This is a picture I took last summer while visiting Marken, a town in the Netherlands. This nice lady gave a demonstration on how these special protective footwear are custom-made to suit the individual. Many see these shoes as a primitive form of footwear, but they are actually quite practical, especially for farmers or other laborers in North Holland. Our guide explained that the wood effectively wicks moisture away from the feet, which is ideal in the Dutch wetlands. The wood-carving process is quite complex -- this definitely sparked my interest... much like Russian Matryoshkas... I don't think I will start up a collection of klompen though! If you want to see some images of sweet little towns, you should look up Volendam and/or Marken.
Those towns are exactly what I think of when a classic Dutch scene comes to mind. Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, German-like architecture, cheese, canals... Classic Netherlands!
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