12 AUG 18 Kinderdijk and Scenic Cruise: Waal and Merwede

We woke at 6:30 am and went to breakfast buffet in ship’s restaurant at 7:00. The Viking Daily offered a tour of the Skadi’s wheelhouse, and we signed up for a visit at 4:15 pm. 

At 8:30, we left the ship for the 2-hour “Kinderdijk Windmills” shore excursion (included). The weather forecast was for 63-81° and mostly sunny. However, the sky was quite overcast, and most of the disembarking passengers wore jackets.

Kinderdijk, (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌkɪndərˈdɛi̯k], the last part sounding like dike) is a small village in the serene polder* lands of the province of South Holland. Near the village is the largest concentration of windmills in the Netherlands and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. We cross the dike to the 19 windmills, which are at a lower elevation than our ship, since much of this part of the Netherlands is below sea level. They are situated in the Alblasserwaard polder and were built to drain the polder. There were once more than 150 windmills in the Alblasserwaard and Vijfheerenlanden area; today there are only 29, 19 of which are in the Kinderdijk area. The 8 mills that survive on the Nederwaard side of the canal were all built in 1738; they are “bonnet mills” on which only the top revolves with the wind; they are built of brick and with large sails that come within one foot of the ground. There are also 8 mills on the Overwaard side, all dating from 1740, although one was rebuilt in the 1980s. Families who live in these mills are required to keep them in working order. The windmill used for tourist demonstrations has been in the same family for 17 generations, and there is a long waiting list of people who want to become millers.

*A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by dikes. A polder may be land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the sea bed, or it may be flood plains separated from the sea of river by a dike.

The Dutch word waard can mean (1) a holm, holme, area surrounded by rivers; (2) a type of foreland, outside a local system of dikes; or a dwelling mound. On the map, the windmills on the left side of the large canal are in the Overwaard (upper waard), and those on the right side, including the museum windmill we would visit, are in the Nederwaard (lower waard). The electric pumping station is also labeled “Overwaard Gemaal.”

The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for “Children dike.” During a great flood in 1421, this polder remained unflooded. It is said than a villager went to the dike to see what could be salvaged and saw a cradle floating in the water of a nearby canal. A cat was perched atop the cradle, trying to keep it balanced so that a baby sleeping inside would stay dry. This folktale has been published as “The Cat and the Cradle” in English.

In the 13th century, large canals were dug to get rid of excess water in the polders. However, the drained soil continued to subside, while the level of the river rose due to sand deposits. After a few centuries, it became necessary 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 water level was low enough. Over time, the windmills were replaced by steam-driven and then diesel-powered pumping stations. However, the windmills are kept in working order and can be used to supplement the modern pumping stations when necessary.

Sunday, 12 Aug 2018, 8:40 AM – Kinderdijk: Viking Skadi docked next to dike and water tower on other side of river.

8:41 AM – Kinderdijk: bike/walking path on dike, leading toward windmills, with highway on other side of wood railing and canal on right.

8:41 AM – Kinderdijk: windmills on both sides of canal (telephoto 156 mm).

8:42 AM – Kinderdijk: our tour group on walking path waiting to cross highway, with village of Kinderdijk at left and Skadi at right; sign on light pole for “fietspad” (footpath).

8:46 AM – Kinderdijk: path down to temporary bridge over canal, with windmills in background.

MT 8:43 AM – Kinderdijk: path down to temporary bridge over canal, with windmills in background.

8:51 AM – Kinderdijk: yellow flowers by path down to temporary bridge.

8:53 AM – Kinderdijk: electric pumping station; “Gemaal” is Dutch for pumping station (telephoto 93 mm).

9:00 AM – Kinderdijk: sign outside visitor center, highlighting (1) “Visitor center Wisboom pumping station,” (8) “Museum Windmill Nederwaard” (which we would visit), and (11) “Museum Windmill Blokweer.”

9:00 AM – Kinderdijk: old steam-powered pumping station (from 1860s).

9:01 AM – Kinderdijk: “National Geographic” frame on dock by old pumping station for taking visitors’ photos by canal with windmills in background.

MT 8:55 AM – Kinderdijk: Don and MT in “National Geographic” frame on dock by canal with windmills in background.

9:09 AM – Kinderdijk: “Windmill Workshop” – our guide (Colby) starting talk.

9:12 AM – Kinderdijk: “Windmill Workshop” – windmill diagram, as Colby explained how the parts work (telephoto 93 mm).

MT 9:23 AM – Kinderdijk: “Windmill Workshop” – another visitor in our group holding a painted wooden shoe.

MT 9:24 AM – Kinderdijk: “Windmill Workshop” – pair of rough wooden shoes (clogs).

MT 9:27 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmills No. 1, 2, 3 (in blue), and 4 on right side of canal.

9:30 AM – Kinderdijk: MT and others heading for electric pumping station.

9:33 AM – Kinderdijk: Archimedes’ screws of electric pumping station.

An Archimedes’ screw, also known as Archimedean screw or screw pump, is a machine used for transferring water from a low-lying body of water into irrigation ditches [or a higher body of water]. Water is pumped by turning a screw-shaped surface inside a pipe.

Modern Archimedes’ screws have replaced some of the windmills used to drain the polders at Kinderdijk. Our guide said the diesel-powered electric pumping station can pump 60,000 gallons per minute.

9:33 AM – Kinderdijk: Archimedes’ screws of electric pumping station (closer up).

9:31 AM – Kinderdijk: view, from near electric pumping station, of canal with windmills on left (Overwaard) and right (Nederwaard).

9:39 AM – Kinderdijk: MT and others heading toward the Nederwaard museum windmill.

9:46 AM – Kinderdijk: Our guide leading group 13A toward the Nederwaard museum windmill.

9:48 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmill No. 1.

MT 9:42 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmill No. 1, through reeds (zoom 131 mm).

MT 9:45 AM – Kinderdijk: Don and Windmill No. 1, across canal.

MT 9:45 AM – Kinderdijk: MT and Windmill No. 1, across canal.

MT 9:46 AM – Kinderdijk: Don and MT and Windmill No. 1, across canal.

9:48 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmills No. 3 (with blue), 2, and 1; other windmills in background.

9:51 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmill No. 1 with reeds by canal.

9:52 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmill No. 1 with MT taking photo on bike/walking path.

Medieval millwrights solved the problem of varying wind direction by positioning the whole mill on a central spindle so that it could be turned to face the wind. Around the 13th century, a second type of windmill appeared, in which only the cap and sails rotated and the body of the mill remained stationary. From the 17th to 19th centuries, post mills became the predominant type. For many centuries, windmills were turned into the wind by mere muscle power, by lifting a large tailpole at the back of the mill, moving it to the required position, and fixing it again at one of twelve anchor posts sunk into the ground in a circle around the mill. Some mills were equipped with a winch at the end of the tailpole, riding on a circular track, which made the task a bit easier. The cap of tower mills (like those at Kinderdijk) was turned in a similar fashion, by means of a much longer tailpole reaching to the ground.

9:54 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmill No. 1 with tailpole opposite the sails (mild telephoto 81 mm).

9:55 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmill No. 1 with tailpole opposite the sails; Dutch Reformed church in village of Kinderdijk in background at right (telephoto 156 mm).

The Kerk van de Nederlands Hervormde Gemeente (Dutch Reformed Church), the village church of Kinderdijk, was built in 1924-24. The high bell tower has a saddle roof.

9:57 AM – Kinderdijk: group approaching the base of Windmill No. 2.

9:57 AM – Kinderdijk: view from base to cap of Windmill No. 2, showing bricks.

9:59 AM – Kinderdijk: group climbing stairs inside Windmill No. 2, next to large wooden cog wheel.

10:00 AM – Kinderdijk: photo of Hoek family on 2nd level of Windmill No. 2.

10:09 AM – Kinderdijk: sign about photo of Hoek family on 2nd level of Windmill No. 2 with year 1913 and text in Dutch and English. English text: “Miller Cees Hoek (1873-1957) with his pregnant wife Alie Hoek Prins (1874-1916) and 12 children. Alie dies tragically on the afternoon of Monday March 27th, 1916. When trying to save one of her children, Alie is hit by one of the sails of the windmill. She is only 42 years old and leaves behind a husband and 13 children.”

10:08 AM – Kinderdijk: more photos of Hoek family and some furniture on 2nd level of Windmill No. 2.

10:00 AM – Kinderdijk: group climbing steps from 2nd to 3rd level of Windmill No. 2.

10:02 AM – Kinderdijk: central vertical shaft (original) rising from 3rd to 4th level of Windmill No. 2.

10:03 AM – Kinderdijk: view through metal bars up into 4th level of Windmill No. 2, where central vertical shaft in driven by a horizontal wooden cog wheel.

10:04 AM – Kinderdijk: view (with camera lens through space in metal bars) up into 4th level of Windmill No. 2, where central vertical shaft is driven by a horizontal wooden cog wheel.

10:12 AM – Kinderdijk: combination kitchen, dining room, and bedroom in family quarters on 2nd level.

MT 10:09 AM – Kinderdijk: door (blocked for safety) in side of Windmill No. 2, where sails are turning.

10:13 AM – Kinderdijk: door (blocked for safety) in side of Windmill No. 2, where sails are turning (a sail is coming from the left); also visible here are some of the anchor posts that encircle the windmill.

10:13 AM – Kinderdijk: door (blocked for safety) in side of Windmill No. 2, where sails are turning (sail almost in front of door).

10:13 AM – Kinderdijk: door (blocked for safety) in side of Windmill No. 2, where sails are turning (sail nearly touching ground as it passes in front of door [this is how Alie Hoek met her death] and another sail already on the way).

10:13 AM – Kinderdijk: view of side of Windmill No. 2 where sails are turning, from door (blocked for safety) in base up to the cap.

10:16 AM – Kinderdijk: view of Windmill No. 3 (with blue) and other windmills.

10:16 AM – Kinderdijk: view of side of Windmill No. 2 where sails are turning, with fence to keep visitors away from sails; lady in black jacket from New Zealand.

MT 9:59 AM – Kinderdijk: current miller (all in blue) of Windmill No. 2 and friend (both with wooden shoes) drinking coffee on bench by entrance to windmill.

MT 10:01 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmill No. 2, with fence to keep visitors away from sails.

MT 10:06 AM – Kinderdijk: Windmill No. 2, with our guide explaining how the winch is used to turn the sails toward the wind.

10:13 AM – Kinderdijk: view of canal, Windmill No. 3 (with blue) and other windmills.

10:21 AM – Kinderdijk: view of bike and foot paths, canal, Windmill No. 3 (with blue) and other windmills.

MT 10:12 AM – Kinderdijk: haystacks and windmills.

10:35 AM – Kinderdijk: sign near gift shop with red arrow for “je staat hier” (you are here) at Kinderdijk; text in Dutch is for hiking route of Alblasserwaard area.

MT 10:14 AM – Kinderdijk: Don in giant pair of wooden shoes near gift shop.

MT 10:15 AM – Kinderdijk: MT in giant pair of wooden shoes near gift shop, with windmill and village of Kinderdijk in background.

10:43 AM – Kinderdijk: Viking Skadi still docked by dike.

We reboarded the ship at 10:45, and it departed shortly thereafter to sail toward Cologne. We went to lunch in the ship’s dining room at noon. Every day at this time, there was a 3-course meal in the dining room (on the “Middle Deck”) with the option of choosing items from a buffet. There was also the option of a lighter, buffet-style meal on the Aquavit Terrace (outside, forward of the Lounge on the Upper Level).

After lunch, we had “Safety Instructions,” which had been announced at yesterday’s Port Talk. Over the ship’s PA system, we were told to put on the life vests (found under our bed) and go up to the place on the sun deck that was designated for passengers on our level of staterooms. We were told that, even if the ship should sink, the sun deck would be above water level in these rivers.

Then we enjoyed the “Scenic Cruise: Waal and Merwede,” which the Viking Cruise Documents described as follows: “As you sail the bucolic waters of the Rhine deep into the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta, classic Dutch landscapes unfurl all around. Flat farmland, charming windmills, and svelte poplar trees line the shores and vast tracts of land, stretching in all directions and growing all manner of bounty, from tomatoes to tulips. Gaze upon Freisan cows, a source of famous Dutch cheeses, and tidy villages with their neatly laid farmhouses. As you cruise, you just might marvel at how much of this land was reclaimed from the sea, saved by the stirrings of traditional windmills and the building of dikes.”

The Waal River is the main distributary branch of the Rhine flowing approx. 80 km (50 mi) through the Netherlands. It is the major waterway connecting the port of Rotterdam to Germany. It is the main channel in the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta system and carries 65 % of the total flow of the Rhine. Although the name “Waal” would mean “wall” in modern Dutch, it comes from Roman times, when the river was called Vacalis, Vahalis or Valis, later Vahal and/or the Old Germanic wôh (crooked), referring to the many meanders of the river (although those great bends were straightened by projects carried out in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries).

The Merwede River is also part of the main shipping route between Rotterdam and Germany. It is part of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta and is mostly fed by the Rhine. In the Middle Ages, the name “Waal also included the parts of the delta now known as Boven Merwede and Beneden Merwede. Before the Waal reaches Rotterdam, it joins with the Afgedamde Maas to form the Boven Werwede, which then splits into the Beneden Merwede and Nieuwe Merwede rivers.

2:43 PM – Zaltbommel: very large church tower of Sint Maartenskerk (St. Martin Church) and 2 smaller towers; the one at the left is the Gasthuistoren (Guest House Towers) and the one at the right is of the Gemeentehuis (Town Hall) (telephoto 119 mm).

Zaltbommel (pop. 27,940) is a city and municipality on the Waal River.

Zaltbommel: St. Martin Church (By Karrow, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3190287).

Zaltbommel: Gasthuis Tower (By Michiel1972 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3991381).

Zaltbommel: Town Hall (commons.wikimedia.org).

2:45 PM – After Zaltbommel: suspension bridge ahead, from Skadi sun deck with MT on walking track.

2:46 PM – Zaltbommel: view back at town with tower of Sint Maartenskerk (St. Martin Church) not on left and smaller Gasthuistoren (Guest House Towers) at right; the exposed “beach” on the shore shows how low the water level was, even here.

3:19 PM – After Zaltbommel: cows on sandy shore  and fishing from chairs(telephoto 156 mm). 

3:19 PM – After Zaltbommel: cows and people on sandy shore (telephoto 93 mm, Cropped).

4:14 PM – After Zaltbommel: town (possibly Gorinchem) with large church tower (through round window on Middle Level of Skadi).

At 4:15, we went to visit the ship’s wheelhouse, with Captain Rosen Nedkov. (There is now wheel in the “wheelhouse” now, but just levers.)

4:23 PM – After Zaltbommel: Captain in Skadi wheelhouse as we approached suspension bridge.

4:24 PM – After Zaltbommel: view ahead, toward suspension bridge, from Skadi wheelhouse.

4:23 PM – After Zaltbommel: Captain with instrument panel in Skadi wheelhouse (the center screen, by his hand, was for radar looking ahead, and the gauge at the upper left was for water depth; here it is pointing at “2” on a dial calibrated in “m” (meters), but Captain said it was showing 4-5 [feet]).

MT 4:21 PM – After Zaltbommel: Captain pointing to the gauge at the upper left was for water depth; here it is pointing at just a bit above “1” on a dial calibrated in “m” (meters), but Captain said it was showing 4-5 [feet]).

MT 4:21 PM (Cropped) – After Zaltbommel: Captain pointing to the gauge at the upper left was for water depth; here it is pointing at just a bit above “1” on a dial calibrated in “m” (meters), but Captain said it was showing 4-5 [feet]).

MT 4:22 PM – After Zaltbommel: levers that replace the wheel in the wheelhouse.

MT 4:24 PM – After Zaltbommel: view ahead, toward suspension bridge, from Skadi wheelhouse, at end of our tour.

MT 4:31 PM – After Zaltbommel: Captain in Skadi wheelhouse.

Every day from now on, there would be a Cocktail Hour in the Lounge from 5:30-7:00 pm. However, we never chose to do that, since we would have drinks included in dinner. Eventually, we learned to go to the Lounge around 6:30 to get good seats for the Port Talk.

At 6:15, there was “A Toast to Our Guests” in the Lounge, where Captain Rosen and Hotel Manager Heiner welcomed guests aboard with a champagne toast.

At 6:30 was the Port Talk where Program Director Joey would give us the weather report for the next day and tell us about the next day’s excursions and events.

After we got the schedule for the next day in Cologne, MT was able to contact our friend Sebastian, who had been an exchange student at Leavenworth HS in 2000-2001 and was now in Cologne. We arranged to meet him in front of the Cathedral after our morning shore excursion.

We went to dinner in the restaurant at 7 pm.

At 9 pm, we went to the “All Things Dutch” talk and slide presentation by Joey, followed by the opportunity to taste cheeses and jenever.

Jenever (accent on 2nd syllable with long e in Dutch or accent on 1st syllable in English) is also known as genièvre, genever, peket, or in the English-speaking world as Dutch gin or Holland gin. It is a juniper-flavored national and traditional liquor of the Netherlands, from which gin evolved.