Windmill Village

The official name of the windmill village is Zaanse Schans, a place that preserves and recreates the traditional Dutch windmills and industrial village landscape. The Zaan region was once one of the Netherlands' important industrial areas, and the windmills were not just scenic features, but actual tools of production. At that time, windmills were used for sawing wood, pressing oil, grinding spices, grinding pigments, and were even involved in shipbuilding and food processing. In other words, these windmills are not just cute backgrounds on Dutch postcards; they actually represent how the Netherlands used wind power to develop industry and trade in its early days. Today, when visiting the windmill village, in addition to seeing the windmills themselves, you can also experience the Dutch way of life through cheese factories, clog factories, and traditional houses.

Cheese factory and soft serve

Once you arrive at the windmill village, you can first visit the cheese factory, where you'll see many different flavors of cheese. It's also a great place for those looking to buy souvenirs to browse at their leisure. At the other end of the cheese factory, there's a soft serve ice cream shop that I found delicious, called Henri Willig. If the weather is nice, buy a soft serve and take a photo in front of the windmill; it feels just like a scene from a fairy tale about the Dutch countryside.

Wooden clog factory

Clogs are a classic cultural symbol of the Netherlands. Here, you can see all kinds of clogs and browse many clog-related souvenirs. At the entrance of the clog factory, there is a pair of giant painted wooden shoes that visitors can stand in to take photos, creating a fairytale-like "Thumbelina" perspective. The factory also sells many clog-related items, from traditional wooden shoes to decorations, keychains, and souvenirs, making them perfect souvenirs from the Netherlands.