Relaxing Down The Rhine - Windmills and Dutch Treats

When we awoke after our first night aboard, we found ourselves up at the crack of dawn in the Dutch town of Kinderdijk (KIN-der-dike).  It's home to 16 windmills built in the 1740s and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was deceptively sunny to start and a cool breeze was arriving to propel the sails around and around. We made our way past a very modern electric pump house that was capable of pumping 4 times the amount pumped by the Windmills. In the background of the rising sun stood the 16 Windmills, sentinels of a steadfast faith in engineering to shift the water from canals into fields to feed families and foster an interesting and unique culture.

There were some differences in how the windmills were constructed. Windmills, versions 1.0 and 2.0 if you will, consisting of 8 of each type. Most of the differences were based on the amount of lumber available. Auburn thought it was really cool that the caretaker of the windmill really did wear wooden shoes.  We toured a mill and learned a family with at least 6 children operated the mill. When we looked at the living quarters, we're not sure how any adults actually slept in the tiny little beds. A stark reminder of the difficult life in a time in the not so distant past. Lastly, we toured a steam powered pump house that replaced the windmills. This was where we learned how and why the water was pumped and transferred. After exiting through a couple of gift shops with postcards, lapel pins and a package of windmill cookies, we headed back on board.

Boas!

Before being allowed to have lunch, we had to participate in our ships "Safety Briefing". Naturally this demanded not only life jackets, but also Boa Feathers! We like to believe this set the jovial and festive tone for the entire trip. You're Welcome, Viking Bestla!

After a nice lunch, we explored the ship a bit enjoying the front sun deck off the lounge area before we headed off for a short nap to help reset our clocks to Dutch time.

Then we met in the lounge before dinner to get information for the next day's sites and tours. After dinner we listened to a presentation on Dutch Masters of art, sampled some authentic Dutch Cheeses and a delicious Dutch liquor made from juniper berries called Jenever. The next morning Auburn renamed the evening "The Dutch Revenge".