Spending a Day with Iconic Windmills of the Netherlands
Day 17, 2023 North Atlantic Adventure
Sunday, May 28, 2023; Rotterdam, Netherlands
Yesterday was turnaround day, in which about 1,400 passengers left and about the same number joined our cruise on the Zuiderdam. Maybe a third of the latter are Dutch. For their convenience, the cruise director gives his daily summary of ship activities in both English and Dutch, but all the Dutch passenger’s I’ve met speak English well.
When I saw luggage start to appear in the hallways last night, once again I was glad that I wasn’t packing and leaving. My day will come, but not for another seven weeks. After I said goodbye to my remaining friends from the world cruise last night, I didn’t see any of them this morning. I did see two of my favorite baristas from the Exploration’s Café in the Crow’s Nest, Paula and Katrine. The third of the trio, Angelica, is staying on.
As “in transit” passengers, we could leave the ship at any time and just needed to return by 4:30 p.m. After checking to make sure the weather would be clear, Barbara, Richard and I booked the waterbus to take us about 30 minutes up the River Maas to Kinderdijk. We left the ship at 9 a.m., which was more than enough time to walk across the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge) to the ferry dock.
Most American school children learn that in the Netherlands, or Holland as we probably called it, dikes hold the sea water back from the land. Of course, it is more complex than that, but suffice it to say that the Dutch are experts at protecting their country from the sea.
Kinderdijk, with its collection of 19 windmills built in the 1730s, provides a good background in how these structures were used to move water out of the fields and into canals and eventually rivers and the sea, providing good farmland for grazing and crops. It is the largest collection of old windmills in the Netherlands, so wonderfully photographic and even an inspiration for a bit of sketching.
Most of the windmills in Kinderdijk are privately owned homes, but visitors can walk or bike along the pathways connecting them. We bought tickets online (avoiding the ticket line), so in addition to wandering the site, we could tour two of the windmills and other museums and take a boat tour along the canal. We passed on the boat tour, as the canal followed the pathways we had just walked and our time was tight. I hadn’t realized that without a ticket we would have been free to walk the pathways, but I don’t mind helping to support the windmill preservation and upkeep.
By touring the Nederwaard Museum Mill, one of the two windmills open to the public, we saw that this large family lived right alongside the mill operations. I think I would have found the constant clacking of the turning mechanism to be a soothing white noise, but am not so sure I would like the steep stairways connecting the levels, or the short bed compartments.
On our return crossing of the Erasmus Bridge to the cruise pier, we saw the drawbridge at the southern end open for a sailboat and a modern oil services ship. It is another incredible feat of engineering to watch.
On our sail out from Rotterdam, we passed Holland America’s Rotterdam V, permanently docked and now a hotel. My sisters and I were booked to stay there in 2022 but missed the opportunity as our plans to spend the summer cruising fell through when the Volendam was used instead to house Ukrainian refugees.
We will have three Sundays in Rotterdam on this back-to-back set of cruises. Now that we have been to Kinderdijk, we plan to take the train to Delft on our final stop. In two weeks I’ll stay in Rotterdam to have lunch with family friends who live in the Netherlands.
Tomorrow will be a welcome sea day, one of just two on this 14-day cruise around the British Isles.
When we went to the Keukenhof, the windmills were amazing. We took a train from Paris to Amsterdam that time and the whole countryside was beautiful.
Good morning also from the Zuiderdam we boarded in Rotterdam.
Would it be possible to meet up while I’m on board? I’m have a couple of questions about your blog and how you make it. Thank you !
Sure! I’m frequently in the Crows Nest around 7/8 am and 4 pm, although with all these port days there’s less free time on the ship. Baristas Camille and Angelica can point me out.
We’re on an excursion this afternoon so hopefully this evening.
I’m in the crow’s nest now coincidentally.
Are you there too?
The two baristas you mentioned aren’t here.
During all the years I lived in Holland, I’ never went to Kinderdijk, but I had a cousin who, after retiring early from his job as VP at a bank, trained to become a miller, and he took me to “his” still-working mill five years ago.
Continue enjoying your journey!
And how do they say Dun Laoghaire? Loaghaire? I can’t even spell it!
Dun leery. They have signs!
Jo, looks like a wonderful trip around the British Isles is ahead of you. If you didn’t stop there the last time, when you are in Portree, stop in at Skye Batiks. Even if you don’t need anything the colors and patterns are outstanding and the staff are incredibly welcoming. Continue to enjoy life at sea.
I stopped in that store when we were there several weeks ago. It is great!