The coolest thing about The Netherlands is that there are more significant and momentous historical and cultural points of interest per square meter than anywhere else in the world. The country is so tiny that you don’t have to go anywhere overnight to visit ANY of them because they’re all within a couple hours’ travel time from Amsterdam, the ideal base camp—itself a wonderful old, fun city filled with art and history. My darling niece Lindsay lives in Amsterdam with her family, and whenever I visit, she greets me at the door with a long list of things I need to do/see. I love the lists, but they are also troublesome, because I have to CHOOSE! But it is ALL worth doing—Lindsay never steers me wrong!
One of the best places she sent me was Kinderdijk (“KINder-dike”, meaning “children’s dike”). There is a tale associated with the place that is reminiscent of the Biblical tale of Moses and Pharaoh’s daughter—only the rescuer in this tale is a male. And there is a cat in the story, too. But I digress.
Everybody goes to Kinderdijk to see the windmills. There are nineteen of them. And they are big and handsome, and they sit in a lovely, serene setting of wide open sky, waterways and grassy marshlands. They’re leftovers from a vast project designed to keep the sea at bay—a challenge for the Dutch people as long as there have been Dutch people. The windmill sails still turn, but flood control these days is managed with massive diesel pumps.
I spent my day at Kinderdijk visiting the windmills, including one where you can have a peek inside and see how the keeper’s family lived. I wouldn’t have believed a windmill could be home to a family of thirteen, but indeed it was, and it looked quite comfortable and had some nice touches, like lace curtains, porcelain dishes, and handsome furnishings. The sleeping arrangements?? Well, let’s just say that privacy wouldn’t have been a prime concern.
I brought along my painting stuff, fully intending to paint a windmill scene—the great painters of the Dutch Golden Age have the subject covered more than adequately—still I wanted to give it a try. But when I walked around town and along the dikes, a flash of yellow in the river caught my
I brought along my painting stuff, fully intending to paint a windmill scene—the great painters of the Dutch Golden Age have the subject covered more than adequately—still I wanted to give it a try. But when I walked around town and along the dikes, a flash of yellow in the river caught my eye. There was a sweet little village called Krimpen aan de Lek across from Kinderdijk, serviced by a little yellow ferry boat. I stopped and watched the boat go busily back and forth, back and forth. It was so cute I couldn’t help myself. I had plenty of photos for the windmills, which I could paint later, but right now I wanted to do the yellow ferry. And when I finished the painting, just for the heck of it I got on the ferry and did a quick little round trip to Krimpen. Later I gave this painting to Lindsay as a housewarming gift for her new apartment.