What’s more iconic than the beautiful Dutch windmills!
They are everywhere, in town or in the countryside, at every corner, their dark silhouette make me think of beautiful evening gowns. I love seeing them from afar while riding around on my bicycle and then getting closer to see them in details, with their outstretched wings and little windows. No two are the same, they differ in size, hight, circumference, color, texture and purpose. There are over 1000 windmills in Holland. Some are still being used for drainage, such as one or two of the nineteen in Kinderdijk. Historically, windmills in Holland served many purposes, make flour out of grain, press oil from seeds, saw wood or even grind pigments to make colors for artists, but the most important was pumping water out of the lowlands and back into the rivers beyond the dikes so that the land could be farmed. There were once more than 10,000 fully operational windmills in the Netherlands. Once a year Holland holds "National Mill Day." On the second Saturday in May 600 windmills and watermills around the country are decorated with flowers, figures of angels or Dutch flags and open their doors to visitors. It's an opportunity to see some of the historic mills that are no longer open regularly.
From Amsterdam with love.
-F-
