Saturday, Lance and I traveled by metro and water bus to see the historic windmills of Kinderdijk. These windmills were built in 1740 to help drain the land of water in this small community. Originally, there were 20 windmills built, and 19 are still standing today. According to Wikipedia, they are the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
While there, we were lucky enough to be able to see the inside of one of the windmills. The furnishing were much like you would have found it in the 1950's. It somewhat reminded Lance and I of the inside of a lighthouse that we saw back home in Wisconsin.
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| I like the boots with the wooden shoes on the bottom. |
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| The mechanism that's used to run the windmill |
Currently, some of the windmills are for public viewing...while others are used as homes by some of the local people. We were impressed at how cheap and easy it was to get there without owning a car or boat. Once again...the different forms of public transportation this city offers are a gift to travelers and locals alike.
After visiting Kinderdijk, we traveled to another part of Rotterdam to see a Big Band play some swing music on the grounds of a church. This was a free concert that was part of the north sea round town series that is offered leading up to the big festival. Everyday this week you will be able to find free music in a variety of different venues all over Rotterdam. On Friday, the North Sea Jazz Festival will kick off and run through the weekend.
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