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KINDERDIJK WINDMILLS: DUTCH DREAM DAY - For my first visit to the Netherlands there were two things I absolutely had to see: windmills and wooden shoes. Visiting Kinderdijk accomplished both and turned into my Dutch dream day - complete with a giant rainbow!
We took a water bus from Rotterdam and when we arrived it was pouring rain. Freezing, we stopped at the only restaurant in town (which, thankfully, was good!) for traditional Dutch split pea soup to warm up. The weather changed every few minutes and continued to be crazy all day: torrential rain, wind gusts, sunshine, and a rainbow! Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it's the largest concentration of old windmills in all of the Netherlands. There are nineteen windmills that were built in the 1740s as part of the water management program to help Dutch people - as they say - 'keep their feet dry.' The whole area is beneath sea level so there were real problems with flooding and windmills were used to pump water. The story of how Kinderdijk got its name is very interesting. In 1421 there was a devastating flood where thousands of people drowned. When survivors got the nerve up to leave their homes and survey the damage, they saw a cradle floating in the water and heard the sounds of a baby crying. The story goes that a cat was jumping up and down in the cradle to keep it from tipping. The child was saved and that's how Kinderdijk, which means 'Children's Dyke' in English, got its name.
The area is extremely picturesque and looked like the Holland I've seen in my dreams: windmills dotting the horizon and turning in the wind. We even saw a man wearing yellow wooden shoes. He wasn't a tourist either! Another highlight was getting to go inside one of the windmills and see what it was like to live there. Until 1916 it belonged to a miller's family who had thirteen children. I expected it to feel really cramped and dark and was really surprised at how large and light it felt. There were many floors (which included climbing a lot of narrow ladders) and tall ceilings which made it feel more spacious. The white paint on the walls also magnified the light that came in through the windows. We got to try sleeping on one of the beds - only just fit!
Visiting Kinderdijk and getting to experience Dutch windmills and someone wearing traditional wooden shoes was the most fun day I've had in the Netherlands so far. The appearance of a huge rainbow was more than I could've asked for. Wow! Have you seen windmills in person? What did you think?
For more information about visiting Kinderdijk check out: / visitholland and / visitholland
Subtitles available in English, Dutch and Spanish! Click the 'CC' button (bottom right) .
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