Day Two Pictures - Kinderdijk

This is one of the water towers that are now for sale for one euro by the country because they are not used to pump water anymore.  According to our guide, this one is not likely to sell because it can't be converted.  Other towers throughout the country have been turned into office buildings and hotels.

The windmills along the edge of the canal.  There are 18 mills still standing.  Nine on each side of the canal.  On one side made of stone and on the other made of wood.

William and Mom disembarking the ship on the Rhine to see the windmills.  It is hard to believe that is was less than sixty degrees in the last week of June!

Most of the mills did not have their sails in motion because now that the mills are not needed to pump out the water (there is a water station for that), they are homes to individuals that work in the city during the week and repair and manage the mills in the evenings or on the weekends.

We crossed a bridge to this windmill.  William walked all of the way to the top, but the ladder-like stairs encouraged me to simply walk around the exterior. :)

While we walked among the windmills, the dark clouds began to move in quickly and the wind picked up.  It became very clear why this area was chosen for the building of windmills.

Theresa and William as we made our way back to the ship and hoping that we beat the rain that appears to be on the horizon.

The wild flowers found along the path made this a lovely walk among the mills.  There were bikers and hikes along the paths and there did not seem to be access to the mills by car.

Here we all are in front of the working windmill.  Notice that one of the sails had been opened to catch the winds that were picking up during our visit.

 

While we were still docked, we had a safety drill that required us all to wear these wonderfully fashionable vests as we headed to our meeting location.  We gained a new appreciation for the monthly school fire drills, but got a bit silly by the end . . . can you tell?