Wooden Shoes in Holland

New shoes for a night on the town! Wooden high heels-I love it! Not sure anyone could walk in these, but occasionally you do see Dutch people, or I'm assuming they are Dutch, wearing wooden shoes-outside of the wooden shoe shops.
The Dutch started wearing wooden shoes for various reasons.

• They are made out of poplar or willow trees, which are abundant here, therefore, cheap to make.
• They keep your foot dry on swampy, wet land, which let me remind you, most of the Netherlands used to be water.
• Farmers were protected from injury by heavy objects falling on their feet
• And clearly, they are a fashion statement!

Here is a photo op I couldn't pass up. The guy on the left is wearing yellow (typical) wooden shoes, as he operates a bike/passenger ferry in a small town by us. Oh, and the correct way to wear them is with thick wool socks, for comfort. This ferry is so quaint. It operates on weekends and some evenings during warm weather. You pay 20cents for your ride and they pull you across using a cable. The guy in the wooden shoes, has to wave his red flag anytime a boat comes along to warn them of the cable that is stretched across the river. And it's a busy river, with many leisure boats. When the ferry is not in use, the cable is not up. I really wanted to ask him if this was his full time job. I would not be surprised.