Ozbrecht 2017 - Europe's Rhine & Danube Rivers
Kinderdijk, Netherlands
Day 5 - June 27
Our first stop - the windmills of Kinderdijk
The windmills, dikes and this water pump are all part of a flood management system. These pumps are replacements for the windmills, and are much more efficient and cost effective
This is our guide in Kinderdijk; we are in the windmill maintenance barn. She is explaining how the windmills function
Most of the windmills still function, and many have a person or family working as volunteers, living in the windmill
There are just under 1,000 windmills left in The Netherlands
The Netherlands is the official name of the country. Holland also refers to the country, but is actually just a region in the west, the one where most of the large cities are. The other regions don’t like using Holland much
Up close. All built using small bricks
See the maintenance worker?
View from the top of a windmill, looking back on the small town of Kinderdijk
The inner workings of the windmill, all wooden
Windmill bedroom
Windmill sewing room
Windmill kitchen
We are on our way from the windmills to visit a cheese farm, traveling through beautiful countryside. A thatched roof
The road to the cheese farm was gorgeous, on a vary narrow road. Small houses, but this is prime real estate - the houses average over $1 million here
A windmill/house along the canal. You can see the reflection - pictures were taken through the bus window
The Cheese Farm. Cheese source
That’s a lot of cheese
Making curds ‘n whey (video)
And that’s a lot of curd!
After the curd is removed, it is spun here, which solidifies it into the final product
The finished product. We bought a couple of small wheels and brought them home. One had pesto in it, the other garlic. Delicious!
The little town of Gorinchem, on the Rhine. We met up with the Modi here
“Where’s our boat?”
Turn around, Ric!
That’s our boat! Plenty of folks who didn’t join the cheese farm excursion enjoying the sun on the bow deck
We were given a short “tour” of the Modi’s control room. It’s a very small area on the Sun Deck, which raises and lowers to deck level. This is because the ship will go under many short bridges. Later, we will go through many locks, and the Sun Deck will be closed to travelers. The ship is a hybrid, powered by deisel and electric. It is extremely quiet. Very high tech.
Day 5 - June 27
Kinderdijk, Netherlands
Windmills and cheese!
Our first excursion of the day takes us to Kinderdijk, where there was a nice quantity of old-style windmills still standing, and in fact still functioning. Most of The Netherlands’ windmills are gone now, replaced by a much more efficient diesel-powered pumping system. At one time in this general area, there were 150 mills; now there are 28.
The windmills are a fascinating example of human ingenuity from centuries ago. The 8 windmills in Kinderdijk were all built in 1738. The four sails sweep within a foot of the ground.
From Kinderdijk we took a 45-minute bus ride through amazing countryside. Narrow roads along a very narrow (maybe 30-foot wide) canal. Beautiful - and expensive - houses run alongside the canal.
Our destination was a cheese farm, where we see the amazing process of making cheese. And of course we tasted some of their cheese - so many different kinds of gouda! With so many herbs and spices (garlic, pesto, others) added.
Another short bus ride to the cute town of Gorinchem, which sits along the Rhine delta. It is here where we caught the Modi. The afternoon ride up the delta was beautiful!