23 Oct 2011 Luxembourg

Time to head for home by way of Luxembourg. We are curious to see how this land compares to the Netherlands. Well, the City of Luxembourg in Luxembourg is definitely above sea level with beautiful hills and lots of forest area. Cows and sheep grazing and streams here and there. The city is a small hub bub of sounds and sites.

We walked across Adolph Bridge and down below we saw beautiful walking trails through parks and ruins. There off to the side was the fortress remains of Bock Promantory. It is called "Chemin de la Corniche" (the most beautiful balcony in Europe). It was built by the Spaniards and the French in the 1600's. Standing on Aldolph Bridge you have a spectacular view of the Alzette Valley and the Holy Ghost Citadel. The trees are magnificent in their fall colors. Bock Bastion is part of the fortress. It has wonderful gardens outlined in box hedges. It is today the Palace of the Grand Dukes. The Grand Ducal family actually lives here. Next to it is the Cathedral to the Blessed Virgin. I would have taken pictures inside but they were having Mass. I don't know much about how a Mass runs, but I do know it would have been rude to take pictures. The traffic was out of site but I think the best way to see this town is by the bus system. It was late so we headed for home. We know there was a lot more to see in this city but we saw the most beautiful part anyway.

23 Oct 2011 Kinderdjik, Netherlands

As it was too late to see any more, we decided to drive to Kinderdjik, a town known for its 19 windmills dating from the 1500's. It is about 16 Km from Rotterdam and is best seen in September when every night for the last two weeks they light up all 19 windmills. What a sight, but we missed seeing that. The hotel was very old and the room was cute but we got the surprise of our life when we opened the curtains the next morning and saw 10 windmills right in front of us. There was nothing between us and that beautiful scene. We walked down to the little road that would take us to each windmill. You can rent bikes and ride around the 2 mile walkway, but we opted to walk. It was a gorgeous day, sunny but with a brisk wind on our faces. Good thing we brought our winter clothes. Winter is approaching.

The function of these windmills when built was to be a final pumping station for taking water from the 10 x 20 mi wide alblasserward (landmass) and sending it out through the River Lek to the sea. Since the 1950's, the water is being disposed of by the biggest pumping station in the world. Like I said before, all of Holland is under sea level, so there is a big need for keeping the water off of the land. In case of an emergency, however, the windmills can still be used.

Question: "Why do windmills have 2 doors, a front and a back?" Because the blades face the direction of the wind. If your door happens to be in back of the rotating blades it would be too dangerous to use the door, hence the need for a second door. It is a beautiful walk of 2 miles from beginning to end. It was a hard walk, but well worth it for the shots I was able to get of each windmill. They are all very unique and the area is quiet and serene. Oh, by the way, most of the windmills are rented and used as homes. I thought, how cool would that be?

I'm so glad we were able to see this part of Holland but sorry we were too late in the season to see the beautiful tulips. They say it is glorious. On our way home by way of Luxembourg.