Amsterdam ::: Day 6 ::: Dikes

Did you know that God created the world, and the Dutch created Holland?

'Tis true. 60% of the land in Holland is man-made. Much of their land is very flat and fertile soil because it was at one time the bottom of lakes and the sea. By building dikes (including one of the largest dikes in the world), they reclaimed this land for agriculture.

Much of the reclaimed land is used for dairy cows. The land is very good for them, and they make a very fatty milk, which is good for cheese.

Yesterday I went on a bus tour of the Holland countryside, where I learned these and other dike and non-dike related facts.

In the Zaanse Schans windmill village, I saw a demonstration on how to make wooden shoes. Which the Dutch actually wear. I always thought they were a silly decorative thing. In fact, these shoes are like the steel-toed boots of Holland. They protect the feet and keep them very dry.

Next, we visited a cheesemaker just outside of Volendam, where we saw many dikes along the way. We got a cheesemaking demonstration, and then we tasted the many varieties of cheeses.

We walked through Volendam, a fishing village. The regional dish of this village is smoked eel. That didn't sound too appealing to me, so I went instead to get a Heineken, after watching a 5-minute video on dikes.

Lastly, we boarded a boat to Marken, a very quaint little fishing village. On the boat I met Iacopo from Florence, who was also on the tour with his friend. He's the first Italian I've met, and hopefully not the last, assuming, of course, that they're all as attractive as him.

We walked through Marken on the way back to the bus, looking at the many quaint wooden houses. On the bus back to Amsterdam, we saw many more dikes around Marken. In fact, Marken was once an island, until they connected it with dikes.

The Dutch really like dikes, and now I do too.