The Netherlands is famous for its windmills. Today there are still more than 1.000 mills. Nowhere in the world will you find as many windmills as near the Dutch village of Kinderdijk. Around 1740 no less than 19 sturdy mills were built here. They have been well preserved to the present day.
The mills drain the excess water from the Alblasserwaard polders - which are situated below sea-level - after which the water is sluiced into the river Lek (the Rijn).
The powerful mill sails serve to transmit the force of the wind on to large paddle-wheels which scoop up the water. Nowadays power-driven pumping engines do the job, including one of the largest water screw pumping-stations in Western Europe.
The Foundation "Wereld Erfgoed Kinderdijk" maintains and preserves the windmills in Kinderdijk. The preservation is not limited to the windmills themselves, but also covers the area in which the windmills are situated.
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| Can you believe the clothes for July?! We are SO sick of our jeans! |
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| Jerry and the kids |
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| and now, Kerry and the kids! |
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| Wow, right?! |
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| Hi kids! |
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| technical details |
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| Charlotte does a Jake pose |
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| Molly was mad that I made her climb on this table, she was not comfortable, but what a photo! Aren't I mean?! |
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| There were only about 6 of these... :) |
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| love this smile |
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This wipmolen style windmill is Danny's favourite, it is a later version of the stander or post-mill
which is the oldest type in the Netherlands, reports Danny! |
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| The sun came out and I went crazy I guess! |
There is the requisite cheesy tourist shop and the 5 euro parking charge, but the site is amazing. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997 so that it will be around forever. The rain let up as we began our walk down the canal. Danny and Jerry paid and toured the open windmill, but those stairs are no good for the girls, and I went in my windmill already, so we walked a bit. The guys joined us and we ended up on a 5 mile round trip walk just turning our heads at the sights. We stopped at all the signs and Danny read us the many facts about the length of the sails and how many metres of water they pump where, etc,etc,etcetera!!He loves that stuff and I love that he loves it! This was a must see on Trip Advisor, my go to for travel info, so I am glad we fit it in!
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