The "work" week passed pretty uneventfully - swim lessons, gymnastics, and my first American Women's Club of Amsterdam General Meeting. I was super excited because the meeting location was only about a 10 minute walk from our home - no need to hop on a tram or bus! They provide child care, so it was great to have a little time to myself to meet some new people. Quite a few ladies from the Chicago area, so I'm hoping to get a few "Windy City" connections going. Ben did great with the babysitters. He was the last one to be picked up, so he had 3 Dutch gals all to himself...heaven for the little boy who loves attention and to make the ladies smile. :) Greg had a busy week, and he is already starting to plan his spring 2009 travel agenda for work.
We definitely could have spent more time here, but the skies were starting to look dark and cloudy and Ben was fighting a nap, so we thought it best to head home. Our only disappointment was that Greg's colleagues were sure there would be poffertjes (those wonderful little pancakes drowning in butter and sugar) - and there weren't. It was probably for the best - in terms of calories anyway. :)
On Saturday, we visited Zaanse Schans, a small neighborhood in Zaanstad about 20 minutes (train ride) north of Amsterdam. Greg had heard it was a great way to see some traditional Dutch culture - windmills, cheese-making, clogs, etc. We loved it! The weather was cool and crisp - a great fall day. The village itself is quaint and definitely has a feeling of stepping back a century or two. 
This next windmill is used to grind raw materials to make pigments for paints. It is believed to be the only mill of its kind. The green mill in the photo with the sheep is a sawmill. The other working mills in the village are oil mills.
We had packed a picnic, so we stopped and ate lunch - overlooking the windmills and water on one side, and looking at the cows and fields on the other. Good thing we packed ham sandwiches so we could try out our new mustard - amazing! Even Greg who doesn't care for mustard was slathering it on!
After lunch, we went to the cheese farm for a look - and a taste. So much cheese, need I say more?! 
We walked to the wooden shoe workshop, where Ben and Greg had fun playing in the clogs (Greg is such a good sport for appeasing his wife!). Inside was a display of the wooden shoes - I loved the wall of "wedding clogs" - very fancy! One of the workers walked down the stairs - wow, there is no sneaking up on anyone in clogs!
We followed the path that guides you along the windmills. There are still six working windmills, although at one point, there used to be over 1,000! The one below is the mustard mill, and we walked away with 3 jars of the yummy stuff!
This next windmill is used to grind raw materials to make pigments for paints. It is believed to be the only mill of its kind. The green mill in the photo with the sheep is a sawmill. The other working mills in the village are oil mills. We had packed a picnic, so we stopped and ate lunch - overlooking the windmills and water on one side, and looking at the cows and fields on the other. Good thing we packed ham sandwiches so we could try out our new mustard - amazing! Even Greg who doesn't care for mustard was slathering it on!After lunch, we went to the cheese farm for a look - and a taste. So much cheese, need I say more?! We walked to the wooden shoe workshop, where Ben and Greg had fun playing in the clogs (Greg is such a good sport for appeasing his wife!). Inside was a display of the wooden shoes - I loved the wall of "wedding clogs" - very fancy! One of the workers walked down the stairs - wow, there is no sneaking up on anyone in clogs! We definitely could have spent more time here, but the skies were starting to look dark and cloudy and Ben was fighting a nap, so we thought it best to head home. Our only disappointment was that Greg's colleagues were sure there would be poffertjes (those wonderful little pancakes drowning in butter and sugar) - and there weren't. It was probably for the best - in terms of calories anyway. :) We have been traveling so much lately outside of the Netherlands that we loved exploring a new place in our own backyard. The quaint little town made us feel very far from the busyness and noise of the big city. And, I love getting to be outside enjoying God's creation with my family. As we were chatting at lunch, it still feels very surreal that we are here. Even though 5 months have gone by and Amsterdam feels like home, it is still sometimes hard to believe that we (your favorite type A, organized, "gotta have a plan" Zabikows) took the risk to say yes to where God was calling us.
And now, we are busy with our London and family preparations - packing, cleaning, etc. We leave Tuesday morning on the train (the Chunnel!) for London. Dad, Sherry, and Grandma will meet us on Wednesday morning at the hotel, and then we will sightsee and enjoy our time there until Sunday morning when we all take the train back to Amsterdam. All of our American friends here have said that visiting England almost feels like visiting the States. Lots of recognizable stores and, of course, hearing people speak English! And for us, with meeting family there, I'm sure it will be a very special trip! Can't wait to tell you all about it when we get back.
Until then...tot ziens!
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