Windmills of the Mind? No, Windmills Along the Rhine!

It's a blustery, yet sunny November morning at Kinderdijk, Netherlands, a charming village along the Rhine River which I'm anxious to visit. It's  the home of 19 exquisitely preserved, 18th century windmills, dating back as  far as 1740. At one point 10,000 operating windmills graced the country. Today there are only 1,000. Kinderdijk is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

We walk across a dike to enter into windmill country, learning along the way there are families living permanently in the mills. The mill residents are responsible  for the upkeep of their respective mill.

We are offered an opportunity to tour one of them. Inside the mill is quaint, homey, and cozy; and I would venture to say a bit bigger than the current craze of Tiny Houses being built. Inside we climbed the narrow sets of stairs, more like slightly slanted ladders, to the very tip top. While climbing, one can view the internal working mechanism in the middle ot the mill. However, I wasn't confident enough to both carefully monitor the placement of my feet on the narrow ladders, as well as look to the center of the structure to see what was happening. I can't multi-task in a windmill, never could. And just for the record I can't roller skate in a buffalo herd either.

Outside it's a formidable structure combining its height and long spinning paddles. It presents a dizzying experience.

The village is located among low-lying polders. These are tracts of land reclaimed from the sea which is accomplished by using the power of the windmills. These polders are then enclosed by dikes. The water infrastructure within the Netherlands appears to be quite involved.

We had a lovely, unique time in Kinderdijk. I'm glad I got to visit there and I was most appreciative of the cup of hot chocolate waiting for me at the end of a blustery, but sunny, two hour walk.

Part of the living/dining area.

This is our guide. He called himself "The Dutchman".

Comfy Bed? All in What You're Used To.