Kinderdijk, Netherlands

We awoke early on our last full day in Europe.  I suppose the ship casting off at 1 am is what woke us.  We napped off and on for the duration of the night but didn’t get the usual deep sleep.  Around 7 am we walked into the lounge for a view of the widening Rhine River as it flows through The Netherlands.  It has been to see the changes in the topography along the river from Lucerne in Switzerland through Germany and France to here in The Netherlands.  Initially the landscape was very mountainous then became hilly.  Now the area surrounding the Rhine is as flat at the delta at the mouth of the Mississippi. We saw a lot of grazing land with cattle and a few sheep.  Many local people camp and fish along the river although the cool temperatures and light rain this morning may be keeping them in for the time.

Our German/Californian friend, Trudy, joined us again for breakfast.  We really enjoy her stereotypical German perspective.  In fact, while serving herself some cream of wheat from the breakfast bar she was informing the crew of more efficient ways to organize the placement of meal items.  She entertained up with stories of her meetings with Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was California’s governor. 

There was a departure briefing at 10:30 where the cruise director, Chris, gave us details of the procedures for departing the ship and getting to the airport.  Like other aspects of the trip, it seems well organized and efficient.  We also received our satisfaction surveys to provide feedback on our trip.  We were very positive with only a few comments that the onboard entertainment was directed toward people who are older than us and have different tastes.  Even if the entertainment changed it is doubtful that we would have taken part.

Ian, Emily & Mary played Yahtzee in the lounge area as Ian watched for unique birds of the area.  The cool light rain kept us inside.  We were fortunate to have had excellent weather for all of the trip except today so we really can’t complain about a little rain on one day.  It seems very counterintuitive to comment on the cold weather in early August but we were all wishing that we had brought sweatshirts along. 

We opted for the informal lunch on the Aquavit terrace which was lasagna, hamburgers with optional mushrooms, cheeses, bacon and other toppings.  Trudy was in line ahead of us and was scolding the staff for not providing the best and most efficient implements for serving the lasagna.  After lunch the Yahtzee game continued in the lounge.  The temperatures stayed in the mid 50s throughout the afternoon although we are hoping for a clearing by the time we arrive at Kinderdijk, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Viking Kvasir moored at Kinderdijk at 3:30 pm in a light rain.  We donned our rain jackets and walked out into the very small Dutch town to see the sights.  While I found a nearby geocache, Ian & Emily visited a gift shop and purchased some “wooden shoe” slippers for his sister and a Christmas ornament for themselves.  I was happy to drop off a geocoin that I have carried for far too long and am happy to have given it such a long ride but I am certain that it go far as a free coin. 

Since the rain was steady and cold, we came back to the boat fairly quickly and warmed up before our guided tour at 4:30.  The guide was a fourth generation resident of Kinderdijk and was very well informed about the history of the town and the beautiful historic windmills.  He took us to the brick windmills dating to the mid 1700s on one side of the canal as well as the wood windmills that were built a few years later since the shifting wet earth caused instability in the brick foundations.  He even took us inside one windmill to see the inner workings including the main beam that connects the propellers to the water pumps below.  These main shafts are giant oak beams that are original to when the windmills were built in the mid 1700s.  The thatch roof on each windmill must be replaced about every 20 years and the windmill required regular maintenance.  Historically the miller gets free rent and a small stipend in exchange for caring for the windmill.  Unlike mills in many areas, these windmills do not grind grain but only pump water from the town into a canal that empties into the Rhine River. 

We were fascinated to learn how the miller can control the speed and pumping of the windmill by adjusting the amount of each vane that is covered by the cloth.  

We also learned how the position of the windmill vanes communicated to other millers whether they were prepared to pump water.  It turns out that the position of the windmill vanes was used as a way to communicate to allied pilots regarding the positions of German troops during World War II. 

We enjoyed this visit as much as any stop that we made over the trip, mostly because of our guide. The only negative was that the rain was persistent throughout our time at Kinderdijk.  Our guide took a lot of time to answer all of our questions about the importance of pumping water since the town and much of Hollard is below sea level.  He also answered questions about wooden shoes and the dikes along the rivers. 

I don’t know what I expected about the dikes but they were very much like the earthen floodwalls that surround Huntington, WV.  The dikes allow the Rhine to rise for several meters without getting into the homes in the low land of Netherlands.  As the area continues to sink by a centimeter or so each year and sea level continues to rise, the problem of keeping Hollard above water continues. 

After the tour we returned to the ship to shower and dress before the Captain’s celebration.  We enjoyed a glass of champagne to toast the passengers and crew and had a chance to say our goodbyes.  From there we went to the dining room for the final dinner of the cruise and joined our friends from a few nights earlier from Northern California whose daughter, Brooke, now works for Ikea in The Hague.  Chef Mario outdid himself once again.  I had the salmon tartar with bitter greens as an appetizer.  Mary had the roasted forest mushroom veloute while Emily & Ian had the tandoori chicken.  We had kir royale as a palate cleanser before the main course, a deconstructed beef Wellington, Napoleon style with sautéed vegetables, pommes duchesse and Cognac sauce.  Ian opted for the sautéed prawns and saffron beurre blaume with sides of potato soufflé and sautéed fennel.  For dessert we all had crisp dark valrhona chocolate tart which was quite good.  Since yesterday was Brooke’s birthday the maître d, Paul Daniel, brought citrus cheesecake to our table with the same sparkling candle.

Since we have an early flight and a 4:45 disembarkation from the ship we visited the main desk to take care of our bill and leave gratuities for the staff.   We were very pleased with the quality of service that Viking provides.  Although as seasoned European travelers we didn’t need that level of care here it was nice that Viking took care of all of the details.  We just had to show up and enjoy ourselves.  While we didn’t need that care in Europe it will be very welcome on what we hope is our next Viking River Cruise to China.