Millers, but no Flour.

"You know how I've been looking forward to this," I said to Claudette as we got off the Viking ship, Kara, in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands.

"Yes, I know how excited you get about mills.  I think it goes back to when you read Geoffrey Chaucer's tale about the millers in The Canterbury Tales in high school," was her response.

"I'm not sure about that.  These are windmills. I think it's a testament to mankind's ingenuity to use wind power to grind wheat into flour for bread," I said.  I have always been fascinated by mechanical contraptions, especially those of the eighteenth century.

We were on a river cruise upon which we would navigate three rivers and visit five countries. Having begun in Amsterdam, Kinderdijk was our first stop in Holland. Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with nineteen windmills, many of which are operational. I experienced quite an odd sensation there.  I found it quite unusual to disembark a ship then walk down hill. But that is the way Holland is.  Much of the land is below sea level and indeed river level. Our guide was Hans, a handsome lad, who was a college student and who, by his own admission, had taken a tour guide job to improve his English language skills. His field of study in college was international commerce.


"Did you notice his name?" I asked Claudette as we followed Hans on the road beside the river.

"So?" was her curt response.

"Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates.  You know, the little Dutch boy who saved his country by plugging up the hole in the dyke with his finger! Didn't your Mom read you that story?  I queried.

"I don't remember.  But probably," she answered with a slightly bored tone.

Before us appeared almost a postcard view. Stretching in front of us was a flat landscape punctuated by what appeared to be rectangular shaped bodies of water. And beside these bodies of water were those curious appearing windmills, their blades reminiscent of a flower blossom on its stem.  Hans led us a few hundred feet down to the water and a stone building which was like a windmill maintenance shop. There he gave a lecture about the history of the windmills, their construction and operation. During this lecture I found that his reference to millers was not the same as mine. He referred to windmill operators as millers.  But the term miller to me meant someone who ground wheat or other grains into flour or meal.  I was not to see windmills making flour from wheat.* The purpose for the windmills is for water control.  Much of the Netherlands is below sea level and consequently is often flooded. The windmills pump the water from these flooded areas. The dutch have been practicing flood control with windmills for over three hundred years!

As we walked along the path toward a windmill there were people fishing  and an artist selling his wares. Claudette was very interested in the fishermen but did not see them catch a fish. There were a few wildflowers scattered along the path. We came to a narrow drawbridge across the water to a windmill.

"Wow! they're much larger than I thought!" Claudette exclaimed.

I used the measure application on my phone to determine the height to be about 51 meters  as we gathered at the base of the windmill. Hans, the guide, was saying, "...and the miller's family lived here. A miller's family was usually large, sometimes as many as 15 children. Kinderdijk is named for children.  They looked around one day and saw so many children playing that they named it Kinderdijk. Kinder means children in Dutch. While we wait for the other group to leave the mill, I will ask you this question.  Do you know why so many Dutch people are blonde? It is because in the old days people shaved their heads because they had lice. Then they found out that bleach would kill the lice! And there you have it!  We can go in now."

We entered the mill. To the left was a narrow stairway up to the top of the mill. Being in the midst of recovery from a bout with severe bronchitis I did not attempt the climb.  But my dear wife did.  Inside

the windmill was very compact as you might imagine. It had never occurred to me that people lived in them.  The rooms were small and very compact and on several levels. The giant gears, water wheel, and mechanisms of the mill received the priority of space.  Almost all of the mechanical parts of the mill are made of wood. Different types of wood are used for specific parts.  The wooden shoes made famous by the Dutch were a necessity for the millers to keep their feet dry. The miller received compensation from the government for operating the mill.  Outside the mill, Hans demonstrated how to aim the huge windmill fan blades into the wind. It was quite a time consuming method to rotate the top of the mill to which the fabric covered blades were attached.

As we walked back to the ship we passed the giant Archimedean screws which now move water from the lower level into the river above. There was also a gift shop where those souvenirs could be purchased.  A wooden shoe was outside the shop large enough for a tourist to sit in for a Kodak moment!

*There were windmills used fro grinding grain in Holland but that was the most common use for a windmill.

After thought:   The positions of the blades of the windmills were used to signal such events as births, deaths, approaching armies and other.

from my sketchbook