While in Amsterdam I read about Kinderdijk, and that I could get to it by bike from Rotterdam. It was another Amanda adventure as I pursued my passion for preindustrial tech at this UNESCO windmill site. Plus I discovered that windmills are tiny houses! Who knew?

I was able to rent a bicycle from my hostel in Amsterdam shortly after breakfast. One of those heavy workhorses with upright handlebars whose design likely hasn’t changed since the ‘40s. The workday commuters intimidated me so I picked a Sunday to go when I would likely have the company of other recreational riders. I got the bike on a train and arrived in Rotterdam by lunchtime, then proceeded along the route. I did get lost, as my phone died, but got help from other cyclists to set me right, and I arrived just an hour before closing.

Kinderdijk is basically an island, surrounded by a canal, with 16 original windmills and a working mill. The museum part had a working pumping station to move water in the canal, and a movie theater building that showed a sophisticated animation without words about the movement of water and what was built to handle the floods. 

Since I refused to get on the hop-on/hop-off boat and be stuck with a crowd of people at every site, I set out on my bike getting lost every which way until I finally found a path that accessed one of the two windmills. It was just about closing time, but as they were still waiting for one more tour group, they let me in so I could examine this tiny house windmill.

Every detail satisfied me with its authenticity, down to the hand crank Singer sewing machine. The ladders up each level reminded me of my own loft ladder. There were different bedrooms and a sitting room which was the only room heated. Same in my house. I could easily imagine living there except for the constant cranking noise of the wood gears of the blade. I bet they knew what was going on outside with every sound change. I inspected the fully equipped wood shop, delighted at the duck pen, and was pleased at the size of the vegetables in the garden. 

I didn’t get to see inside the mill or the other windmill, but I was satisfied and this would give me a reason to come back.