Our next stop was the small village of Volendam after we left Zaanse Schans. It was a 15-mile bus ride and it took us to a small fishing village. It used to be the main harbor for the adjacent town of Edam. A separate harbor was created for Edam, the Volendam harbor reclaimed for land, and settled with new residents. The village also became a popular retreat for artists. We were there to check out the cheese of Volendam at the Cheese Factory Volendam.

We crowded the cheese factory on our arrival in Volendam. There were a large variety of cheese and it was apparent that the factory was doing good business. It was both a cheese museum and cheese shop and it provided a lot of information about cheese making. I always loved cheese and I was almost overwhelmed being confronted by new varieties of cheese. We bought some of the ones that we thought were good and headed out the door. Although I love cheese, I knew I was in no way a cheese connoisseur.

We walked the narrow streets of Volendam as we headed for our next destination. It looked attractive, clean, and lined on both sides with shops selling a variety of merchandise. It was tempting to visit and view each shop but we had to be with the tour group. Our next destination – the island of Marken.