The first time I got to see a windmill up close and in person, it was dark outside and the tavern inside, where we were hoping to get a beer, was closed. I’d arrived at Le Moulin Defrenne too late. This time, I’m prepared like a Boy Scout. I’ve perused the mill database and concluded that eventually all roads lead to the UNESCO World Heritage Site mills at Kinderdijk in the Netherlands. So let’s skip the Quixotic chases and just go there:
BTW there’s plenty of parking right by the mills, so whatever you read about finding parking elsewhere, I’d ignore it. I don’t mind the long walk from where I park, however, because I get to enjoy the neighborhood…
as well as teaser views of the 19 mills as I get closer and closer:
Can you imagine this view from your backyard:
After a 20-minutes walk I get to the front of the “park”…
and there are bikes for rent…
(yeah right! I walk!)
…and there are people fishing:
This tourist attraction is, as it’s always been, in the middle of a village with life happening as we speak, so you get to see relics from the past right in the present.
How are the 19 mills, you ask? Same, same but different. Tomorrow I’ll take you inside Windmill 2:
Tags: Kinderdijk, Moulin Defrenne, the Netherlands, UNESCO, windmills
It may be easy to cross international borders in the EU, but it doesn’t change the fact that there are definitely big cultural gaps between one nation and the next. When I’m in Germany–in this case in the city of Koln–the differences are palpable, from the architecture to the food, to people’s body language, and even to rules of the road. So much of the English language takes roots from German so the language is somewhat decipherable, but I’m sure something is still amiss here…
I’m dying over this sign as well, which I see everywhere. I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything like what my 9-year-old sense of humor thinks it should mean:
Seriously though, Koln is one of the largest and oldest cities in Germany. It is famous for the Kolner Dom, a Catholic cathedral that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is so huge that there is no way to capture a full view unless you are flying above it or looking at it on a postcard. Here are various shots of this large Gothic structure:
Just as I enter the church, an American high school choir begins its rehearsal. I get goosebumps:
Sadly, this time around I run out of time and do not get to climb to the top of the spire for a bird’s eye shot. Maybe next time.
This city lies on the Rhine, a river of significance since the days of the Roman Empire:
There are interesting buildings and quaint shops everywhere:
I wish I had enough time to look at all of the wind-up carousels from this little shop. Maybe next time…
In the middle of the town center, I run across an excavation…
There’s always so much to see on any given day, anywhere around the world. I wish there were enough hours in a lifetime to take in all there is to see. I’ll just have to keep on walking…
Tags: Cologne, Germany, Koln, Kolner Dom, Rhine, UNESCO, World Heritage Site
