Kinderdijk – BabyPenguin

Land, and fertile land in particular, is a scarce resource. While territory grabs have resulted in countless conflicts throughout history, the Dutch have been at war with water for centuries for their land. At least 17% of the country was once underwater, and that number is still growing in a time of rising sea levels.

The general concept is simple: construct a barrier and put all of the water on the other side of it. In modern times, that means concrete barriers and electric pumps. In the past, windmills did the work of pumping water over protective embankments.

The village of Kinderdijk is a monument to this system, with nineteen windmills dating back to the 18th century. Two of the mills are open to the public as museums (with paid admission), and the rest can be viewed from the outside via paved pathways.

Getting There

The typical entrance is on the north side where the visitors’ center lies, but walking north from the town of Alblasserdam was a wonderful way to add variety to the potentially monotonous sight of windmill after windmill. A metro ride and a bus made quick work of the distance from Rotterdam.

This is a good time to mention the unified transit system in the Netherlands. A single card can be loaded with a balance in euros, with each ride being debited based on distance traveled. Whether boarding a bus, train, metro, or tram, scan the card before and after the ride and the automated system handles the rest. Forget to check out and you’ll be charged the maximum amount for going to the end of the line. Fortunately, even the longest route in the country tops out at 20 EUR, so the risk of forgetting to scan when disembarking isn’t terrible.

An underground metro station in Rotterdam

This is an anonymous chip card typically used by visitors. Losing it is the same as losing cash, so residents carry a personally-identifiable version that’s linked to their transit account.

These terminals are fortunately hard to miss when boarding a bus.

Alblasserdam

This treat bore the name of the town and had lightly-sweet outer layers that crumbled like a meringue. The middle was some sort of hazelnut confection.

Onward to Kinderdijk

Over De Witte Brug (the white bridge), residences disappeared into reeds and waterways. There were also at least three other white bridges on the way, but none were named as such. Why the first received that honor is a mystery.

Very little in this country is actually rural. Every five minutes a biker or two would pass on this perfectly maintained route, but otherwise the light rain and traveling in the shoulder season made this a peaceful walk in solitude.

A sluice gate separating bodies of water, just as in a larger canal

These tiny docks were everywhere, and each had a number because this country demands on being organized.

A first glimpse at one of the large rows of windmills

There ferries are included in the same ticket that covers entrance to the museum mills

It’s not a selfie-stick, but it’s perhaps more obnoxious to be swinging around.

This friendly kitty was a walking companion for a few minutes, but must’ve given up on the prospect of food.

Even as the wind pelts your face, it’s hard to believe the force that these turn with.

Inside a Windmill

The blades passing the window give an interesting pulsing effect as they block the sun. (See the following video)

The gear system for transferring power from the wind is fascinating given the time-period and materials. From top to bottom, here it is in three videos:

A cheese sandwich and coffee felt like a very Dutch thing to have at the cafe by the north entrance.

Back to Rotterdam

A ferry across the water to Krimpen aan de Lek provided some novelty, but the loop was completed most efficiently by a mundane bus ride and another stint on the metro.

“Fiets Wereld” – The store is literally called Bike World, though this may as well be the name of the country.

Back to Belgium (again)

That wraps up this trip to the Netherlands. Look out for the next post(s) about Antwerp.