In my quixotic quest to live the slogan, “I am not a tourist” and experience more of life in Holland, I visited Kinderdijk, located outside of the quaint and atmospheric city of Dordrecht, because it seemed like a good place to have a look around.  Where else in the world can one see 19, 18th century windmills all in one place?  A place where 'Child’s Dike' is the origin for the folktale about the Cat and the Cradle?

Kinderdijk’s windmills are unique to Holland, naturally, and every year there is a brief period when all of the windmills turn their mills, a sight for tourists’ delight.  This Saturday, 30 August, is the last such day this year to see and imagine them as they were first intended.  After this, there is one week in September (1-5) where the windmills are lit up in floodlights after sunset, another sweet treat to witness the landscape as summer slips away and autumn approaches.

Beyond this, though, what could I bring that hasn’t already been brought about Kinderdijk?

Well, there is the story of a miller, a miller who lives in one of the windmills of Kinderdijk, with his wife and four children, who will always do so if the wind blows his way.

The miller’s story

The story begins with a six-year old village boy’s intense fascination for windmills.

“As I walked between the windmills, I knew I wanted to live in a windmill one day and to be a miller,” said Mr. Cock van den Berg, “and when I became a carpenter in high school I wanted to learn how to repair and maintain a mill.”  Mr. van den Berg went on to explain that, “in the old days a miller’s job was to harness the power in the wind in order to drain the polder and bring the water to a higher level so it makes its way to the river.  A miller had to operate the mill day and night because of his uncertainty over the wind’s appearance.”  

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