As we cruised to Kinderdijk (say Kinder – Dyke), the landscape changed dramatically.  The Netherlands literally means “the low lands”, so, gone were the hillside towns and castles of Germany.

Our walking tour of Kinderdijk, taught us about peat that, once drained, receded lower and lower below sea level.  The Windmills pumped water from field to bosom and bosom to river. Bosom is a word meaning a place to hold liquid and what we would call canals, they call bosoms.  This incremental lifting of the water is what made this land possible.

 

Inside the mill, we see the mechanism.

The top, or “bonnet” of the windmill may be rotated to catch the wind at the proper angle.  We climbed as high as we could.

Most remaining windmills are now run by volunteers like this fellow.

Off to the souvenir shop, ice cream at the snack bar and a short walk back to the ship for our final evening aboard. We had a farewell dinner as we cruise toward Amsterdam. 

So long Gabriela.  Thank you!