Around the World with Marsha & Joel

Not a misspell…just a feeling, since this would be the last day of our journey through Belgium and The Netherlands.

Sailing into Amsterdam, from the harbor to its 165 canals brings back memories of many, many years past when Marsha and I first discovered this wonderfully diverse and eclectic city.

The first order of business was to hop onto a canal boat to get a feel for what’s going on in the more than 60 miles of intracity waterways. Besides bustling commercial, commuter, and tourist activity we were really struck by the sheer number and styles of houseboats, from really simple to elaborate, custom-built floating homes.

We sailed through a beautiful sunset on our way to dock at the town of Enkhuizen, close to Hoorn, our next exploration destination. Look carefully at the horizon and the endless string of wind turbines. We’ve seen them by the hundreds all along this journey. As the Dutch say, “God created man, but man created The Netherlands.” In their constant contest with water the Dutch learned early on about the power of wind – and the ability to harness it. Let’s make sure we learn from them.

I think it’s fair to say that the charming old town of Enkhuizen is enamored with sailing. Indeed all of The Netherlands’ charm, history, and commerce is imbued with moving across waters. Think of the Dutch East India Company established to manage trade with Asia, Dutch imports and exports, and Willem Schouten, from Hoorn, who sailed around the tip of South America and named Cape Horn (Hoorn).

Back in the saddle again. We loved our e-bike tour of Kinderdijk yesterday so much that we opted to do a peddling tour on the important dikes outside Hoorn and into the beautiful city’s suburbs and downtown.

“What’s that kid doing with his finger…”? Sometimes fairytales do come true. It (could have) all started here, in Kinderdijk (“children’s dike”), named possibly by the legend around St. Elizabeth’s Flood in 1421 where a local boy inspected and helped save the dike — or as some say because much of the dike building work was done using child labor. You decide.

The village of Kinderdijk has been shaped by Rhine Delta waters and is most known for its 19 beautifully preserved (and working) 18th century windmills. It’s surrounded by low lying polders – tracts of land reclaimed from the sea by the power of the windmills and enclosed by the dikes. The town was given UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1997.