Leiden
On Tuesday, April 17, 2001, we flew to the Schiphol airport near Amsterdam. We arrived there on Wednesday, April 18 and met our friend, John Jansma, who had taken a different flight. We picked up a rental car, a Renault station wagon, and drove to our motel just south of Leiden and rested until noon. We then drove into Leiden and had our first Dutch pannekoeken at a small restaurant near the Valk mill. We went inside the mill and even climbed a few levels-Don got as far as the 4th of 7 levels, each accessed by a steep narrow stairway.
John Anton
John Anton
This windmill, the Valk Mill, has been used and still is
used occasionally as a grinding mill for grain. When the mill is working
grain is hoisted up to the very top floor, where the wooden gears can be
seen. The grain is then poured between the paired millstones on the
level below. Flour from the mill is collected and bagged on the next
level below, known as the meal attic. The meal attic gives access to
the outer platform, which offers a view across Leiden. The next floors
are used for storage while the ground floor has living quarters, which have
been preserved just as they were in the last miller's days.
We also walked around the city a bit and then drove back to the motel . Before we returned it had begun to rain and hail. The top of the car was white when we got out.
On to Den Haag.