Max visits Zaanse Schans and Maastricht!

Zaanse Schans (Z.S.) — We the participants were tasked by our program's staff to experience Z.S. as best we see fit after touring the windmills. While fascinating in size, I was a bit lost in terms of its historical/cultural significance. However, it was fun to actually go inside of one and climb to the top as I have seen actors like Johnny Depp do in the film "Sleepy Hollow". After that tour, I visited some shops on the way to another main attraction on the staff's itinerary. While I do not remember the names of each shop explicitly, I can display photos of my endeavors! There was a cheese tasting shop that had interesting flavors like black garlic and truffle, both things I do not commonly have in the form of cheese! In the vicinity of the cheeses were popular snacks like mini stroopwaffels and several forms of clogs (shoes) that would appear small on keychains or sizeable collectibles maybe not meant to be worn but amazing to see how its cultural significance is represented through its endless renditions! In a different shop, there was a plethora of random collectibles where i felt super at home. I was fascinated by this magnifying glass with a tusk handle and these molds of esteemed members of society in wood that i think are meant to decorate breads or cookies for banquets. Finally, the anticipated visit to the time museum. I was unfamiliar with just how increasingly creative people get with their clocks. I had seen a cuckoo clock before, and that was just surface-level compared to what a clock could actually become.  

On a different day, we took a train two hours to the town of Maastricht. It was much wetter there and leaning more towards the landscape of the countryside. It was much quieter there too which was notable. We did lots of walking to get to our cave seeing activity, but to make up for the strenuous journey, there were silly animals and sublime landscapes for us to enjoy! I was so fixated on experiencing the cave fully, I had left my phone in my bag during the tour. I did manage to take photos of my sights on the way there. The cave tour was led by a very informed man on the cave's history and curation. He prefaced his tour by saying there are tours happening simultaneously with ours and that there are bats resting within the crevices of the cave, in case we get spooked by various sounds. He told us about the horror stories of people being lost in there as the tunnels appear the same at every turn. He encapsulates the story by directing us to a linear etching in the walls meant to guide us out of the cave in absence of light. I almost wanted him to shut the light off so we could test the theory, but I don't think my parents or peers would have enjoyed that as much as me hehe.