There were several options today – short, medium, longer, longest rides. We chose the longest ride (duh!) of 36 miles. This took us out of Rotterdam, through the 19 windmills of UNESCO World Heritage site Kinderdijk, into the town of Gouda, and to our boat moored in Schoonhoven.
The windmills of Kinderdijk amazed me! In the mini-museum on site, we could see how they helped move water to clear the land for planting and living. Later this week, we will be able to tour the inside of a windmill.
Gouda was cool – the cheese weighing shop, the old city hall, the Church of St. John with its many UNESCO World Heritage site stained glass windows.
The big excitement? While riding on a dike with canals on both sides of us, a big van came toward us. Joel and I moved to the side. However, Joel moved further off the “road” and fell into the canal. The guys in the van and the two vehicles following it pulled the bike off of Joel and helped him out of the water. Joel was not injured, and his bike and phone didn’t get wet. Ultimately, all good!
Kinderdijk – 19 windmills. Some were moved here so they could be restored and saved.
Kinderdijk.
Statue of the black cat: There is a folk tale about the child in a crib that was said to have washed ashore at the dike in what is now known as Kinderdijk during the Saint-Elizabeth Flood. After the flood, when the survivors dared to go outside again, they saw a cradle floating along the dike, from which the cry of a child could be heard. The bobbing crib was balanced by a cat, which jumped back and forth to keep the basket from sinking and thus kept the baby alive. (https://www.kinderdijk.com/latest-news/news/beatrices-cradle)
The ferry we used to cross into and out of Kinderdijk.
Gouda City Hall – formerly a church, also now a wedding venue.
Cheese weighing in Gouda.
From a stained glass window in St. John’s Church, Gouda,
Gate to Schoonhoven,
Our barge – the De Amsterdan – moored at sunset in Schoonhoven.
