Just east of Rotterdam in South Holland at the confluence of the Noord and Lek rivers lies the village of Kinderdijk, a treasured destination for seeing windmills in the Netherlands. Much of the country lies below sea level, so the Dutch had to get creative with preventing their lands from flooding, and the result was a system of windmills and pumping stations like you’ll find at Kinderdijk. It is such a historical marvel and technological advancement that it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.
My trip to the Netherlands was in November, which is considered to be past the main tourist season. As such, much of my research prior to the trip led me to believe that getting to Kinderdijk would be difficult due to the reduced off-season schedule of ferries from Rotterdam. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get there at all, but I couldn’t bear the thought of traveling all the way to the Netherlands and not seeing this site. I figured I would at least give it a try, and if I couldn’t get out there I’d just spend the day in Rotterdam. Luckily I was able to make it happen. While it took several modes of transit, it was fairly easy to navigate and I even still had time to sightsee in both Rotterdam and Den Haag in the same day!
I departed Amsterdam super early on a 7am train – the ticket that I bought was for the train that runs through both Den Haag and Rotterdam, so I was able to hop off in Den Haag for sightseeing on the return trip. The ride from Amsterdam to Rotterdam was a little over an hour and I got off at Rotterdam Centraal around quarter after 8am. At Rotterdam Centraal, I purchased a tourist day pass for the South Holland public transit system, which covers buses and trams around both Rotterdam and Den Haag as well as the ferries to Kinderdijk. From Centraal, I caught a tram to get down to the waterfront near the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge) where the ferry departs. After a 30 minute ferry ride, the ferry dropped me at Ridderkerk, and from there I had to take a smaller 5 minute ferry across to Kinderdijk. I arrived at Kinderdijk by 9:45am.
Kinderdijk was worth every bit of the train, tram, and two ferries it took to get there. The day that I visited had a forecast of rain, much like the rest of my time in the Netherlands. But I was pleased to find that just as I arrived at Kinderdijk, the clouds had broken just enough for streaks of orange sun to poke through off in the distance, making it jaw-droppingly beautiful, as if the windmill-lined landscape itself wasn’t enough.
I decided to just walk the trail to take in the scenery, but if you’re interested in a more in-depth tour, the site offers a museum ticket that allows you to go inside two of the windmills. Most of the rest of the windmills are still inhabited to this day!
I was in awe of how old these windmills are and how well-preserved. Most were built in 1740, but the oldest, Blokweer, dates back to 1630! There was also record of a windmill at its location as early as 1542.
There is a cafe and gift shop at the entrance to Kinderdijk. It hadn’t been open just yet when I arrived at 9:45am (they open at 10am) but on the way back I was able to pop in for souvenirs and bathrooms, and head up to the top of the building for an overlook view of the windmills.
All I could say the entire time I was visiting Kinderdijk was “Wow.” The pictures don’t even do it justice. It was unbelievably beautiful and peaceful walking the marshy trail and definitely a highlight of the entire trip.
C to Shining C 