Today I took a walk in the old village Sloten. Sloten is an old settlement where people lived before Amsterdam became livable. A “terp” is  an artificial hill that is suitable for habitation. In Medieval times the water in the northern regions could easily flood the land and take away everything on said land. One way of surviving on one’s land was by building artificial hills to live above the waves and floods.

When you go to Sloten it is easy to miss. The Leidseplein area is larger than this village. On the bike you can ride through the village in 30 seconds and all you see is some old brown houses and some churches. The streets are narrow and the old bricks in the street are either somewhat level or simply on different levels in varying angles.

Sloten is located next to the Windmill that also serves as a “Kuiperijmuseum”. On the regional map of Amsterdam think of Amsterdam in the middle with expansions to the north, south, west and east. Now To the west you have Oud West, Nieuw West, Osdorp, Sloten and across a white bridge next to a big wooden windmill Badhoevedorp. Next to Badhoevedorp you find Schiphol and Hoofddorp.

As it is the seventh of September, the weather is still quite pleasant. Hopefully there is enough good weather until the end of the month. When the village cat greets you I have to consider that a privilege. Sloten, once a small village is now part of Gemeente Amsterdam. Sloten is well worth a quick visit. When you are lucky you might find a red cat at the village square…