Old Dutch Tour 2022

October 20

Although our final destination would be Haastrecht, we had a couple of very unique stops to make along the way. The first of those stops on a very mixed weather kind of day was the historic Kinderdijk village. Tourists can't drive into Kinderdijk, you have to park outside the village, and pay for admission which includes a bus ride to the village entrance.

Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk is a village in the the Netherlands' South Holland province, known for its iconic 18th-century windmills. Its water-management network features 19 mills and 3 pumping stations, plus dikes and reservoirs that control flooding in the low-lying lands.

Have you had enough of windmills yet?

The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for "Children dike", based on a fable...

During the Saint Elizabeth flood of 1421, the Grote Hollandse Waard flooded. When the horrendous storm had subsided, a villager went to the dike between these two areas to inspect what could be salvaged. In the distance he saw a wooden cradle floating on the water. As it came nearer, some movement was noted, and he saw a cat balancing on the cradle, trying to keep it in balance by leaping back and forth in such a manner that water couldn't flood the cradle. As the cradle eventually came close enough to the dike for a bystander to pick up the cradle, he saw that a baby was quietly sleeping inside it, nice and dry. The cat had kept the cradle balanced and afloat.

This folktale and legend has been published as "The Cat and the Cradle" in English, and a bronze statue now rests in the canal.

After watching a multi-screen film on the windmills and dike systems, how they were built, and how the village came to be named, we boarded our bus and headed back to the parking area. Time to make the drive to Haastrecht.

Haastrecht

Haastrecht is a very small town, just over 3000 people. At the center of the town is a sign listing the hotspots; two are churches, two are museums, one is a windmill, and another is the roundabout. Hotel Over De Brug was a small hotel, with it's own restaurant, and the cutest manually controlled elevator. The town was very convenient to explore from.

Gouda

After getting settled in our room, we drove to the nearby town of Gouda (apparently pronounced HOW-duh). You know that cheese you like? It's named after this town, and it's not Goo-da. We wandered the streets checking out crooked houses, canals and shops.

The Sint Janskerk in Gouda is a large Gothic church, known especially for its stained glass windows, for which it has been placed on the list of the top 100 Dutch monuments.

We were allowed to quietly explore the church as there was a wedding occurring.

The number of stumble stones along this road definitely makes you pause and think about the horrors that must have occurred

So many shops of varying kinds, sizes and styles, most of them surrounding the market square which is centered by this beautiful Stadhuis van Gouda. The fifteenth-century town hall is one of the oldest Gothic town halls in the Netherlands

On the tower end of the Stadhuis you can see the chimes with the mechanical puppets, installed in 1961. The protagonist of the puppet show is Floris V, who granted Gouda city rights in 1272. On the half-hour and full-hour, you are treated to a puppet show.

This authentic building, the Waag (weighing House) was designed in 1668. The ground floor of the Goudse Waag was formerly used to weigh cheese. Today, the Goudse Waag houses the Cheese and Crafts Museum.

We would have dinner at Geewon Gouds, and started with a Gouda fondue while looking out at the market square and the Stadhuis.

We couldn't leave Gouda without having a Cheese Fondue.

Full of cheese, we headed back to our Hotel in Haastrecht. I sure hope there's another Hallmark movie to watch.

October 21

Haastrecht

Before leaving this cute little town, we spent the morning wandering the town, hoping to see all seven of its hotspots.

Hervormde Kerk

Museum Paulina Bisdom van Vilet

´t Raedthuys, formerly a townhall from1618, now a restaurant

Haastrecht is also famous for two Dutch speed skaters, Leo Visser and "Hein" Vergeer, both World Champion skaters are featured with statues in the only roundabout in the town.