National Windmill Day, Recap
((I wrote this over the corse of my trip back to Istanbul, and posted today to use the University bandwidth for uploading.))
Thirty something hours after arriving on the train platform I am back in Schiphol airport with an hour to kill before boarding time. National windmill day certainly lived up to expectations. I was told by one miller that seven thousand windmills were turning at that time in the Netherlands, pretty impressive given its size. The town I stayed in, Schiedam, has the tallest old style windmills in the country (perhaps in the world.) Here is one I went in.
The wind was really blowing that day and the sun was bright, perfect windmill weather I assume. All these large windmills were built next to canals, which in itself doesn't say much, most of the Netherlands is built next to canals. It was beautiful though, seeing the water lap against the base of the windmills, all lilly pads and glistening ripples. This photo was taken through the planks of the windmill deck.
The miller in the first mill was a really excellent guide. He told us the different types of wood used in the gears, how long (sixty years) a set of gear teeth would last with daily use, and other fun little things about production capacity and operation. This is a picture of him stopping the windmill sails.
And this is when he took us around to the front of the windmill and showed us how the sails are removed or fettered for high winds. Looking up at the sails is dizzying, which is made even more so by standing on a deck of widely spaced beams.
And here is the super tourist, one day in the Netherlands and I'm wearing wooden shoes!
These are the stairs inside the mill, worn down by generations of millers with wooden feet.
This is (supposidly) not how people dress everyday in the Netherlands.
This windmill had a choir singing outside. The sign says "Spider House Street"
And here is the rail station on Sunday morning, saying goodbye to Scheidam.
Soon to come, National Windmill Day, the movie. I'm assembling and editing right now, preparing only the best multimedia for your vicarious living needs!
Thirty something hours after arriving on the train platform I am back in Schiphol airport with an hour to kill before boarding time. National windmill day certainly lived up to expectations. I was told by one miller that seven thousand windmills were turning at that time in the Netherlands, pretty impressive given its size. The town I stayed in, Schiedam, has the tallest old style windmills in the country (perhaps in the world.) Here is one I went in.
The wind was really blowing that day and the sun was bright, perfect windmill weather I assume. All these large windmills were built next to canals, which in itself doesn't say much, most of the Netherlands is built next to canals. It was beautiful though, seeing the water lap against the base of the windmills, all lilly pads and glistening ripples. This photo was taken through the planks of the windmill deck.
The miller in the first mill was a really excellent guide. He told us the different types of wood used in the gears, how long (sixty years) a set of gear teeth would last with daily use, and other fun little things about production capacity and operation. This is a picture of him stopping the windmill sails.
And this is when he took us around to the front of the windmill and showed us how the sails are removed or fettered for high winds. Looking up at the sails is dizzying, which is made even more so by standing on a deck of widely spaced beams.
And here is the super tourist, one day in the Netherlands and I'm wearing wooden shoes!
These are the stairs inside the mill, worn down by generations of millers with wooden feet.
This is (supposidly) not how people dress everyday in the Netherlands.
This windmill had a choir singing outside. The sign says "Spider House Street"
And here is the rail station on Sunday morning, saying goodbye to Scheidam.
Soon to come, National Windmill Day, the movie. I'm assembling and editing right now, preparing only the best multimedia for your vicarious living needs!
posted by Alex Gray at 07:56
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