Windmills

Part of the Dutch landscape for well over a century. You would expect to see this post eventually, wouldn't you? It is so typically Dutch.

Concordia Molen in Ede, NL

“[...] The Netherlands' relationship with the windmill goes all the way back to the 13th century, though the classic traditional Dutch windmill did not arrive until the Golden Age of the Netherlands in the 16th century[...]” (www.myholland.info).

There are three types of windmills.
1) The Post Mill has an upright rectangular body with a pointed roof. The entire structure pivots on a massive vertical post. It “must be manually turned into the eye of the prevailing wind.” (Windmills by Sally Taylor, copyright 1999, Todtri Productions Limited, chapter 2)
2) The Tower Mill appeared about 100 years after the Post Mill (first one in France). It has a tapered stone or brick tower-like structure topped with a small cap. The cap houses the wind shaft and brake wheel (it was the only part that had to be turned into the wind).
3) The Smock Mill (named for it's resemblance of a farmer in a smock) came into existence in the mid 17th century (in England). It's features include a small cap with a stationary building that is tall and has 6, 8, 10 or 12 sides. Like the Tower Mill, the cap of the Smock Mill is the only part that turns into the wind.
(Windmills by Sally Taylor)

Many of us think of windmills pumping water in Holland. A couple water pumping windmills are Wip Mill and Polder Mill. A Wip Mill is a variation of a Post Mill with a separate drive along the main post. This drive controls a scoop wheel extending into the water. A Polder Mill took the mechanism of a Wip Mill and placed it into a larger Smock Mill. These mills worked in a tiered system of mills and canals (Windmills by Sally Taylor). Although pumping water is a very important role of some, it is not the sole purpose of Dutch windmills. In the past, some ground grain to make flour. Others (in Holland and other countries) could saw and split timber, some made paper and others ground cocoa, pepper, mustard, etc... Now there are but a handful of mills that grind grains for flour (there may still be some that do some other functions, but I am personally not aware of the specific mills at this time).

Windmills by Sally Taylor (copyright 1999, Todtri Productions Limited) has some really great photos, illustrations, history and facts. I borrowed it from my aunt who says, "Someday, when I retire, I'd like to paint scenes from this book." I recently started painting again (after a long artists block and lack of time) and I can definitely envision a couple windmills going onto my canvases as well.
 
It seems that the Dutch are as romanticized by the windmills in their landscape as I (and much of the world) am. It was fascinating to learn that some of these windmills are still in operation today. There are only about 1200, out of approximately 10,000, functional windmills in the Netherlands. Many have been converted to restaurants, museums or simply sit unused. A fully functioning (original purpose) windmill is rare. Even rarer is a female miller (windmill operator). Here is a short clip from RNW about Alice de Wit, miller of "De Blauwe Molen" (The Blue Mill). The clip features images by photographer John Stoel. He pays homage to the millers and their dying trade in the Netherlands.  John Stoel's photo exhibition was on display at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam in 2009.


Sometimes the Miller is a Woman By Marijke van den Berg (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)

Though the historical windmills are viewed as a symbol of comfort, familiarity, and a fixture in the typically Dutch landscape, the modern windmills or wind turbines are not always as loved. Wind Turbines are ordinarily 40 stories high with three large composite blades at the top of a "post". They convert kinetic energy (wind power) into mechanical energy (electricity). Wind Farms (groups or acres of wind turbines) are popping up all over the world as a form of alternative energy.
There is a strong controversy over the planned placement of a new wind farm on and off the shores near the historic fishing village of Urk. “Urk is united and says: 'No Iron Curtain around Our Village!'” (www.epaw.org). However, the Dutch Cabinet has decided to go ahead with the plan (originally made 12 years ago) but have scrapped the seven windmills closest to town. One might say that the residents of Urk are more than urked.

I leave you with some fun and peculiar windmill superstitions, sayings, and their meanings:

-If a miller is fatally injured while working, the millstones were considered very unlucky and would never be used again.

-Anyone who dared to demolish a windmill was to have bad luck.

- To "tilt at windmills" ; Behaving ridiculously, most likely ending in mockery.
Don Quixote (Cervantes) charged with his lance on horseback toward giants (windmills).

- "Run of the mill" ; Ordinary.

- "Grist to the mill" ; Work that must be done.

- To "go through the mill" ; A difficult experience.

- To "wear a millstone around your neck" ; Anything or anyone that acts as a debilitating burden.

And my favorite saying... and I what believe I have been plagued with...
- To "have windmills in your head" ; Your head is full of dreams.

Keetmolen!

I found a photo of Keetmolen in the Ede Photo Archives that matches the painting! The blades of the windmill are in the same position and even the clouds are the same! The painting must have been painted from that photo. The photo is dated at the same time of the century that my grandfather's family left Holland (1920).
...hmm, wish I could take a weekend trip back to Ede to look at the actual photo...

Ede, Gelderland, Holland

Before our trip to Holland, I asked my aunt to take photos of these paintings. I wasn't really expecting to see these things while I was in Holland. ...but if I did see them, I thought it would be really cool to get a photo of them in whatever state they were in.
The paintings are done on diagonally cut slices of wood with the bark still on the edges. They were my Grandfather's. As I grew up, I remember these paintings hanging on the wall in the farmhouse. "Grampa" was born in Ede. I'm not sure when or how these paintings came to him. ...maybe his mother and father gave them to him so he would know where he came from. ...maybe he came to possess them when his parents passed away. I do not know who painted them or if they are a mass produced souvenir (though our trip to Ede may have cleared that one from the possibilities - since it is not a normal tourist destination). Next time I am able to examine them, I'll look for any marks that may tell me about them... though I believe I have searched for marks on them years ago and there were none.

Sometimes when we visited my grandparents on the farm, I would run out of sticks to chase my cousins with, hikes to take, horses to draw portraits of, cans to kick, mud pies to make, birds to rescue, crawdads and frogs to catch, cows to chase, wild cats to tame, etc... so I would stare at these paintings (among other things... - who said I was normal?) and dream of walking along the streets of Ede. It was so exciting to find and actually see and touch these monuments after so many years of dreaming of them.

Oude Kerk (Old Church), Ede Centrum: I found some information and old photos on Old Church at this site (copy and paste link into browser)

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ede.nl%2Fcultuur%2Fcultuur-en-kunst%2Fgemeentearchief%2Fkennisbank%2Fartikel%2Foude-kerk%2F

When we first got off the train at Ede Centrum, we sat at the station for a bit. We could hear the delightful bells of a church. The bells went on for at least 15 minutes. It was Sunday. I don't remember the exact time, but it was probably around 5pm ...or maybe 6pm. We started walking through the streets making our way to De Boskamp (where we would be staying while in Ede -and I might add- is a great place to stay). We walked through a shopping area and came across the church! I hadn't looked at the painting photo in a while so I wasn't completely sure that it was the one at first, but the more I looked at it, the more I recognized it. The church underwent a major restoration from 1963-1967. I'm glad it did, because it was so thrilling to see it there!

The next day our hostess took a look at the painting photos. Right away she knew which windmill it was! We rented bikes for the day and eventually made it to the windmill. It is right next to the Ede-Waginingen train station. When we first came into Ede, we switched trains there and while we were waiting for the next train, we walked over to a little ice-cream shop. If we would have looked up and through the trees, we would have seen the windmill!
The windmill is now a museum and they give tours on Saturdays. Sadly we were there on Monday so we did not get to go inside. I did talk to the woman who lives in the house and she said we could walk around and take photos.

The sign in front of the windmill property reads:
KEETMOLEN Achtkantige, gemetselde beltmolen uit 1750. Op as straat "De Prins van Oranje 1896, no. 1479". Vlucht 24 meter. Naam "Keetmolen" onststond tijdens aanleg van spoorlijn Utrecht - Arnhem, toen hier een keet voor de arbeiders stond. De molen bij de keet werd "Keetmolen".
(KEETMOLEN Eight sided, built mill from 1750 rings. On ash street "The Prince of Orange 1896, no. 1479". 24 meters escape. Name barrack mill stood during construction of track line Utrecht - Arnhem, then here a barrack for the workers stood. The mill at the barrack became barrack mill. *direct translation done with a digital translator)

Our trip to Holland

My husband and I went on a Belated Honeymoon Trip to Europe. Our original plan was to just go to Holland and Germany (where each of our known families come from). That plan was scrapped when our planning really got going. We are not of wealthy families, so our thriftiness kicked in... We went in the Off-Season. We found the cheapest flight to "anywhere nearby" (which ended up being Zurich Switzerland- not known to be thrifty, but we didn't stay there long). We traveled by train and ferry. We stayed mostly in Hostels. We ate at markets whenever we had the chance. We ate street food and at small restaurants when markets were closed or unavailable. We also decided that since we'll be over in their part of the world, we should visit a few friends in the UK (this added a couple more countries to the list). Then, my husband told me that since we would be so close to France AND since it is our honeymoon, he is willing to go to Paris for a short stay. My husband has never expressed anything positive about the French - political reasons. I had to take him up on his offer or I would possibly never get to go to France... with him (I would have gone by myself or with a friend, eventually). After going to France, my husband is not as anti-France as he was- we had a great time there. We had a great time on the whole trip but my very favorite place was my family's homeland, Holland.
A close second for me and my husband's favorite place was his family's homeland, Germany. So ultimately we wished we had more time in both the places we originally planned on going. We'll be back... we have dubbed our honeymoon trip as our Preview of Europe Tour.