In between driving to locations and enjoying tourist experiences, I’ve been applying for drone operator registration in Ireland. Quite the process. I won’t bore you. Have achieved. Yay!!!

A 2 hour journey from Nimegen north west, brings you to one of the most beautiful quiet and rural villages, Broek in Waterland, with about 2500 inhabitants. In the 17thC, it used to compete with mighty Amsterdam. It had a very deep harbour (twenty metres deep at some point), allowing big East India vessels to dock here. The most striking sight in Broek in Waterland are the old wooden houses.

Many are painted in muted greyish-blue, making Broek in Waterland a village with ‘fifty shades of grey’, boom boom! These pretty houses preserve their original details, like ceremonial doors (used only for marriages and funerals), carved and colorful lintels (a way of identifying a house before the invention of house numbers) and stone tiles on the chimneys (to prevent witches from flying in, true story).

Monnickendam, historic, less-crowded fishing village near Amsterdam with, traditional houses and a scenic harbor, is one of the hidden gems, (not included in the tourist circuit,) therefore it’s relatively quiet all year round. Only 15 kilometres distance from Amsterdam, makes it an easy day-trip, by bus, car or bike, whatever you choose. If I was able to ride a bike, that’s what I’d choose…as the route from Amsterdam takes you through green fields, canals and the lovely Broek in Waterland village. Liked the statue of the eel smoker and fisherman on the habour’s edge, wearing traditional dutch clogs. In the past, the village was full of eel smoke houses, this craft has almost disappeared.

Home to approximately 2,000 residents, Marken however is on the tourist route! It’s little more than one square mile of land connected to the mainland by the Zeedijk—a causeway constructed in 1957 to the mainland — and very easy to navigate in just a few hours.

After a major storm in the 13th century, and the fact that the surrounding peat bogs succumbed to excessive mining, Marken was transformed into an island and instantly caught the attention of Frisian monks who saw this newfound insular location as an opportunity to build their monasteries. After occupying the land during the 13th and 14th centuries, the monks left when Amsterdam purchased Marken in the latter part of the 14th century. During the 17th century, Marken prospered with its booming fishing and shipping industries and the village’s economy thrived until the early 20th century, when in 1932, the Zuiderzee or the Southern Sea was cut off from its northern counterpart by the Afsluitdijk or dam enclosure project, and thus put an end to this seaside town’s primary source of income. Today, tourism drives the Marken economy but so does its cheese and wooden clogs manufacturing as well

As you make your way in and around Marken, I found that the village has retained much of its original character and color with most of the buildings and houses intact and either resting upon dikes or pilings— reminders of the onslaught of flooding endured by these Dutch habitants throughout history. Little pathways meander in and around these charming dwellings and canals cut through the landscape adding more beauty to this picturesque Dutch village.

Tried a quintessential national snack, bitterballen at a local cafe (braised beef that’s been thickened with a roux, rolled into little balls, breaded and deep-fried until crispy. Can’t say I’ll be having again….something about the soft texture and taste of the mixture. Liked the crispy outside though.

Heading into Amsterdam, drove through another tiny village of about 320 people, Zuiderwoude. The sheep were interested in the passing traffic…