We left Cologne about 10:15pm and turned back downriver. We had a view of the Cathedral at night. See Kate’s pictures at https://photos.app.goo.gl/SFQh7Ypfb1WZgcDx7 for the view. We sailed downriver and awaked at dawn (about 7:00am) having left the Rhien and entered the Waal river. In the Netherlands we finally got to see Genuine Dutch Windmills.
Just kidding.
This area is set up to show visitors how the windmills work’ The area is nominally about 6 feet below sea level. There were once nearly 6,000 windmills in the Netherlands. Most of the work is now done by pumps. The area we were in was known as Kinderdijk, or Child’s dike.
It was named after the child found after a flood (not an uncommon occurrence) with the cat balancing the cradle. Knowing cats, I am sure the cat was expecting if the water didn’t go down then it had dinner for the rest of the week.
The first floor had the kitchen, dining room and parent’s bedroom. It also had the pump room and the doors in and out.
The third floor had space for storage and the fourth floor had running gear for the windmill. The Fourth floor was on rollers and could be rotated around to keep the windmill facing the wind.
The large green and white wheel was how the keeper could rotate the windmill, usually several times a day.
After the tour, including a visit to a pumping station, we boarded the tender ferry for the ride back upriver to the ship. Our disembarkation is scheduled at 8:00am tomorrow morning. We will go to the hotel to meet our tour guide for the walking tour of Amsterdam.