainstation for the intercity train to Utrecht, where I changed to another IC to get to Zaandam
Zaandam is nearly two hours by train from my town, which gave me a lovely amount of reading time on the way. (Facemask are still mandatory on public transport and platforms).
Through the station's ceiling you can already see the typical green of Zaandam's old houses:) Upon arrival I first find a bench to eat my lunch and finish the final pages of my book.
Then I walk into town, passing the funky cityhall (stadhuis) and giggling over my even funkier hotel, which looks like a stack of old Zaanse houses.
I can't check in until later this afternoon, so my first stop is the tourist office, where I pick up a walking guide of Zaandam and off I go, to explore!
A statue of Leda and the Swan (aka asshole Zeus) by author/artist Jan Wolkers.
The walk takes me to the back of the rest of Cityhall, which exists of four buildings by architect Sjoerd Soeters, who interpreted styles from other famous architects to create a popculture version of Zaanse houses.
Maison d'Essence was build in 1929 by architect Coenraad in the Nieuwe Bouwen style (with focus on function rather than decorations) and was used as storage for the Polak & Schwarz company. It now houses appartments.
In the background you can see a Jugenstill style villa from 1910, which was the home of C. Joh. Kieviet, author of a famous Dutch children's bookseries Dik Trom.
The entrance gate to the old Volkspark (Public park), opened in 1890. Love the benches.
The crest of Zaandam on the pothole cover (which reads Vuil Water or Dirty Water) - it has two whales on each side to commemorate the whaling industry in the Zaan area between 1660 and 1790.
Skull and bones above the back entrance of the Westzijder Church, also known as Bull church...
In front of the Westzijder Church (1640) is a statue that tells how the church got its nickname; a sad story about a husband and his pregnant wife who were attacked by their bull in 1647. The family is buried in the church.
Onward to happier times: in 1886 Verkade opened his first factory next to the Zaan river. Originally he made bread and rusk, but from 1918 until this day Verkade is most famous in the Netherlands for their chocolate and biscuits/cookies:)
The old building is an eclectic collection of styles through the years.
A little owl on the side of the building and subtle cookie shaped decorations on the bakery (Bakkerij in Dutch, the y is used for the ij contraction)
Wall decoration of De Ruyter, old dutch for (horse) rider, but also the name of the first windmill at West Zaandam, where the flour for the bakery was produced.
Hey, there are those whales again!
I just really like the old Verkade factory, okay.
I also love the shapes of the houses in Zaandam.
This is the old home of Verkade himself; notice the decoration stone with a pretzel on the right and the three biscuits on the left.
Next door has a cool stained glass window (with bonus black jackdaw:)
See the whales hidden in the flowers? I was actually looking at the decoration tiles on the building in the background; I could have sworn it was the face of a dog, but upon closer inspection it is a flower design!
Another pretty stained glass windown and a decoration stone lion.
Slightly greepy grafitti.
This pointy shape on top of the roof of a typical Zaans workerhome is called a 'gevelmakelaar' or facade broker, they come in all kinds of shapes.
Two more facade brokers.
These homes were often painted in Zaans green; the richer the owner, the more pigment they could use in the paint.
Flower intermezzo and the Saint Nicolas church (1874).
The old orphanage is a rare combination of wood and stone, built in 1713.
The monumental Bischoff building was originally a textile shop which had the first elevator in Zaandam (1905).
In the shopping street of Zaandam there are lots of bridges (in these Covid-19 times, each side is a one-way walkway). Also: seagulls. Lots of seagulls. I love them and their screetching songs; it sounds like the seaside (which is my favourite choice as background soothing sound in my relaxation app:)
Not done with the walk yet, but it's time to check into the hotel! More pictures of the awesome exterior are down below, let's start in my room.
Okay, one last photo of a seagull, haha.
The inside of the hotel is not as colourful as the outside, but each room has one wall dedicated to the history of Zaandam. My room features De Spatter (The Splash) - an oilmill from Wormer, founded in 1655, which was damaged by fire on several occasions.
I have a corner room, but the windows are not in an angle, that's just how I put them side to side here: I have a great view of the city hall buildings and more Zaanse green facades!
After freshening up, I go down to the hotel's restaurant for a High Tea, which started with an unexpected cocktail! The barman made a delicious alcohol free drink for me with orange juice, sparkling water and cranberry juice.
The lamps have a design version of the hotel with graphic elements. My first tea is Earl Grey, to which I add sugar and milk, because that's how I like my tea best:)
Another unusual addition to High Tea for me: a starter, which was a creamy broccoli and cheese soup with a salty puff pastry snack.
For my second tea I experiment with green tea (sencha) to which I add a slice of lime and a slice of orange, as suggested by the barman. Interesting, but not quite my cup of tea (haha)
Before I am finally served the tray of traditional High Tea goodies, I got a large slice of vegetable quiche. I hope I have room left for all the other treats... (spoiler: I have! OF COURSE I HAVE, I am not an amateur;)
Too many delicious bakes to name: from a selection of buns/sandwiches to different kinds of biscuits, chocolates and a mousse. And lots of tea to go with it. Possibly my favorite: a freshly baked scone.
Turns out I ate for 2 hours (TWO HOURS!) *rubs tummy* But there's still daylight, so I decide do the second part of the walking tour through town, starting with a closer look of the exterior of the hotel:)
Is it not the funkiest hotel you've ever seen? *chinhands*
The zoom in is on my corner room on the eight floor (the window next to the pointy bit on the right is my bathroom)
Interesting sculpture next to the walking bridge and more cool architecture (plus a seagull on top of the streetlight)
Colourful sidestreet on my way to the Russian corner of Zaandam, where Czar Peter the Great stayed for 8 days when he was studying ship-building.
The Czaar Peterhuisje (Czar Peter House) is closed now, I'll visit that tomorrow. I continue the walk with a look at the Blue House (from 1724), famously painted by Claude Monet in 1871. (He didn't paint the building itself, he made a painting OF the building;) He stayed in Zaandam for four months and created 25 paintings here.
Lovely windy harbour between East and West side of Zaandam.
Statue of Peter the Great on Dam square (which was uncomfortably crowded, but I managed to keep my distance from people and quickly walked along to a quieter area).
The old lock with in the background the oldest church of Zaandam; Oostzijderkerk from 1396.
The little houses on each side of the lock (1724) are the home of the lock keeper and his office where ships had to pay their excise duty.
The old lock is still in use and run by volunteers these days. So many old details left to admire.
The volunteers have a new lock home, lovingly called the SloisHois (dialect for lock home) - this little house is an ode to the landscape of the Zaan area, with a steel covering that has the pattern of an old map from Zaandam in 1812 in combination with Zaans woodwork.
Just as I was there, the bridge opened to let a huge freight ship into the new lock, look at that beast of a ship, nearly the width of the whole canal, with the red pilot/tow boat at the front and the yellow guide ship a the rear (see below), together filling the full length of the lock!
View from the other side: new lock on the left, old lock on the right.
On my way back into town I saw another cool boat: the firebrigade in front of Monet's old studio (the green house with the scaffolding).
View of the Saen/Zaan river with in the back the Verkade factory (zoom:)
Back at the hotel, I'm relaxing in a bubble bath with a new book: Het Heksenhuis by historian Jacqueline Zirkzee, a novel about the witch hunts in Germany in the 17th century (based on old documents).
Good night!
To be continued...
J.
On Wednesday August 11, I cycled to the trainstation for the intercity train to Utrecht, where I changed to another IC to get to Zaandam
Zaandam is nearly two hours by train from my town, which gave me a lovely amount of reading time on the way. (Facemask are still mandatory on public transport and platforms).
Through the station's ceiling you can already see the typical green of Zaandam's old houses:) Upon arrival I first find a bench to eat my lunch and finish the final pages of my book.
Then I walk into town, passing the funky cityhall (stadhuis) and giggling over my even funkier hotel, which looks like a stack of old Zaanse houses.
I can't check in until later this afternoon, so my first stop is the tourist office, where I pick up a walking guide of Zaandam and off I go, to explore!
A statue of Leda and the Swan (aka asshole Zeus) by author/artist Jan Wolkers.
The walk takes me to the back of the rest of Cityhall, which exists of four buildings by architect Sjoerd Soeters, who interpreted styles from other famous architects to create a popculture version of Zaanse houses.
Maison d'Essence was build in 1929 by architect Coenraad in the Nieuwe Bouwen style (with focus on function rather than decorations) and was used as storage for the Polak & Schwarz company. It now houses appartments.
In the background you can see a Jugenstill style villa from 1910, which was the home of C. Joh. Kieviet, author of a famous Dutch children's bookseries Dik Trom.
The entrance gate to the old Volkspark (Public park), opened in 1890. Love the benches.
The crest of Zaandam on the pothole cover (which reads Vuil Water or Dirty Water) - it has two whales on each side to commemorate the whaling industry in the Zaan area between 1660 and 1790.
Skull and bones above the back entrance of the Westzijder Church, also known as Bull church...
In front of the Westzijder Church (1640) is a statue that tells how the church got its nickname; a sad story about a husband and his pregnant wife who were attacked by their bull in 1647. The family is buried in the church.
Onward to happier times: in 1886 Verkade opened his first factory next to the Zaan river. Originally he made bread and rusk, but from 1918 until this day Verkade is most famous in the Netherlands for their chocolate and biscuits/cookies:)
The old building is an eclectic collection of styles through the years.
A little owl on the side of the building and subtle cookie shaped decorations on the bakery (Bakkerij in Dutch, the y is used for the ij contraction)
Wall decoration of De Ruyter, old dutch for (horse) rider, but also the name of the first windmill at West Zaandam, where the flour for the bakery was produced.
Hey, there are those whales again!
I just really like the old Verkade factory, okay.
I also love the shapes of the houses in Zaandam.
This is the old home of Verkade himself; notice the decoration stone with a pretzel on the right and the three biscuits on the left.
Next door has a cool stained glass window (with bonus black jackdaw:)
See the whales hidden in the flowers? I was actually looking at the decoration tiles on the building in the background; I could have sworn it was the face of a dog, but upon closer inspection it is a flower design!
Another pretty stained glass windown and a decoration stone lion.
Slightly greepy grafitti.
This pointy shape on top of the roof of a typical Zaans workerhome is called a 'gevelmakelaar' or facade broker, they come in all kinds of shapes.
Two more facade brokers.
These homes were often painted in Zaans green; the richer the owner, the more pigment they could use in the paint.
Flower intermezzo and the Saint Nicolas church (1874).
The old orphanage is a rare combination of wood and stone, built in 1713.
The monumental Bischoff building was originally a textile shop which had the first elevator in Zaandam (1905).
In the shopping street of Zaandam there are lots of bridges (in these Covid-19 times, each side is a one-way walkway). Also: seagulls. Lots of seagulls. I love them and their screetching songs; it sounds like the seaside (which is my favourite choice as background soothing sound in my relaxation app:)
Not done with the walk yet, but it's time to check into the hotel! More pictures of the awesome exterior are down below, let's start in my room.
Okay, one last photo of a seagull, haha.
The inside of the hotel is not as colourful as the outside, but each room has one wall dedicated to the history of Zaandam. My room features De Spatter (The Splash) - an oilmill from Wormer, founded in 1655, which was damaged by fire on several occasions.
I have a corner room, but the windows are not in an angle, that's just how I put them side to side here: I have a great view of the city hall buildings and more Zaanse green facades!
After freshening up, I go down to the hotel's restaurant for a High Tea, which started with an unexpected cocktail! The barman made a delicious alcohol free drink for me with orange juice, sparkling water and cranberry juice.
The lamps have a design version of the hotel with graphic elements. My first tea is Earl Grey, to which I add sugar and milk, because that's how I like my tea best:)
Another unusual addition to High Tea for me: a starter, which was a creamy broccoli and cheese soup with a salty puff pastry snack.
For my second tea I experiment with green tea (sencha) to which I add a slice of lime and a slice of orange, as suggested by the barman. Interesting, but not quite my cup of tea (haha)
Before I am finally served the tray of traditional High Tea goodies, I got a large slice of vegetable quiche. I hope I have room left for all the other treats... (spoiler: I have! OF COURSE I HAVE, I am not an amateur;)
Too many delicious bakes to name: from a selection of buns/sandwiches to different kinds of biscuits, chocolates and a mousse. And lots of tea to go with it. Possibly my favorite: a freshly baked scone.
Turns out I ate for 2 hours (TWO HOURS!) *rubs tummy* But there's still daylight, so I decide do the second part of the walking tour through town, starting with a closer look of the exterior of the hotel:)
Is it not the funkiest hotel you've ever seen? *chinhands*
The zoom in is on my corner room on the eight floor (the window next to the pointy bit on the right is my bathroom)
Interesting sculpture next to the walking bridge and more cool architecture (plus a seagull on top of the streetlight)
Colourful sidestreet on my way to the Russian corner of Zaandam, where Czar Peter the Great stayed for 8 days when he was studying ship-building.
The Czaar Peterhuisje (Czar Peter House) is closed now, I'll visit that tomorrow. I continue the walk with a look at the Blue House (from 1724), famously painted by Claude Monet in 1871. (He didn't paint the building itself, he made a painting OF the building;) He stayed in Zaandam for four months and created 25 paintings here.
Lovely windy harbour between East and West side of Zaandam.
Statue of Peter the Great on Dam square (which was uncomfortably crowded, but I managed to keep my distance from people and quickly walked along to a quieter area).
The old lock with in the background the oldest church of Zaandam; Oostzijderkerk from 1396.
The little houses on each side of the lock (1724) are the home of the lock keeper and his office where ships had to pay their excise duty.
The old lock is still in use and run by volunteers these days. So many old details left to admire.
The volunteers have a new lock home, lovingly called the SloisHois (dialect for lock home) - this little house is an ode to the landscape of the Zaan area, with a steel covering that has the pattern of an old map from Zaandam in 1812 in combination with Zaans woodwork.
Just as I was there, the bridge opened to let a huge freight ship into the new lock, look at that beast of a ship, nearly the width of the whole canal, with the red pilot/tow boat at the front and the yellow guide ship a the rear (see below), together filling the full length of the lock!
View from the other side: new lock on the left, old lock on the right.
On my way back into town I saw another cool boat: the firebrigade in front of Monet's old studio (the green house with the scaffolding).
View of the Saen/Zaan river with in the back the Verkade factory (zoom:)
Back at the hotel, I'm relaxing in a bubble bath with a new book: Het Heksenhuis by historian Jacqueline Zirkzee, a novel about the witch hunts in Germany in the 17th century (based on old documents).
Good night!
To be continued...
J.