Viking Rolf docks at 7:30 am along the dike near the UNESCO World Heritage Site where there are 19 preserved 18th century windmills.

These ingenious devices reclaim land and manage the water by using a sophisticated dam and pumping system. More information – https://kinderdijk.nl/en/water-management/

For tourists, it’s an education in how the windmills work and stories about the history. We are able to walk from the ship to the site and actually go inside a windmill (now a museum). Our luck is great even with the rainy day – the wind picks up and the miller is able to start the windmill to do its job. Amazing hard work!

We are told that most of these windmills have people living in them. In fact, one windmill near by the museum windmill has the 9th generation of the original family from 1738. There 19 year old daughter living there as well just got her miller license.

The tour concludes in a room where an overview of the windmills operation and the various pieces of wood used are explained. Plus wooden shoes!

A great tour – now back on the river.