Sep 26 - Kinderdijk, Netherlands

                           Kinderdijk ( pronounced kIN-der-dike)

OUR LAST DAY!

We had a leisurely start to the day, giving us time to enjoy breakfast and then come back to the cabin to pack.  There will be a meeting about the disembarkation process at 10:30 which we will attend.

Following that meeting Tessa gave a presentation on Water Management in The Netherlands.  It was a perfect introduction to our afternoon excursion, Kinderdijk by Vintage Barge.

Sadly it is a ☔️ rainy ☔️ day for our last excursion, but that didn’t hinder us from seeing a real operating dike! These dikes are a work of genius that has allowed Holland to reclaim land for many uses such as agriculture and even Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam!

We walked from the ship in the pouring rain to a dike where we boarded a barge that took us to the oldest dike in Kinderdijk. When we arrived we were given a tour of the area around the dike by one of the members of the Kinderdijk Foundation ( that operates these 19 dikes) keeping the area safe from flooding.

It was amazing to learn how the windmills pump water from the low lying fields into the rivers and canals. Without them, the land would be under water.

             The fields in the background drain towards the windmills.

                        The top of the ‘building’ can be rotated 360° 

                        in order to catch the wind from any direction.

                            It is turned by the ‘wheel’ on the right

                     Using wind power, the pump moves the water 

               from the lower polders out  to the higher river or canal

It is truly an engineering marvel that  has been used for hundreds of years!

We also had a look inside the windmill at artifacts that had been used by the last family that lived in this windmill.

And the ‘Farm’ that surrounded the windmill

It was a fascinating tour and a great way to end our excursions!

It’s been a wonderful trip.. but it will all come to an end very soon!   Disembarkation tomorrow!

Hope you enjoyed touring with us!  We’ll be in touch when we are home and settled.  

The Happy Wanderers