Seafood & Clogs - Volendam, Netherlands

Volendam is a town in North Holland, north of Amsterdam. Sometimes known as “the pearl of the south sea”, this place is a highly popular tourist destination. This is where a lot of Dutch clichés can be found, including the traditional costumes and popular Dutch wooden shoes. Most of these clichés, however, have a lot of history to them.

Volendam is a Dutch town known for its colourful wooden houses and the old fishing boats in its harbor, which is lined with seafood vendors. Dave and i enjoyed an eel sandwhich for lunch which is a local favorite. Volendam has always been a fishermen’s village, and even after the closing of the “Zuiderzee”, and the fishing industry not being what it used to be, the harbor with its many boats is still a major attraction amongst tourists. It also has the largest fresh water lake in europe, catching all the run off from the canals.

Not far from the town we stopped in to watch traditional Dutch clog shoe makers. A shoemaker could make 2 pairs of shows a day on average. With the invention of the machine from the video they could make 200!Read more