Volendam, Netherlands

Approximately 10-15 miles northeast of Amsterdam on the Markermeer (a large lake in the central Netherlands) is the lakeside town of Volendam (located just left of the little blue "m" in Marker-meer on the map).

The Markermeer was not originally intended to remain a lake. It used to be part of the Zuiderzee, a saltwater inlet of the North Sea, that was dammed off by the Afsluit-dijk (Closure Dike) in 1932, turning the Zuiderzee into the freshwater IJsselmeer (Ijssel Lake).

The following years saw the reclamation of extensive tracts of land in a massive project known as the Zuiderzee Works. One of these, the Markerwaard (Marker Land), was to occupy the area of the current Markermeer (Lake Marker). Part of the construction of dikes to dry out this bit of land was the building of the Houtrib-dijk which was finished in 1976, and hydrologically splits the IJsselmeer in two, the southern section being the Markermeer. Markermeer is very shallow, ranging from 3 to 5 feet in depth. The Houtrib-dijk is now topped with a busy highway.

The existing ecological and recreational value of the Markermeer was considered by many to be equal or superior to any potential such value the Markerwaard (that is, land created by drying out the lake) would offer. Years ago, doubts began to surface about the overall cost-effectiveness of the project and it is now on indefinite hold.



The day I was in Volendam enjoying the sight of the many sailboats at the dock and in the lake, I saw this little girl being treated to an ice cream cone while her brother (equally little) pushed around a little toy car on the stone walkway. It was a windy and chilly day, but as you can see, the afternoon sun was warming things up.

I wonder what has become of this little girl and her brother. I'm sure she has no idea some American tourist saw her, took her picture, and remembers her enjoying her ice cream with such relish.

:)