Woudsend, Friesland

I've been to Amsterdam a few times, but honestly (embarrasingly?) it never occurred to me to visit the countryside. But as luck would have it, some friends won a free stay at a cottage in a small village called Woudsend and they invited us to join them. How could we say no? And what a surprising delight it was to explore the countryside, farm lands, canals and windmills. 

I never harbored a secret desire to learn how windmills work, but our village had two working mills, both open and giving tours. One mill was grinding flour, the other sawing wood - both were utterly fascinating! I took way too many photos and videos, but I’ll spare you. Just know that if you’re ever given the opportunity to tour a working windmill, you should do it! 

The food in our little village was equally delightful. The croissants in the bakery were made using the flour from the neighboring windmill! For lunch, I had maybe the best turkish eggs of my life at Cafe de Watersport. And we had an excellent dinner in a old mennonite church-turned-restaurant called ’tPonjke. The name translates “church collection bag” in Friesland - which is exactly how the bill was delivered to our table! So clever.

One last thing  - as luck would have it, we were there for the annual village summer party. All the locals were out enjoying live music and playing games like Stack the Beer Crates (?)! The whole place felt like a dutch Stars Hollow. 

What a great weekend - and a refreshing change from my usual city escapes!