Marken and Volendam

It may seem that I am combining the fishing villages of Marken and Volendam as a way of speeding through my Dutch travelogue. This is partly true. However, the two really are inextricably linked by a 45 minute ferry ride and a world of tourist brochures. If ever you find yourself in a conversation with someone who has just visited Marken (unlikely I know, but it could happen), the correct response is "But did you go to Volendam? Volendam is much nicer." If it so happens that the person originally mentions that they went to Volendam, telling them that Marken is much nicer is also perfectly acceptable. The bottom line is that touristic conventions require you to visit both.

Funny thing is that despite the geographical proximity and the shared commercial backgrounds, I found the two to be quite different from each other. Marken, which was once an island highly prone to flooding, still retains all the charm that one envisions upon hearing the phrase "fishing village". Only now, they have an effective system of dikes and flood gates to keep them above water and a bridge to link them to the mainland. Prior to the implementation of this much needed water maintenance plan, the residents had a much simpler solution. Build higher. All the homes were built upon high wooden stilts. At the time, it was a question of practicality, but now it has a resulted in an almost unbearably picturesque village. After 30 minutes of walking past impeccably manicured lawns, adorable blond children and some of the loveliest wooden homes I have ever set eyes upon, Shawn and I decided to rename the place "Postcard Town". I envisioned a Gestapo-like village association demanding that its residents maintain an impossibly high level of cuteness. Whatever the method, it worked. It truly felt like we walking through a movie set. A really big movie set, with its photogenic lighthouse a good 50 minute walk away, despite some jokester bus driver's assuring us that it was only 15. Maybe it was the Postcard Town accent that threw us.

Since we had spent more time than expected in Postcard Town and our sightseeing schedule was tightly packed, we hustled to board the ferry to Volendam. The ferry landing on the other side leaves you squarely in the middle of a bustling street packed with restaurants, cafes and an unimaginable number of souvenir shops. Who knew there could be so much money to be made in wooden shoes? There are also a number of shops where you can dress in a traditional Dutch costume and have your photo taken. Had a certain someone co-operated I would be posting a picture of us in funny footwear, but alas, a certain someone vetoed the idea immediately. With no photo to take, we sought to get away from the hordes by wandering through the tiny lanes leading away from the waterfront. Doolhof St., in particular, was quite pretty, but we had just come from Postcard Town and thus demanded more than "quite pretty". I was disappointed to see so much litter in the canals and almost distraught to see a suburban strip mall in the middle of it all. In the end, I felt that although the two villages are so often linked together, Volendam is really the antithesis of Marken. Where one is quaint, the other in blatantly commercial. Where one is so meticulously maintained, the other is its messy sibling. One has peace and tranquility, the other, herring prepared in 15 different ways. Both are worth a visit, but for entirely different reasons. I personally preferred Marken but some of my colleagues were won over by Volendam. Or was that just what they were supposed to say?