Figured out a better pace

Today is our day to visit Haarlem. With recommendations from our neighbor who does tours of Holland, Jim books a windmill tour and a canal tour of Haarlem.

Haarlem is a very quaint village that’s a 15 minute train trip from Amsterdam. Our windmill tour is at 2 p.m. - so no crazy deadline.

On our way out of our hotel there is a beautiful vintage Rolls Royce that was being used as a movie prop.

And we are off

I think Livy is getting tired of our photography.

The windmill tour was fascinating…although a lot of steep stairs and very windy when we stepped outside.

So now some facts.

Windmills were used to move water, grind grains, process linseed and mill lumber.

Windmills in a field could be built lower, but windmills in a more populated area had to sit higher than the rooftops so the wind wasn’t blocked.

Pig fat was used to keep the mechanism lubricated because it wouldn’t absorb into the wood.

Blade Positioning - you couldn’t keep one blade straight up, because it would become a lightening rod. The windmill blade positions were used as a communication tool. A bottom blade a little to the left meant sad news in the family, a blade to the right meant help wanted at the mill They also used the blade settings to alert neighbors to troop movements during the war. There was a secret verbal code among them to what the blade settings meant. A published setting might mean the family was gone to church, but the secret setting meant the troops were advancing.

We grabbed a bite to eat and headed to our canal tour.

Now our dilemma…I had made dinner reservations to follow the canal tour but we weren’t really hungry….but we rallied.

Berlin has its bears - Amsterdam has their elephant parade.

Oh yeah and one duck!