Kinderdijk - Old Meets New

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Kinderdijk Windmills
Unique & Iconic Water Management

Much of Holland is below sea level, but yet it doesn't flood.  Why?  A visit to Kinderdijk gives you the extraordinary opportunity to visit a UNESCO World Heritage in Holland and answer the question for yourself.

During your visit you can see 19 windmills from the 18th century and even go inside one to see what it was like to live there.
Read More: Inside a Kinderdijk Windmill

Nowhere else in the world can you find the complete history of water management at a single location. The windmills and pumping stations drain the excess water from the Alblasserwaard into the river Lek via the Elshout sluices. Subsequently, the river discharges the water into the sea.

There is a wealth of information on Kinderdijk's website.  You can even play the Battle Below Sealevel Game to explore the timeline. 

Our Second Visit

During our Avalon Waterways Rhine & Moselle river cruise, we stopped in Kinderdijk on our way to Amsterdam.   We had visited before during our previous cruise to Holland during tulip time.   This is a destination that can be visited multiple times and still leaving more to be explored.

Tip:  Purchase a ticket for one or both of the Tourist Vessels

The Canal Hopper Prins Friso takes you to four of our visiting points. The electric ‘whisper’ boat starts at our Visitor Centre Wisboom and then sails to the Parking Area, Museum Mill Nederwaard, Musuem Mill Blokweer and back to the Visitorcentre. You can get on and off at all visiting points. The Prins Friso is an open ‘terrace’boat. It completes its tour in 30 minutes and is suitable for wheelchairs.

 

The Canal Cruiser (Ferry No 6) takes you for a tour that starts and ends at the Parking Area. It takes you along the windmills in about half an hour. 

 

We have yet to do this - since we were part of an organized tour.  We could have gone on our own and had time to do at least one of the boat rides.   Learn More

Additional photos can be found on our Rhine & Moselle Shutterfly page:

Kinderdijk

Inside Kinderdijk Mill

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Mykonos Windmills and Little Venice

Mykonos Town (Chora)

Main Attractions

Chora of Mykonos is the capital of the most cosmopolitan island of Cyclades. In our last post, we boarded our motorcoach for the ride from Panagia Tourliani Monastery to the charming main town of Mykonos. Our journey continues in Mykonos town (Chora).

Our partially guided walking tour began in the parking lot just a few minutes away from the pier where our ship, Star Princess, was docked, awaiting our return after the conclusion of our Mykonos visit.

Two of the Main Attractions

The guided walk took us along the main coastal street of Mykonos past a lot of shops with jewels, clothes, popular art and many other items.   There are several cafes and tavernas along the waterfront street similar to the one in the picture above.  From every location along our walk, we had amazing views of the harbour where our ship was anchored along with a Pullmantur and Wind Star ship amongst the many private boats and yachts.

See more images in our album: Mykonos Walking Tour

Little Venice


Walking to the farthest point of the Chora, we passed a charming district known as Little Venice. Continuing beyond the buildings, we looked back at the picturesque two and three story houses, with colorful balconies, windows and doors. From this vantage point, the buildings appeared to be emerging from the sea begging to be captured on the canvas of our digital film. We would be remiss if we didn't oblige.

Windmills of Mykonos

The Windmills of Mykonos, iconic features of this main Greek Island, can be seen from every point of the village of Mykonos.  When entering the harbour, the windmills will be the first thing you see since they stand atop a hill overlooking the sea.

We have now made our journey to the top of that hill, a walk that was well worth it. If the windmills had eyes, this is the view they would see. The whole village of Chora and the harbour are visible from this point. In the distance, you can see our ship anchored at the Port of Mykonos.

Dating back to the 16th Century, these windmills had primarily been used to mill wheat.   Now, they remain quiet, no longer functioning as mills, but instead attracting visitors who want to get a closeup look at the structures that had once been an important source of income to the inhabitants.

In another post we will tell you more about our visit to Mykonos Town. Be sure to visit our Facebook Fan Page and sign up so that you can view more of our photo albums and useful information about our Mediterranean cruise. These two attractions were among our most enjoyable during our Mykonos visit.

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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