Schoonhoven/Kinderdijk - Updated

Today is Friday the 12th of April.  We left Amsterdam early this morning.  While we were docked in Amsterdam, there had to be at least 10 other river boats docked along with us.  And there was one ocean vessel docked as well.  We had a great night sleep.  Bed is quite comfortable.

We woke up and showered and dressed for breakfast with the gang.  It is a buffet with a nice selection of foods.  I had an omelet with only one egg.  We then attended a lecture on the  Waterways and Canals and then headed out for our tour of Schoonhoven.  This was a walking tour of a tiny village.
Schoonhoven is the smallest municipality in the Netherlands in land area.  It is known for its silver and clock making.

The weather was overcast, but what else was new.

This is a drawbridge and part of the lock system to enter the city itself.  We did not go in there as we are too big.  This is for the local folks.

Just a sign showing a walking tour of the village.

You pass through this gate to enter the village from the water.  We are given head sets and then we are able to hear the leader from a distance.

Even this tiny village has lots of canals.  Most of the Netherlands lies under sea level.  The country is protected by dikes, and locks to keep it from flooding.

Another view of the entrance gate from the city side.

A canal through the city.

Witchcraft used to be practiced here.  This is a plaque that shows the last burning of a witch in the city. If you were too light in weight they declared you a witch.  That leaves me out.  I am safe.

The town has lots of small special shops.  These tulips might be the only ones we see on this trip.  They were out side of the flower shop.  The people of the Netherlands live in small houses and the shop for things most every day.

The cheese shop offered several different kinds of cheese.

River boats are very different from ocean ships.  These are long and short so they can travel under bridges.  The bridge on the top of the ship can be lowered in order to clear the bridges if needed.

The daffodils were in bloom.  If I remember from when we lived in Delaware, the tulips come after the daffodils so there is some hope.

You can see from the picture the length of our boat.  The ramp is mid ship.  Top deck is open, deck 4 is lounge and suites, deck 3 is dining room and cabins, deck 2 is some cabins and crew quarters.  I think there is a fitness center on deck 2 also.

We came back to the ship for lunch and then we had a fire drill just as Bob was getting ready for his nap.  There are no life boats on the river boats.  I guess they expect you to jump into the water and swim to shore with your life jacket on.  We are now headed to our second stop of the day.

The second stop was in Kinderdijk.  This is home to several windmills.  These windmills work to keep the water at a certain level.  The group of windmills is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Since the 13th century, windmills have been an inseparable part of the landscape of Holland.  They have been used for a variety of purposes, including milling corn, extracting oil and sawing wood.  One of their most popular uses was to pump away excess water from the polders (reclaimed land).

We walked over to a pump house which is now used instead of the windmill.  And then visited a working windmill.  The windmills were home to the millers and their families.  Talk about tight quarters.  Of course, it started to rain on our way back to the ship.  Jeans are soaked through.

Tonight was the Captain reception and dinner.  We had wine at the reception and then a very good dinner.  The food on this ship has been great.  There is a jazz group on board for entertainment but we have an early tour in the morning so we are skipping them.  Back to the cabin for reading and lights out.