Week 49 in Zaandam

 Week 49

I had to go to Zaandam for a VHF Course and exam, so we made a touristy weekend of it 

Zaanse Schans is a neighborhood in the Dutch town of Zaandam, near Amsterdam. Historic windmills and distinctive green wooden houses were relocated here to recreate the look of an 18th/19th-century village. The Zaans Museum has regional costumes, model windmills and interactive exhibits on chocolate making. Artisan workshops demonstrate rare handicrafts such as wooden clog carving, barrel making and pewter casting.

Ben was in London, otherwise it would have been a 15 minute train ride to go and see him - for Janny at least, while I was busy with the course. As it turned out she gained her own diploma in "Shopping to Kill the Time".

We stayed in this hotel, which was only a 17 minute walk to the exam centre (an all too tempting water sports business!).

I'm tempted to say that the exam was much easier than I had expected, but it may just have been a reflection of the time I had put in...AND the fact that it was in English. I've been studying the Dutch Course and Examination material off and on for quite a while now... but Janny arranged an English based RYA course for me - for my Birthday in October. So, I had no way to keep putting it off once the date had been set.

At the end of the Course (and having passed the exam) I thanked the instructor and made the point that it was nice to have done it in English as I quite often got bogged down with the Dutch version. He said that Dutch people also have difficulty with it, so don't worry about it. He had earlier commented that some Dutch officials had thought that his course must be "too easy because everyone passes" - but as the years have gone by it has become recognised that the more practical emphasis has been having results "in the real world". i.e. the theory is all well and good, but the practical application is what really matters. It seems that many people almost fear the consequences of getting it wrong and so don't use it effectively.

There were only 5 participants in the course - the others were Dutch but all had excellent English and could easily keep up with the English language course. They were all ocean sailors - a couple of them had just aquired their boats and were preparing for...whatever their particular dream is...

I was more interested in the practical application for inland waters - there are some quite significant differences with bridges, locks, ATIS and "block channels" for example.

We had a celebratory drink before 1700hrs...

We didn't see much of Zaandam. The Lockdown is still on, so everything was closed at 1700hrs - we had to have takeaways for the 2 nights - that was at least allowed. We had taken our own plates and cutlery just in case.

 We were more in danger of being skittled by the large number of delivery scooters and bicycles - especially the electric ones.

On Sunday morning it was pretty lousy weather but we went to see the Zaanse Schans just on principle. In good weather it would have been teeming with tourists, but we saw only a handful of other visitors.

Someone else's photo....

My photo...

We went inside "the world's ONLY paint grinding windmill" - the wood-working skill of those times never ceases to amaze me...

In this particular mill, the grinding wheels grind the raw materials for making pigments...

With a power take off and cams - also made from wood - they were able to produce vertical up and down movement for cold chisels...to break down larger chunks for the grinding wheel.

The A7 Freeway goes almost from Zaanse Schans to Leeuwarden so it was no turns for 132kms on the way home - over the Afsluitdijk (the closing dyke needed for the land reclamation). We hadn't been over it for a few years and were surprised to see major works raising the height of the dyke. Obviously, someone is thinking ahead...

I found this on the Government Infrastructure site...

The Afsluitdijk

The Afsluitdijk is protecting the Netherlands from the sea for more than 80 years now. However, the dyke no longer meets the current requirements for flood protection.


Rijkswaterstaat is therefore going to reinforce the Afsluitdijk. The body of the dyke will be widened and raised by about 2 m and the cladding on the outer side will be replaced. Concrete blocks will be placed over the existing basalt blocks on the lower slope. These 'Level blocks' weigh 6,500 kg each and have a wave retardant effect. Because of their symmetry and the regular way they are positioned, the blocks have a tranquil appearance that reinforces the austere and autonomous character of the dyke. Every block will be GPS chipped, making them easy to inspect and maintain.

Interestingly, the works were also being carried out at the water level of the dyke - not just the top.

 

During the week we had cold weather and a bit of scraping to do...

We also had 2 client birthdays with the obligatory cake...and we have to do it again next week....

I was busy with studying and bookkeeping, so Tjeerd had a nice indoor job of setting up the Christmas trees...