In the morning we caught a train into Rotterdam and stopped for breakfast at a cafe between the central train station and the passenger boat "bus" that would take us to the famous Kinderdijk windmills. These windmills have been used for centuries to pump wanter from the land in this area allowing the land to be farmed on. Early in the 20th century the area added a steam powered pumping station but kept the windmills functional as a backup. In the 70's the steam powered station was taken offline and replaced with a diesel powered solution that removed over 1 million liters per minute. By the 90's the pollution from the diesel engines had fallen out of favor and an electrical station capable of pumping 1.4 million liters per minute was built and continues to keep the plains dry to this day. This millenium old feat of engineering provides hope for other parts of the world that may become subject to the fate of existing below sea level in the coming years.
As we explored the windmills we learned about the lifestyles of those who operate them, the dangers of an operating mill, the around the clock monitoring the mills required, as well as the knowledge of the local weather acquired by those who spent their lives capturing the wind.
Following our time amongst the windmills we took the boat back to the center of Rotterdam. We wandered around the streets taking in the unique and modern architecture of this very unique dutch industrial city. After the devastating bombing by the Germans in world war ii the city had a chance to rebuild and thus is a stark contrast to all of the other cities we visited in the Netherlands. Some of the highlights we saw were the cube houses, a large artistic food hall, the magnificent bridges, and the floating maritime museum.
After a couple hours of walking we made our way across the river to Hotel New York where everyone had met for dinner. This Hotel is special in that it is built in the former Holland America ship terminal. The Holland America ship terminal was the launching point for hundreds of thousands of europeans who left for America in search of a more prosperous life.
A pretty sunset ended the day as we left the restaurant after a fun dinner and we enjoyed the slightly more comfortable seats on the train in first class as we accidentally boarded the wrong car.
Another very memorable day.
As we explored the windmills we learned about the lifestyles of those who operate them, the dangers of an operating mill, the around the clock monitoring the mills required, as well as the knowledge of the local weather acquired by those who spent their lives capturing the wind.
Following our time amongst the windmills we took the boat back to the center of Rotterdam. We wandered around the streets taking in the unique and modern architecture of this very unique dutch industrial city. After the devastating bombing by the Germans in world war ii the city had a chance to rebuild and thus is a stark contrast to all of the other cities we visited in the Netherlands. Some of the highlights we saw were the cube houses, a large artistic food hall, the magnificent bridges, and the floating maritime museum.
After a couple hours of walking we made our way across the river to Hotel New York where everyone had met for dinner. This Hotel is special in that it is built in the former Holland America ship terminal. The Holland America ship terminal was the launching point for hundreds of thousands of europeans who left for America in search of a more prosperous life.
A pretty sunset ended the day as we left the restaurant after a fun dinner and we enjoyed the slightly more comfortable seats on the train in first class as we accidentally boarded the wrong car.
Another very memorable day.
 |
| Cube houses |
 |
| Kid in the background is not happy |
 |
| Rotterdam Centraal Station |
Comments
Post a Comment