Amsterdam Day 3

Zaanse Schans Windmills

We have completed four days in the Amsterdam area but I am just getting out the blog for day 3.  We spent most of our third day at the Zaanse Schans' windmills. The Zaanse Schans was one of the first industrial areas in the Netherlands.

The area had 600 windmills at its peak.

With that many windmills there was a need for a large labor pool.  The working men built small wooden frame homes along the canals.

The merchants build finer homes out of bricks.  Many of their homes were two stories.  And while all of the workers had vegetable gardens the merchants had fancy french gardens like the one in front of this home. 

All types of craftsmen were required to support the windmills and their associated business. This pile of barrels is next to the coopery. A cooper is a maker of barrels.  This shop was passed down for many generations.  It was last worked in 1999.  They installed quite a few cameras to document the work of the last cooper.  They got more information than they anticipated.  They discovered he was a poacher and spent much more time poaching than barrel making.  He also had a small drinking problem.

The upper sections of the windmills are rotated to maximize the efficiency of the mill. If you look closely at the upper platform you will see a red wheel that they turn to move the blades.The windmill in this picture makes peanut oil.

At one time there were 250 windmills here that cut timber.  Timber rafts were floated here from the Rhine. The timber was left in the canal for up to two years. During this time all of the sap leached out of the timber.  The middle windmill in this picture is a working woodmill.

I used a flash to stop the movement of these gears inside of the windmill.  Kathy was worried that I was going to stand up before I moved away from the gear spinning over my head. You can see it in the upper right corner.  I was surprised that you could tour this area.

This picture gives you an idea of the speeds you can obtain and why Kathy was worried that I might stand up too soon.

We had a nice visit to this area.  In addition to seeing the windmills we also toured a clock museum and a history museum. 

After a late dinner Kathy was ready for bed so I headed out for some more night photography. The two people on the bridge didn't move much during this long exposure.

This is a pedestrian draw bridge. The top pieces cantilever and pull up the walkway.

The nightlife area in Amsterdam.  Most of the drunks pedal home.  Just around the corner from here the police setup a sobriety check point.

The bars do a good job of lighting up the night.

Look for combined days 4 and 5 blog tomorrow.  I only pushed the shutter button 30 times today. Time to call it a night and go to bed.