While in the UK for the birth of our fourth grandchild we took our luck on Ryan Air (After the debacle with the hire car company we needed all the luck we could get [see previous post] ) - and flew to The Netherlands for five days to spend time with our good friends Ben and Renee. It was a very nice break and we were treated royally by our friends who shared their beautiful home with us and drove us around to see some interesting sites in this great little country. Renees cooking was superb and Bens beer was the best I have ever tasted.
Kinderdyke was in a moody mood with its sombre ambience of autumn Dutch skies. What impressed me was that except for two windmills that were open to the public, all the others are rented and lived in by people who undertake caretaker duties (after qualifying from a training course) which includes running the big wind sails for a certain number of hours every year.
Beautiful Kinderdyke is now a World Heritage site and justifiably so.
I loved the interiors of the windmills. They are small and snug and have the feeling of a small boat.
Climb up the stairs, fall into bed and close the doors on the world - great.
Just like in a boat. Small, purposeful and with everything at hand and in its place.
A days exploration was celebrated with a bottle of one of the worlds best beers. I can't think of a better way to end a days tripping around.
10 comments:
Love the windmill interiors... and you wouldn't want more than one of those bottles! :o)
Two is ok, so long as you are not driving : > )
I would like a pallet load but I can't get this brew in NZ - bugger.
https://www.beercellar.co.nz/detail/BE21B1KW0W7/Westmalle-Tripel
;o)
Excellent - thanks Steve. It's not in stock at the moment but I have left my email address and will be notified. You have saved me from dying of thirst.
Hey, Alden—
My wife and I visited exactly these very same windmills a little more than a month ago on a bicycle tour from Haarlem to Bruges over 8 days. Really fun. We loved the Dutch people and their advanced bicycle infrastructure. What great memories.
Thanks for sharing yours!
Dan
Hi Dan - Well we were both in Europe at the same time - pity we didn't bump into each other! I agree about the cycling infrastructure. I have cycled from Vlissingin in Zeeland which is in the south - northwards along the coast about as far as Haarlem and also done a cycle circumnavigation of the Ijsselmeer (the inland sea). The cycle paths, routes, maps etc are superb - wonderful place to cycle.
On another note - do you still have an accessible Blog? - I seem to be unable to access your Blog (which is still on my Blog list).
Alden, You selected the right priorities again: kitchens, boats, beer and beds 😊.
LOL! Yes, in my book - Food, sailing, beer and a warm dry place to sleep are some of the basics of a happy life - along with family and good friends.
Too bad we missed each other! Loved Holland. I am on a internet crash diet, less than one hour per day, and so I quit blogging and most social media. Your blog made the cut. ;-)
It turns out the actual (non-virtual) world is satisfying enough.
Flattered Dan, that I made the cut : >)
I like the rationale of your philosophical social media stance, very sensible. I agree with you one hundred per cent that the actual world is satisfying enough. Truth is it is quite enough.
I like and use the internet when required, but like many people I found that much social media is a great way to waste a hell of a lot of time.
The only social media I do now is this Blog, email and Skyping our daughter, son in law and two grandsons in the UK. I have a very cheap basic cell phone which I use mainly to help complete online banking and for emergencies.
Some people find my lack of smart phone ownership novel and inconvenient (for them) but they can always phone me on our traditional landline. Quite frankly I never did warm to smart phones. I have lost two of them overboard from boats and found the constant carrying of them around and checking them constantly a complete pain in the arse - I don't miss them at all.
Of course this is easier for me as I am retired so a phone is not a job requirement.
I guess what ever set of technology a person decides to use, moderation and the avoidance of addiction is the key.
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