Zuider Zee Museum, Enkhuizen

A wonderful day out at the exceptional Zuider Zee Museum. Took the train from Amsterdam for an hour's ride to Enkhuizen, home of the museum showcasing the history of the communities that surrounded the old Zuider Zee.

There's an outdoor museum, divided into several quarters, where collections of buildings and artifacts from around the shores of the Zuider Zee have been sited to show what it was like to live in this area around the 1920's. The fishing quarter has a windmill, herring smoking ovens and fishing associated buildings while the town area has shops and workshops where people demonstate various trades and crafts.

The history of the Zuider Zee area was threatened with being lost when a great dyke was thrown across the north of the Zee to help protect the vulnerable coastline from regular flooding. This turned the salty water of the Zuider Zee from to the fresh water of Ijseelmeer, protecting the coastline but changing for ever the nature of communities surrounding the old Zee.

I've been here before, but a long time ago, when the two boys were young - must be over 25 years ago now. The outdoor museum was much as I remembered it, down to the fresh smoked kippers (now charging 2 euros a piece - I thought they were free then) But the indoor museum was absolutely superb setting out in an audio visual presentation of the impact of many storms and surges on the coastline that led up to the building of the dyke across the mouth of the Zuider Zee. The construction of the dyke and draining of the new polders was also well presented. You could have spent most of the day inside - but the weather was warm and sunny so we spent most of the time in the outdoor museum.

Which was where we spotted this chap in his clogs hoeing one of the museum gardens. Being allotment holders we were interested in what he was doing and what he had to say, so we spent a happy 15-20 minutes talking to him about all sorts of things. He was the only person we'd seen in clogs. He swore by them claiming they kept his feet warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Enkhuisen itself is a fine old town and we spent a while admiring the old buildings, cafes, canals and reflections before choosing a place for our evening meal.