Zandam, Holland ⠀ What are the similarities between St. Petersburg and the town of Zaandam in the Netherlands? Climate channels? That's right, but also the name of Peter the Great. It was in this city on the Zaan River that the Russian autocrat, modestly calling himself Peter Mikhailov, learned the basics of shipbuilding. ⠀ Zaandam is the second train stop from the Central Station of the capital, direct trains leave it literally every 10 minutes. ⠀ What can you do in Zandam? Read on our TOP-5 things to do in this Dutch town: ⠀ 1. Visit the house of Peter I. Tsaar Peterhuisje - this is the name of the Dutch for a small wooden house where Peter I lived when he arrived in the Netherlands with the Great Embassy in 1697. 2. Go to the museum of wooden houses Zanse Schans. This is an old village, the buildings of which are an example of Dutch wooden architecture of the XVII - XVIII centuries. The houses were brought here from different parts of the Netherlands. 3. Look into the Zaan Museum. The museum stores clothes, household items, furniture of local residents of past eras. There is also a fisherman’s house where you can find out how local fishermen lived before the industrial boom in the region. 4. Take a picture at the hotel. Yes, yes, it is at the hotel. In 2010, the attention of the whole world was attracted by the opening of the four-star Inntel Hotel Zaandam (pictured), which was built in the ultramodern style of Dutch architecture. 5. Take a look at the old churches located throughout the city. ⠀ Has anyone been in this town?