Aug 3 – Kinderdijk, Netherlands
August 3, 2019
Last updated on August 26th, 2019 at 06:55 pm
- We left Germany as we sailed overnight and woke up in The Netherlands. We slept in this morning as we would not arrive to our next port, Kinderdjik, until around mid-day. It was a cloudy, cool morning as we continued to sail the Rhine River. We ate breakfast, with Alan returning to our room to work on pictures. Joyce went to the sun deck and walked the track around the sun deck for a little exercise. The land along the river was very flat. We began to see small windmill near some of the houses. We sailed by small farms with cattle grazing in fields along the river. Along the banks of the river were numerous rock jettys. We didn’t see any boats or people between the jettys, so weren’t sure of their purpose. The ship met several long barges traveling in the opposite direction and passed a few headed in the same direction.
- We headed up to the lounge for Marie’s morning briefing. She first gave us disembarkation information. We will need to be out of our room by 9:00 a.m., but are free to stay on the ship to have lunch if we would like. The relaxed disembarkation rules are a welcome change from what we had experienced on ocean cruises where we felt almost kicked off the ship by 8 a.m.
- After the disembarkation talk, Marie talked to us about “All Things Dutch” and the Dutch Golden Age. She talked to us about and showed the work of famous Dutch painters such as Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer and Vincent Van Gogh. We learned The Netherlands is famous for their cheese and we samples a couple varieties. We sampled Jenever, a distilled juniper liquor. We learned there are on average 1400+ people per square mile in The Netherlands vs. an average of 90 people per square mile in the US. As we left the lounge after Marie’s presentation, we stopped at the coffee bar outside the lounge. The coffee bar is always stocked with muffins or cookies as well as a variety of coffee, tea and hot chocolate. There is usually a regional cookie to sample. Today we sampled stroopwaffel, a circular thin waffle with a thin caramel filling.
- We arrived in Kinderdijk around lunchtime. Joyce wasn’t convinced we were docked at Kinderdijk because we couldn’t see any windmills. We ate lunch in the dining room and indulged in chocolate mousse for dessert one last time.
- After lunch, we headed to the lounge to meet our local guide, Jacko, for our walking tour of the 18th century windmills. We headed off the ship and up one side of a dike and there before us were dikes, canals and the windmills. There are 19 remarkably well-preserved Kinderdijk windmills, the largest concentration in The Netherlands. Jacko explained the dike was constructed in the 14th century around 50 square kilometers with two main canals constructed to remove water. The area soil was peat. When the water was removed the soil compressed and began sinking, leaving future generations with the perpetual problem of water removal since the area is located at the confluence of the Lek and Noord Rivers and has a high water table. As we walked we observed a steam powered pumping station from the early 20th century and the current electric pumping station.
- Jacko took us to an old pumping station building that has been turned into a museum and discussed the mechanics of the windmills including the various types of wood used in the construction of the working parts of the windmills. We learned many of windmills are currently leased to men who know how to operate them, called millers, with the understanding they will keep them in working order. We walked on the dike toward a working windmill used as a museum so visitors can tour. We stood outside the windmill, looking up at the four massive blades, which rotate within inches of the ground. The wind cooperated as we stood there and we were able to see the blades move. We went inside and climbed up 3 stories to see the living quarters of the miller and the mechanics of the windmill. As we came back down and walked to the back side, Jacko demonstrated the lever system that allows the miller to turn the blades to maximize the wind. Again, the wind cooperated and we could see the wheel turning inside and hear the water moving.
- As we walked back to the visitor center, Jacko talked to us about various local legends about how Kinderdijk, which means children’s dike, got it’s name. He also talked about wooden shoes and told us he wears wooden shoes when gardening. He told us they were quite comfortable with the right number of socks. We briefly visited the souvenir shop in the visitor center and selected a windmill magnet with moving parts that we think we can use as a Christmas ornament.
- We walked back to the ship and as we neared the gangway, we noticed a bird that appeared to be fishing. It would disappear under the surface of the water and reappear in 15 to 30 seconds a few feet from its original position. Jacko identified it as a crested grebe. We watched a couple of the birds for several minutes with Alan hoping one of them would come closer so he could get a good picture.
- We took a nap before dinner and then enjoyed our last dinner aboard the ship. We returned to our room and spent the remainder of the evening packing and getting ready for our stay in Amsterdam. Alan seemed to be getting a cold which we hope will not effect his enjoyment of the next couple days in Amsterdam.
