Zaanse Schans, Netherlands (September 3, 2025)
Oh yeah, now THIS is the Netherlands you think of when people say they are from the Netherlands — windmills, handmade wooden shoes, tulips and 9 month aged cheese that’s to die for … oh yeah and amazing hot chocolate. I mean THIS is what we imagine (as tourists) and this is exactly what Aleksandra Rutkowska delivered when bringing Violet and I to Zaanse Schans in the Netherlands; like a time machine dropping you back to the 1400s.
Let’s begin with the story of the cheese …
Yes, Violet took down this entire block of cheese (with some help from me)
Yesterday, while Violet and I were walking around Amsterdam getting ready for dinner with Sandra de Gelder, I asked Violet if we could enter one of the 18 Henri Willig Cheese stores I kept seeing near Sandra’s house. The greeter was in full Dutch costume and more than happy to tell us about her employer. It turns out Henri Willig was a dairy farmer and in 1974 (more than 50 years ago), decided to try his hand at cheese. He sold out his first batch to a group of tourists and decided to go “all in” on cheese.
And it’s delicious. This young woman schooled Violet and I on premium dutch cheese. We learned that while many of the flavored cheese are “mild” tasting and often combined with things like truffles, lavender, beer, etc. that’s because they are only 3 months aged. The really “powerful” tasting cheese is 9 month’s aged and is where you get that gorgeous gouda taste. We took sample after sample and our knowledge of cheese expanding alongside our pallet.
Turns out, they ship to the US and, should be interested in a 20% discount, just use “Cheeselovers20%” (minimum order is 50 Euros, and well worth it). If I knew what Sandra and friends were serving, I would have totally bought some just for the dinner party, but instead I grabbed some Tony’s Chocolate instead — dessert is always a safe bet.
But, when we saw THE SAME cheese factory here at Zaanse Schans, we couldn’t pass up a good thing twice. Violet and I remembered the exact cheese we fell in love with the day before and bought it. We got a raised eyebrow by the young woman we asked to help us open it, but an older woman overheard our request and gladly cut open the packaging so we could enjoy it right then and there. And we did. Aleksandra Rutkowska had never witnessed any guest taking down a full block of cheese and agreed this would now be a “new bar” when she takes future guests to Zaanse Schans in the future. (Good luck!)
Next up, wooden shoes. These are the original Crocks. And today I watched them get made from scratch. Originally, back before machines, an expert cobbler would take a full 3 hours to hand carve a pair of wooden shoes. But now, properly treated wood can be carved in as little as 3 minutes — two minutes for the outside and 1 minute for the inside before being sanded and finished (so like 10 min total).
Now, let’s be clear. Violet and I have a bag a bit larger than a school backpack which in NO WAY has room for wooden shoes, but it was fun to watch, learn and play. I could totally see having a pair to wear outside and especially garden in. They are sturdy, comfortable and protect your feet. I’m a fan. Just not enough of a fan to drag a pair around the world with me for the next 10 months.
Next, Aleksandra Rutkowska took us to see all the various windmills — still in operation. There are windmills that are used to pull oil out of the earth. There are windmills still used to cut wood and run machinery. There are windmills that generate electricity and even windmills that grind up grain for flour to make breads and other delicious foods.
It was quite a windy day so most of the windmills did not have their “sails” on, but a few of them had one or two out of the four to give them quite a crank. I imagine that four sails on a highly windy day would risk damaging the windmill so the owners adjust based on the level of wind they have to work with.
Violet and I made our own hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream. Yum!
Oh yeah, the hot chocolate. That was divine. You walk into legit chocolate factory and see that they have every kind of chocolate you could imagine including chocolate beers. You walk to the counter and make your own: 2 scoops of coco, 2 scoops of sugar, two shots of water, then filler up with warm cow’s milk (whole, of course) and then add rasberry (or cinnamon) marshmallows and then fresh whipped cream on top. Life is uncertain. Drink dessert first!
We also saw sheep, chickens, ducks and the rest of the farm elements sprinkled around the area. There is a full neighborhood that’s still “active” and housed by people living in this throwback tourist town. Which made me wonder, who is drawn to living in this 1400 era neighborhood? I’m sure it’s fun initially, but eventually I imagine the non-stop tourism gets to be a bit much.
Finally, Aleksandra Rutkowska drove us back to Amsterdam so that we could make our lunch meeting with more coach friends. Just one tiny problem. I gave her the address to YESTERDAY’s lunch location. Yep. I didn’t even recognize it until after we were dropped off and walked the wrong direction initially. When we turned around and realized our mistake, we saw we were a good 30 minutes away from our intended lunch spot. Yikes! I hate being late, but what can you do? I texted our mistake, apologized and hustled to the correct address via public transit (which, by the way, totally ROCKS in Amsterdam).
Jacqueline Wenting, Bertine Brouwer, and Irene Everaert for lunch together
Oh how fun! Bertine Brouwer knows my really good friend, Janneke van den Berkmortel. And, if she could have made it happen, would have come to Amsterdam from Seattle just to hang out with this Motley Crew. Instead, Bertine pulled in their mutual friend (and schoolmate) Jacqueline Wenting and nearby neighbor, Irene Everaert for a wonderful lunch together.
The (correct) restaurant, Ode, was once again fabulous. I would have been happy to have a repeat at yesterday’s lunch restaurant too, but at it turns out each new place has wonderful add-ons and culinary strengths of their own. Each lunch dish had their own unique flavors and a culmination of Dutch and fusion with whatever inspires the chef.
Ode was also across the canal from WPP in Amsterdam. This is the holding company of Ogilvy & Mather, one of the first agencies I ever worked for back in 1996 to 1997 when I managed the digital assets for IBM, AMEX and a few smaller website builds. I love seeing this company continue to grow and prosper nearly 30 years later. I almost went over to check out their new campus. Looks amazing from the other side of the canal. But I digress.
Made sure I also included the Amsterdam “Banana Hat” shot (Check!)
Violet and I had a blast. Not surprising, we all celebrated the work we collectively do as coaches and the impact each of us are committed to making in the world. These deep and rich conversations are what I value most.
When the topic inevitably turned to continuing to grow their respective coaching businesses, I urged them to listen to the free audible version (read by via my AI agent) of Sage Business Development and AskBill.us (also free) for specific applications on their niche, offer, generating and converting appointments. It’s always the “essential few” that is most important vs. the “trivial many” that distracts us from building and growing our businesses.
Violet recounted the block of cheese she bravely demolished earlier that day and shared why she was planning on skipping dessert. And after we felt we sufficiently covered all of our bases, we hugged each other and went our separate ways. Looking forward to regrouping in the future.
Elena and I celebrate 25 years of marriage today — for the first time apart :-(
And I’ll share that today marks 25 years of blissful marriage to my wife, Elena, pictured above. Five years ago we published our bestselling book, The Three Rules of Marriage which is based on my mother and father-in-laws core principles of creating a blissful marriage. And they should know. They just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last month (at 92 and 93 years young). Wow. I trust that Elena and I have another 45 years together. Wouldn’t that be incredible?
The ONLY bummer is that I won’t see Elena for another 23 days when she joins Violet and me in Italy on September 26th in Venice. I’m very much looking forward to that reunion. It’s been too long since I last saw her (66 days ago) and despite all the calls and texts, it’s just not the same without her.
Now that I have Violet with me, I’m counting the days until Elena is with us too. Despite not having Will with us, it will feel like I’m with (most of) my family for at least a few months before Elena heads back home to New York — sometime in November after Vietnam. But between then we’ll have a solid 8 weeks together. And that will feel like home.
Happy anniversary, Elena! I love you and I miss you. Can’t wait to see you soon.
