Weekend Reflections, Windmills, Our World Tuesday, The Netherlands

Kinderdijk

                           

Kinderdijk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend Reflections was started on 27 September 2009, by  James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend.  If you click on the badge in the sidebar you can see more weekend reflections.

 

 Our World Tuesday: Where  bloggers share images of their world and tell us a little bit of the story about the place, and the events which take place overthere. For more interesting posts please click on the logo in the sidebar.

 

 

 These photos were taken in Kinderdijk, near the windmills.The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for "Child's Dike". In 1421 during the Saint Elizabeth flood of 1421, the Grote Hollandse Waard flooded, but the Alblasserwaard polder remained dry. It is said that when the terrible storm had subsided, someone went on to the dike between these two areas, to see what could be saved. He saw in the distance a wooden cradle floating. There was no hope that anything would be alive in it, but when the cradle came nearer, someone saw that a cat was in the cradle trying to keep it in balance by jumping back and forth so that no water could come into it. When the cradle eventually came near the dike, someone took it out and saw that a baby was sleeping in it undisturbed and dry. In some of the stories the cat kept it balanced and afloat. This folktale and legend has been published as "The Cat and the Cradle" in English.

 

Weekend Reflections, Windmills,

We have 20 windmills which are capable to keep the polder dry in case of emergency and when there is no electricity to keep the electric engine going. Yesterday I took my two Australian guests here. In spite of the bad weather with rain and a strong icy cold wind, we enjoyed the walk from my house to Kinderdijk.

Our World Tuesday, ABC Wednesday, X in Windmill Language.

As I live in the vicinity of the Kinderdijk windmills, I am always ready to tell something about them. The wings of the mills were used to signal to the other
millers. The position of the wings is important. The X position means that the miller is taking a long break. Some of the mills are having a break on these photos.

WINDMILL LANGUAGE
For centuries windmills played an important role in the local community: farmers not only visited them with their grain but also with the latest gossip. Because windmills were visible from afar, changes to their appearance were soon noticed. Important events in the community, such as births, deaths, marriages and other festivities were signaled by the position of the sails and the manner in which they were hung. Furthermore, by using certain signals the miller could for example call for the millhand to come, communicate that the mill was temporarily not working or that the miller urgently required work. Even today the mills mark festivities and sorrowful occasions, using the 'windmill language'.

Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our new logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with X.

Sunday Bridges, Netherlands, Windmills.

I stay with the windmills, where I met Kay from Canada. This bridge leads to the visitors'mill in which you can get a fairly good idea what it was like to live and work there. Every tourist can hear an explanation of daily life in the mill. It is to be heard in various languages. When I came there for the first time it was the miller himself who led us around. He told that living in a mill was very cold in winter as the children slept on a higher floor than mum and dad. The parents slept in the tiny living space in a box bed, often with a kind of cot on a shelf for the baby . Mind you these mills were used to pump the water away from the polder and to prevent the people from drowning.

Click to enlarge.



Thanks to Louis we can participate in this meme!

For more bridges go to Sunday Bridges

Sky Watch, Weekend Reflections, Meeting Kay D. from Canada.

Interior of one of the windmills


These past few weeks have been lovely sunny.On 22 March I cycled to the windmills, which took me only 15 minutes. I waited there outside the souvenir shop for Kay D., who is one of the Canadian bloggers.It was a kind of blind date, but she e-mailed me that she would be wearing a red T-shirt on which "Canada"was written. I recognized her immediately. It was nice to meet her and her husband. While he went to have a closer look at the mills, she and I were having coffee in front of the souvenir shop. We were chatting about bloggers we both know and how wonderful it is to meet so many different people and cultures.I had the feeling as if I had known Kay for a long time. The weather was nice and sunny and I am glad that my Canadian blogging friend saw my country in the best possible weather.If you want to visit her click on
Kay D..


Photo taken by Kay's husband.

And by myself of Kay and her husband.

Weekend Reflections, Windmills,

 
 
 
 

Click on photos to enlarge and see the details.

These photos were taken in Kinderdijk, near the windmills.The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for "Child's Dike". In 1421 during the Saint Elizabeth flood of 1421, the Grote Hollandse Waard flooded, but the Alblasserwaard polder remained dry. It is said that when the terrible storm had subsided, someone went on to the dike between these two areas, to see what could be saved. He saw in the distance a wooden cradle floating. There was no hope that anything would be alive in it, but when the cradle came nearer, someone saw that a cat was in the cradle trying to keep it in balance by jumping back and forth so that no water could come into it. When the cradle eventually came near the dike, someone took it out and saw that a baby was sleeping in it undisturbed and dry. In some of the stories the cat kept it balanced and afloat. This folktale and legend has been published as "The Cat and the Cradle" in English.

This meme was started on 27 September 2009, by James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend. Just post your photo and go to James to tell him that you are on, or click on the logo in the sidebar.This meme is created for any type of reflection.

Weekend Reflections Windmill in Kinderdijk

 

Click to enlarge and see more details!

This is the visitors'mill.
read more here.

This meme was started on 27 September 2009, by James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend. Just post your photo and go to James to tell him that you are on. You can also click on the Weekend Reflections logo in the sidebar.

To all American bloggers: Happy Thanksgiving!

World Heritage, Windmills of Kinderdijk.

To enlarge click first on View All Images then on Original View

to enlarge click on photo.

Last week I had a post about UNESCO, now it's W for World Heritage, which is protected by UNESCO.

World Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Africa’s Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Bryggen in Bergen/Norway and the Baroque cathedrals of Latin America make up our world’s heritage. And also the windmills of Kinderdijk/Holland!

What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.

One of the cultural and natural treasures of the Netherlands is the windmill group of Kinderdijk. This is not the first time I write about them. Six months ago I posted an entry for ABC about these windmills.In the Netherlands, the drainage system is an important matter. The Dutch need a well developed water control system in order to keep large areas from being flooded, because some parts of the Netherlands are below sea level.


The problems with water became more and more apparent in the 13th century. Large canals, called 'weteringen', were dug to get rid of the excess water in the polders. However, the drained soil started setting, while the level of the river rose due to the river's sand deposits. After a few centuries, an additional way to keep the polders dry was required.

It was decided to build a series of windmills, with a limited capacity to bridge water level differences, but just able to pump water into a reservoir at an intermediate level between the soil in the polder and the river; the reservoir could be pumped out into the river by other windmills whenever the river level was low enough; the river level has both seasonal and tidal variations.
This pumping is no longer done by the mills now but by an electric engine.
All windmills were built around 1740, except the one that was on fire some years ago. No new mills are being built anymore, but they are kept in good condition.


Due to a very busy week, I post two memes in one: this is for "that's My World" hosted by Klaus,Sandy,Ivar,Wren,Fishing Guy & Louise and "ABC"hosted by Denise Nesbitt. I should like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy 2009. And may we meet after the holiday in good spirits and a wonderful blogging mood! For more ABC posts click on logo in the sidebar.

The Windmills of my Mind...

 
 

 
 
 
 

Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind.


In January my last Danish friend died. I had known him for 54 years. His cousin rang me in December to tell me that he was very ill. Since he died his cousin and I kept writing and agreed that it would be nice to meet each other and today she came here with her husband and it was such a nice day we spent together.It was as if we had known each other for a long time, but we met only once before. Of course we went to the windmills, for it is not far from my house. The weather, which had been awful all summer, changed suddenly for the better. And the sun made the world brighter and greener. Compared to Australia my country is green! And I like it!!