The Molen Van Sloten Windmill

The  Molen Van Sloten Windmill

      The Sloten Windmill is one of the last remaining working windmills in Amsterdam.  Once upon a time there were over 10,000 windmills in the Netherlands.  Today there are only about 1000 left, scattered throughout the country.  Some do not operate and are attractions, or have been made into B&Bs.  This windmill is still operational, although it is little used these days.   It is also open to the public for tours, and staffed by volunteers, who love their windmill.
     We arrived around noon and looked around in the museum where there was an exhibit of old tools and artifacts gathered together to give one an idea of what it was like when this windmill was part of the water removal system for the polders. (Reclaimed land below sea level.))
     This windmill was a water lifting windmill.  It lifted water utilizing an Archimedies screw at a rate of 60,000 liters per minute (about 16.000 gallons).  It lifted the water 1½  meters and dumped it into a canal that went into the sea.  It was the last in a series of three windmills. each lifting water 1½ meters.  The first one sent the water into a  low canal. The second windmill lifted that water into a higher canal and the third windmill, this one, lifted water into a still higher canal that went out to sea.  Very ingenious.  It kept the polder dry.  Today modern pumps do the work.
 

Our Guide, Harry, showing us the how the water removal system worked.

The Archimedies Screw lifts water from one level to the next.  

The Village of Sloten was a favorite place for Rembrandt to come and paint.  In fact he met his wife in this town.  You see windmills in many of his etchings.

We are sitting, picnicing, with Rembrandt sketching his wife, who he met in this little town of Sloten. That is my granddaughter's hat on Rembrandt.

     The water levels are constantly monitored.  When necessary this windmill can come on-line to pump water, although it is little used these days.  Modern technology has rendered it obsolete.  However it is kept is working order by a series of dedicated volunteers, who maintain the windmill and offer tours to the few tourists that venture out.

This 'stick' measures the water level.  The top  where it says NAP  is sea level.  All the numbers  down the stick are distances  BELOW sea level.

Some of the gears, turning that transfers power from one direction to the mail axel.

Gears transferring energy, through various set of gears, from the sails down to the Archimedes screw that lifted water.

The windmill had to be raised in 1991 because the village of Sloten had grown up so much that the wind was cut off from the windmill, by the newer, taller buildings.  So an extra two levels were added, with the original windmill set on top of the two new levels.   Those room are used today for weddings and other gatherings--you too can be married and have your reception in a working windmill.   What fun!

Coming down from the very top of the windmill via a very steep stair/ladder. You see one of the gears turning the center axle.

Another view of the old wooden gearing which transfers the energy from one direction to another..  

There many types of windmills in the Netherlands.  With over 10,000 at one point in time, the windmills were designed to do various types of work.  Some ground wheat into flour.  Some were sawmills.  Some were pumps.  Whatever required power to operate, could utilize the energy produced by the windmill.

A Model of the van Sloten windmill before the two new levels were added.  

A working model of a sawmill windmill.  Windmills came in all shapes and sizes and were designed to do specific kinds of work.  

 

Cars and Canals

     With so many canals and so few parking areas for cars, parking becomes a challenge.   Where to park?  How to park?  On many canals there are short guard rails that keep automobiles from rolling into the canal.  On other canals there are no guard rails (yet) so drivers do not park heading into the spot, but rather park parallel to the canal.  We were told that if your car goes into the canal and you were in it insurance would cover it.  If you were not in it then insurance would not pay.  The insurance companies started putting up the guard rails in some areas to cut their losses.   We never saw any cars roll off the street into the canal but we suspect it may happen, especially in bad weather.  

Canal-side parking without a guard rail.

Canal-side parking with a low guardrail--just enough to keep the car from rolling into the canal.

The Menege-- The Royal Riding Academy

The Facade--very unassuming.  Who would have thought a stable and riding arenas were behind these doors.

          

         A friend from Mackinac Island told us about this riding academy right in the heart of Amsterdam.  Seeing as our little island has many many horses, we decided to have a look for ourselves.  What a delight.   You enter through a very unassuming archway into a beautiful area area. We saw youngsters in a class riding around the ring.  

The large riding arena. the academy dates from 1744.

The Academy dates from 1744.  The original building, stables, etc, were demolished in 1891 in favor of a canal extension.  This new building was built in 1892, and is still being used today.

Youngsters at their riding lesson in the arena.

We wandered through the stables.  The academy currently has 35 horses and 15 ponies.

The stables with horse's name above.

       We had coffee and sodas in this beautiful tea room.  There are doors which open to a balcony with tables and chairs so one can watch the riders in the ring below.

The tea room, with a balcony, through the doors on the left,  overlookingthe riding arena.

There is a small entrance charge today which includes a drink in the tea room.  You can wander as you please throughout the entire establishment.  We had a great two hours here wandering the place.

A Creative Solution

          Amsterdam houses, especially in the canal district, are narrow and tall.  Inside they have very narrow and winding stairs to the upper levels of the house.  In order to get anything large, like furniture, beds, etc into the upper floors, the moving companies utilize this amazing lift.  The upper level windows are large and designed to be either be removed and reset easily, or open completely so  furniture can move in and out with little difficulty.   It is a very creative solution to a knotty problem.

Moving furniture, appliances etc to the upper floors.

The Museum Van Loon--a Step Back In History

      This museum is the house of one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company, restored and furnished as it would have been when the Van Loon family occupied it in the late 1600's.  It gives one a very good idea of how the very wealthy of Amsterdam lived.
      The house fronts on Keizersgracht Canal, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site in Amsterdam that encompasses the canals in the central part of the city.  By the standards of the day, the house was a mansion.  It had servants areas below and family areas above.  The rooms were furnished as they would have been in the 1600's, and visitors to the museum are free to roam the rooms--but not sit on any of the antique furniture or touch any of the priceless objects of art around the house.
     This place is well worth a visit.  It really gives one a feel of what life was like for the upper crust of society.
   

The entrance hall and reception area of the Van Loon house.
Daughter Liz, is standing in the entry hall, where guests would first enter.

The dining room.

One of the family sitting rooms.

The livery of the servants were all coordinated and even the buttons were unique to the family with the family crest.  

The gardens with the couch house in back.  the couch house is now a tea room.
Liz and the kids looking at some of the flowers.  A golden sundial is in the center of the garden.

The Coach House was originally set up to house four horses for the family as well as the attendants who cared for the horses and drove the carriages.  

Some of the accoutrements for the carriage horses, and the livery for the driver.

NEMO Science Museum

     The grandkids, their mom and I spent three wonderful hours here at the NEMO Science Museum. It is all hands-on.  There are exhibits and activities for all aspects of science.  The offerings appeal to children of all ages from the youngest to us oldsters who are just as fascinated by science and the youngsters.  K spent time in the chemistry lab deciding which powder matched the sample.  She had to dress the part and follow a strict protocol to make her discovery.

K and her Mom working in the Chemistry Lab.

The most fascinating part of the museum, the part the kids came back to, was the water feature.  The kids could build dikes from blocks of special rubber and see how well their techniques worked at controlling the water levels in the system.  They spent a lot of time here, building and rebuilding their dikes.

Mom, S, and K building their dike

Luckily for us, the exhibits were in Dutch and English.  So we had no trouble understanding any of the activities.

K and her Mom building their dike.

Bicycles Everywhere!

  

Bicycle parking

      Bicycle riding is a way of life in Amsterdam.  It seems as though everyone has a bicycle. The terrain is flat and town is easily rideable.
      There are family bicycles with large child carrier extensions on the front. There are delivery bicycles. And there are the ordinary ride everywhere bicycles.  They all have to be parked somewhere so the streets are clogged with bicycle parking spaces.  Car traffic in Amsterdam is minimal.  Most  people seem to get around on foot, by tram, bus or metro or, most especially, by bicycle

Bicycle built for three?!

Bicycle with covered front carrier for small children
or deliveries.

A delivery bike.  You see these all over Amsterdam.

Barges in the canal for bike parking.

Flowers

   

A flower box on a railing overlooking one of the canals.

 The Netherlands is flower heaven.   You see flowers everywhere, even decorating bicycles.   Most of the bridges over the canals have planter boxes filled with flowers.  In the floating Bloomenmarket (flower market) on Singel Canal, is every type of garden flower you could possibly want; from seed packages to multi bulb plants ready to put into the ground, including a myriad of tulip bulbs in every size shape and description.  Unfortunately the tulip bulbs for sale now are for EU use only and not available for export.  The vendor we chatted with told us that the tulip bulbs for export were not available.  They were yet to pass inspection and be cleared for import into the US.  When they are cleared the packages will have an special sheet attached denoting the bulbs have been inspected and are ok'd for US tourists like us, to take home.

This bike will be hard to lose!

The Anne Frank House

   

  Yesterday we went to the Anne Frank house and museum.  The only way to get tickets is to order on-line for a specific time slot.  This avoids long lines and hordes of people crushing into a small space.  As it was, people moved slowly and with purpose as they proceeded through, reading the quotes and listening to the recorded message for each room.

A page from Anne's Diary 

      We had tickets for an educational program of 30 minutes preceding our visit to the museum/house.  My daughter and I were surprised at how few people, when the presenter asked,  had read Anne's diary.  My grandchildren, daughter and I, and a couple of others were the only ones from a group of about 35 people, who had actually read the book, and were familiar with people she wrote about.

Pictures from the introductory talk 

      The talk was very informative.  It gave the kids background information about the family and why the family was  forced into hiding.  It prepared us all for what we would see in the museum and the annex where the family hid for over two years.   The tour was self guided.  There was really little to 'see'.  It was more of an emotional experience to walk through the rooms and cramped quarters of the annex.  When Otto Frank, Anne's father and sole survivor from the family, set up the foundation and museum, he was very specific about not having anything in the rooms.  He had lost all he loved; the Germans took everything and left  him with nothing, and that is how it was to remain.  

      You got a feel for how life was organized for them; how they had to be so very quiet during the weekdays; no toilet flushing or running water or walking around on the squeaky floors, during the day when the warehouse below was in operation.  You saw how the windows were blacked over so no light escaped at night, and you saw the attic where Anne could get a glimpse of sky and a small breath of fresh air.  

     Reading her diary made it all come to life as you walked through.  In her diary Anne mentioned how dreary her room was but that her father had brought her collection of film star posters and picture postcards which she put up on the walls--check her diary entry of July 11, 1942--to make it more cheerful.  These walls are still intact and protected for posterity.  

      This visit is a must-see for anyone visiting Amsterdam.  

Amsterdam--Home away from Home

    For this trip,  I am traveling to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with my daughter and her two children, my grandchildren, ages 12, and 13.   Granddaughter K is 12, and grandson S is 13.  We are in Amsterdam for two weeks June, 2018 into July, 2018.  We are renting an old canal-side house on Prinsengracht, ½ block from a tram stop.  From this location we are a short walk or tram ride from the most interesting parts of Amsterdam.
      Our house is a typical old canal house, four floors up, with a tight circular stairs.  Entrance, and reception room, kitchen and dining are on the ground level, up one level to the living room, with TV.  Up another level to two bedrooms and bath, then up the highest level for two more bedrooms.  One of the highest bedrooms even has a loft, still higher with more steep stairs.  The kids, with their young legs have the 4th floor bedrooms.  My daughter and I are one flight down on the 3rd floor.  We are getting very good at remembering to bring down everything we may need or think we may need so we don't have to climb the steep steps again to retrieve something we forgot.   We are well pleased with our Amsterdam home.

Our house is the one with the larger black door and circle window above the door.  

Poozenboot

We are in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  My granddaughter is quite taken with cats and researched some cat places to visit.  One was the Poozenboot, a houseboat, moored on the Singel Canal (# 38 Singel, if you should ever visit), which is now a charitable foundation cat sanctuary.  It has room for 55 cats available for adoption as well several  felines that are permanent residents.  The resident cats wander freely throughout the houseboat.  Visitors are encouraged to visit the cats on certain days at specific times to socialize with the 'residents'.  Many soak up the attention while some shun affection from too enthusiastic a visitor.  While we were there my grandchildren got out toys from the toys box and played with the cats.  Some were high up over their cages and could survey the world from their lofty perch.  Some wandered the outside walkway, set up with fencing, to protect the cats and keeping them from falling into the canal.    The charity volunteers told us the passing swans often hiss at the cats as they swim by and  the cats hiss back.  This is a great free family activity for an Amsterdam visit.  Even the adults had a good time.

S loving two of the Poozenboot residents.