A Visit to the Dutch Polders

One of the things we wanted to do when in Amsterdam on this trip was get out of the city and see some Dutch countryside. We’d spent 6 days in the city in 2015. We’d seen the key museums. We’d wandered the streets of the canal ring. We’d cruised the canals a couple times, one time in a historic wooden boat. Our only venture out of the city was taking a train to Delft, where we spent the day in the town and visited the Vermeer museum.

We were ready to see some countryside.

So on Saturday, we headed north of the city to see the polders. Polders are the “low lands reclaimed from the sea and protected by dikes.” I wasn’t sure they’d be particularly scenic, but we loved seeing this interesting land of canals and dikes. There were lots of waterfowl and some charming towns. It would be hard not to fall in love with all the tidy little houses with canals on one or two sides and their pretty gardens.

As we got further out of the city, we came to farming country, and typical farmhouses with their pyramidal roofs started to appear.

We stopped to visit a family farm near the town of Alkmaar, which is known for its traditional cheese market. Natuurlijk Genoegen is an organic farm. The husband and wife, Joeren and Rosalinde, their three kids (8, 6, and 4), and the farm’s sheepdog entertained a group of 35 of us. Jerry kicked the ball for the insatiable dog. Others threw the ball for him. He had no sheep to herd, so the farmer told us he would consider us his herd.

We got to meet lots of cows. There are 150 cows on this farm, half of them milking cows. The farm sells its milk to a cooperative. We met some 4-month old calves and the resident bull.

We saw some newborn sheep.

We walked out to the fields and saw the area where they rent out camping sites. They’re very entrepreneurial. They also grow apples, plums, and walnuts. The young farmer shared his plans for improvements and expansion. At €60,000 per hectare, expansion doesn’t come easily. They have 80 hectares now.

We soft visitors were offered plastic booties to put over our shoes as we walked through the cow barn and out into the fields. The kids? They were running alongside us barefoot!

We could see one functioning windmill just across a field and another defunct one. Joeren said there used to be 52 windmills in this area, the Schermer. Now, there are 11.

We were now in the Beemster-Schermer Polder, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We stopped to visit a group of three windmills (or water mills). If they are in a group of three or more, they are known as a gang of windmills. We were able to go inside one and see the mill at work. It is a museum, so we were also able to see how a miller’s family lived in the lower floor.

Our next stop was in the former fishing village of Volendam. It once was a thriving fishing community. After severe flooding, they made the conscious choice to drain the land around them. They now are situated on and behind a dike, but they lost their fishing livelihood. Some stayed and changed career, so to speak; others moved away. It is now one incredibly touristy little town. Still, it was interesting to see its situation on the dike, its view out to the isle of Marken, and to walk its below-sea-level streets.

The calm and quiet residential streets, about 20 steps below the dike.

The bustling main tourist area, near the boat harbor.

The houses on the dike, looking out over the now freshwater lake.

We had lunch while in Volendam. It may not be known for its fishery anymore, but it is the place to get fresh fish. We started our meal with some local shrimp. This was followed by beautifully prepared haddock, and a little glass of Heineken to go with it.

Our last stop was at a cheese farm. They make Gouda from cow, goat, and sheep milk. We got to look at their aging room and taste all their different cheeses—different milks, different flavors, and different ages. A yummy stop.

As we headed back south to Amsterdam, we got to see a few fields of colorful tulips.

This was a rather long day, and parts of it were a bit touristy feeling. But we got to see some beautiful countryside, meet a nice family, see windmills in their natural environment, see tulips and dikes and canals. And we could take away dreams of the beautiful little canal  houses, some of the prettiest suburbs we’ve ever seen.