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weather in Buenos Aires!

Our boat is now docked across the road from the World Heritage site at Kinderdijk, and we are preparing to go ashore for a tour of this huge complex.

From onboard the ship we could look across the roadway and see the World Heritage site of Kinderdijk.
Huge diesel engines provide electricity to drive the massive Archimedes Screws, which can pump water
at 20 times the rate of a windmill.

We were actually able to go inside the windmill and clime the stairs all the way to the top. The miller and his family live inside the windmill. The windmills were all inactive, so it was very quiet, but I would imagine that the noise level can get pretty bad when the windmill is running at normal speed. That huge wooden gear is actually in their kitchen.

The sail that drives the blade is that twisted piece of canvas running down the length of the blade in its stowed position.

The mechanisms inside the windmill that does the pumping is massive, and mostly wood. The mill is essentially a
three story building, and on the second story is where the family lives. It makes a very cozy place to raise a family.

Who could resist stepping into these huge wooden shoes? Well, I didn't do it. How's that for resistance? LOL

Cindy is destroying Government Property. She put a penny in this machine which crushes it into an image of a windmill.
On board the ship we perform the mandatory emergency drill. It wasn't as bad as the confusion on a large passenger ship.

We reluctantly leave the field of windmills and head back to the boat for Dinner. Pat and Pete enjoy a
martini. This is our second day, July 25th, and it is Pat's birthday. That's reason enough to celebrate.
I got a little too much son while out on the dikes. I'll have to remember to use sunscreen tomorrow.

The waiters bring Pat a cake with flaming candles, and they sing happy birthday to her. We shared the cake with the table.
After dinner we went to the lounge for a fascinating talk, followed by tastings of delicious Dutch cheeses and Jenever (Dutch Gin).

The Dutch Gins were so good, I don't remember the cheeses.

The next day we arrived in Cologne, Germany, at 10:30 AM and immediately went ashore for a City Tour.

The Cologne Cathedral, known to locals as Kölner Dom, is a massive structure, it's twin towers are a dominating
view from anywhere in Cologne. Besides being the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, it is a World Heritage Site.

Construction commenced in 1248 and was halted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880. It is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires and largest Façade of any church in the world.

Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit its role as a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe".

It was so well lighted inside that I was able to get some very good photos of the stained glass windows, which is normally a very difficult thing to do.

In the next part, Part 3, we will finish up our tour inside the Cologne Cathedral and move on to St. Martin's Church.