the wandering chick
...the Netherlands
her land
bike trail through sand dunes
Schermerland
a garden cottage at the water's edge

One of the most charming areas of the Netherlands is the province north of Amsterdam called North Holland.

Less populated, it's here you focus on the land and get an instant understanding of the constant struggle the Dutch have in their sometimes futile efforts to keep the waters at bay. You realize that the hearty scattering of canvas-sailed windmills are for more than just show.

Schermerland
pulley being used to hoist furniture into narrow Dutch house
It's in North Holland you'll find low-lying farmland, such as the area around Schermerland (above).

Right: Due to their narrow homes - and staircases - the Dutch must rely on pullies to get large pieces of furniture into the house. Yep, through the window.

Below, left: A typical Dutch window with its delicate lace curtains

window with lace curtains
bike trail through the sand dunes
A garden cottage sits on the canal in Edam.
a local stands in clogs in front of a windmill
a Dutch sock dryer
Above right: The sand dunes along the coast of North Holland were constructed to protect the gentle land which is no match to the fury of the raging North Sea.

Right: A local in his working clogs

Left: A Dutch farmer's sock dryer

windmill at kinderdyke
clogs stacked on street waiting to be sold

Above, left: Being a working windmill, this one is inhabited. Note its row of clogs that add a unique touch to the 'front yard.'

Above, right: A stack of brightly colored clogs is waiting to be sold. Whereas the Dutch are often seen wearing clogs, these are more of the tourist variety.

Left: Sand dunes make a soft, furry appearance, perhaps masking their true value.

grass that makes up the dunes
houses now crooked from the settling land
The unsettled land is evident in these pics, typical of the quaint little town of Hoorn. a fishing village on the Issjelmeer in North Holland.
Hoorn town square
a working windmill at Kinderdyke
The drawbridge at Edam
Schermerland, a working windmill in north Holland
Above, left: A dairy farm in North Holland

Right: A working drawbridge in Edam, North Holland

Left: Schermerland has a museum that allows you to explore the inside of a windmill.

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windmill
rowhouses
Row houses in the North Holland region in the area of the Ijsselmeer (sea).
forest
In the town of Zandvoort on the North Sea
delft porcelain
delft porcelain
An artist demonstrates the process of hand-painting the well-known blue and white Delft pottery. The city, by the same name, is in the western Netherlands.