Thursday, July 3, 2014

In My Little Wooden Shoes ~Throwback Thursday

In My Little Wooden Shoes ~Throwback Thursday

Old pair I picked up at a garden store
When people think of The Netherlands, most people think of Windmills, tulips, and a few other fabulous things but today I’m throwing it back to the good ole wooden shoes. 
This one is actually a bottle opener
Enter any tourist area in The Netherlands and you can find a variety of little wooden shoe “bits and bobs” (that’s my new favorite saying I picked up from my new friend who’s from England). 
My favorite color.. Delft Blue
Wooden shoes, wooden shoe slippers, wooden shoe bottle openers, wooden shoe ornaments… the list really goes on and on, and I say this with love because I have a few of my own.
My favorite pair made by my friend Carrie.
One USA and one Dutch (the insides are orange)

Over 3,000,000 wooden shoes are made each year. Here they are called Klompen… a klomp is a clog and a klompen is a clog that covers the whole foot.

 Most are sold for tourist purposes 
My husband's parents wearing a pair and doing the "Dutch Kissing Boy and Girl"
At the Kinderdijk celebrating 53 years of marriage!
but I love seeing random people actually wearing them. Farmers, gardeners or others who need a good solid foot protection usually wear them. Apparently they are quite comfortable and are really good at protecting your feet from dropping tools or things in the dirt or earth that could penetrate through a shoe or boot. The oldest wooden shoe was found in Amsterdam along the historic street of Nieuwendijk and dates back to 1230. People here in The Netherlands began wearing wooden shoes as they kept the feet dryer than normal leather shoes. They’re easy to slip on and off as you come inside so you don’t drag dirt into your home. 

Originally wooden shoes were made by hand and still can be, but that takes about 2-3 hours. Now they have machines that can make a pair of shoes in about 5 minutes.

In memory of Shirley Temple, who died earlier this year. 

Featured Post

Stolen Childhood Holocaust Survivor ~ Maurits Louis Witsema (de Wit)

Stolen Childhood Holocaust Survivor ~ Maurits Louis Witsema (de Wit) As a little girl growing up in Michigan, I loved to play outside...