I just got back from an absolutely amazing trip to the Netherlands so I thought I'd share some of my photos.

Windmills

We traveled to Zaanse Schans, a small town just north of Amsterdam to see a few of the historic windmills for which the Netherlands is well known. They're quite beautiful structures, well preserved and a wonderful insight into the way things used to be.

Unfortunately we were there on a rainy day but the town was still quite charming.

Inside the windmills, we could see how massive stone wheels were turned by the wind to mill grains and other plant matter for human consumption.

The Netherlands was an important part of the spice trade in the days before modern shipping and global distribution, and the mills played no small part in this.

The spices were baked into cookies and candies, using molds like these.

It was amazing to see the simplicity and ingenuity of these systems and lifestyles, such a contrast to the massive industry and machinery of today.