Windmills in the Rain

We spent the last two days of our trip in Rotterdam.  The first of those days we took a water taxi to Kinderdijk, where 19 historic windmills, most from the late 1700s, have been gathered.  We specifically went there on a day when the windmills were supposed to be operating.  Alas, this was another day of downpours, so the mills were not working.  In addition, both Sue and I slipped and injured ourselves during the expedition - she fell on the gangplank of the water taxi, losing quite a bit of skin from her hands and legs, and I skidded on the muddy pathway between windmills and messed up my sciatic nerve.  On the upside, we had a good laugh when at one point I leaned over and a veritable waterfall gushed from the upturned brim of my hat.  The windmills were interesting, even if they weren't working, and the canals between them were populated by haughty white swans.  We also had a lovely hot lunch next to the front window at the Grand Cafe Buena Vista, where we could see and pity the tourists who were trying to bike through Kinderdijk in the mud while wearing inadequate cheap plastic raincoats.  The restaurant staff were fast and friendly, and we enjoyed the traditional Dutch decor.

"Unesco World Heritage Kinderdijk - 742 Years of Dutch watermanagement history." ~https://www.kinderdijk.com/