September 13 - Following Rembrandt

Sunday - Hoofddorp to Molen van Sloten-Kuiperij Museum and back
We walked the mile to church and found a lot was going on today. They were hosting an open house and it was a Youth Mass. We know this because Leo greeted us at the door and immediately recognized that we weren't Dutch. As lay minister, he made some remarks prior to the start which included a welcome to 2 people from Oregon (said in English). The fellow next to us turned and said, "Is that you?" Turns out Godian is also a lay minister and interpreted the whole homily for us and made sure we were on the right page of the program. It was pretty darn special!!

Their Stations of the Cross are very beautiful.

Of course Leo wasn't done talking to us yet. There was an orchestra playing in the background and plenty of food and drink. An interesting tidbit we learned was that the church building is totally energy self-sufficient due to a geothermal well and solar panels.

Leo and Godian were also classmates at the lay minister training they attended. We had a great time talking to both of them.

This is Godian's particular ministry which focuses on teaching peaceful conflict resolution skills. He really appreciated his "Angel of the Road" card. 

We walked back to the hotel, changed into bike clothes and headed back into town for lunch.

Doppio's is a coffee house with good sandwiches. This chocolate came with the coffee. It pretty well summed up how Doug was feeling at the time.

Donna ordered Chai tea and it came in a French press.......first time that's ever happened!

We were headed north but went by way of the airport so we could see how long it would take us to ride there on Thursday.

We remember this tunnel. It goes under one of the airport taxiways.

Some armor plating of a dirt road so they can move heavy equipment through here as part of a highway construction project. The ground is too wet otherwise.

We felt no need to go into downtown Amsterdam since we saw what we wanted to last time. Also sounded like it could be a little crazy with all those media people running around. Instead we are headed to the Rembrandt Molen (windlmill) van Sloten and Kuiperij Museum which is on the outskirts of Amsterdam in an area called Sloten

The museum is all about making and using barrels.

There is also a fine collection of model ships.

The price of admission also included a guided tour of the windmill. This is our guide. He had a very dry sense of humor, was very entertaining and knowledgeable. He answered most of the questions we had developed while riding through the country these past few days. An interesting note...one of the reasons the land is so low is because of all the peat that was removed over the centuries. A lot of the pastures we passed are former peat bogs.

This wheel is used to turn the millcap into the wind.

They actually raised this windmill to get it higher than the buildings around it. It was rebuilt in 1847.

Antique ice skates.

The guide said he still wears wooden shoes quite frequently.

This windmill is still used to pump water during some storm events.

A more modern addition to the internal machinery generates electricity.

This is what thatching looks like on the inside.

There was also a presentation about the life of Rembrandt as he spent a bit of time here with his wife and her family. We had visited his Amsterdam house and studio last time so visiting here just seemed right. 

Time to head "home"

A much larger and more modern pumping station in Lijnden. We are only about 15 miles from the North Sea at this point so moving water is a really big deal.

Not a sight you see everywhere!

Another really great day. Now we just need to figure out where to spend the next 2 days. We want someplace fairly close because it is supposed to be rainy but far enough away that the conference doesn't have all the rooms booked. Our 20-25 mile circle came up with Leiden. When we found out it is Rembrandt's birthplace we knew it had to be the right place. AND there is a hotel with rooms available for 2 nights though just barely. Leiden is also a university town and this is orientation week for new students.