Marken-Edam-Volendam

or about the world outside A'dam...


As said before, outside Amsterdam the world gets back to normal again. Well, not really, because I still felt like under some magic spell while discovering all the small towns and walking along cute houses with original gardens. When I left the capital I was travelling alone again and could explore more, get to know more people and shot some nice scenes. Again a well-balanced proportion between travelling alone and travelling with a company.
Marken, which is an island, boasts a colourful harbour and an array of original nicely decorated houses. I could walk there the whole day long and wouldn't be fed up at all. But as it was rainy almost all the day I quickly changed my mind and after few hours headed for the next towns. I enjoyed though the peaceful atmosphere of the town, the view of wide empty fields or calm animals grazing near the harbour.

Edam and Volendam were much more crowded although still far less chaotic than Amsterdam. The main attraction in Volendam is the harbour again but I preferred to stroll along its narrow streets, far away from crowds of tourists. I met an Australian couple on the way – a marriage in their middle-age travelling around Europe for 6 weeks, heading for Italy after visiting the Netherlands. We talked for a short time and then our ways parted again.
Both towns were full of souvenirs as well and in the ecenter of Edam there was a huge loud and kitschy fun-fair. But once you got through it, you could discover the real, quite calm image of the town, well-known for its cheese.