Although it was tough for me to wake up early on Saturday, I knew i have to kick my tail out of the stable if I want to enjoy yet another sunny day in the Netherlands.

One thing I fell for is the train transportation. Comfortable, fast and hey, did you know, Dutch electric trains become 100% powered by wind energy as of 1st January 2017? Awesome! Go green is always appreciated not only by humans with sense of nature but also by us, animals.

This time, the train took me, my crazy owner and even more crazy friend of hers to the beautiful and well-known Zaanse Schans. Dreamy location filled with collection of traditional houses and windmills which were build right after 1574 and transported to the area by the road and water. This all was thought through and designed by Jaap Schipper who came up with the plan in 1946 and the actual move started in 1961. Sounded very old to me so I asked my owner whether she remembers these days? She laughs and claims she is not that old and that one day soon, I will start to get classes on numbers and years to avoid offending someone…Curious what she meant by that…

Arriving to Zaanse Schans, first thing I noticed is strong and pleasant smell which I am not able to categorize to anything known to me. Popping the question whether everyone can smell the tasty air or it’s my horse nose only, I learned it’s the smell of chocolate…but why here and so strong? Soon we discovered, there is huge cocoa factory based in an old barn, where cocoa beans are crushed to make over 130 different types of chocolate for two centuries!

I did taste some of their delicious truffles and Oh My Horse… my tongue will never take a regular sugar cube ever again!

Walking the famous route to discover the combination of traditional houses and windmills, I got chased by a duck! She was very curious coming closer and closer and then, I got the life surprise! She quacked at me calling my name …. ”JACKIE” ?? I asked, how does she know my name and guess what. She is an aunt of another uncle of the Haarlem tribe and she has heard about me from my friend Quack IV Junior. Ducks are very friendly in the Netherlands!

And we walked and walked and couldn’t get enough of the peaceful views, happy people, sun, windmills, laughs and most importantly, I felt the freedom in my feet. Enjoying life is all that matters after all.

At the end of the trip, I was able to get the last sugar hit for the road treating me with delicious Zaanse hot chocolate. The sweet memories of Zaanse Schans will last for lifetime! 

With love, Jackie