Adventures with Dad Engelbrecht, Part 1 - Netherlands

Josh’s father arrived for a three-week visit on August 21, and Josh was able to take time off from work for some traveling. It was good for them both to have a break.

Our first adventure was a small day-trip to Kinderdijk, Rotterdam, and the sea gate near Hoek van Holland on Saturday, August 23.
Kinderdijk is an area containing 18 old windmills, dating from 1740. It’s an essential stop for any visitor to the Netherlands. The windmills were used to pump water up and dump it into nearby canals, so that the “polder” could be dried out and used for farming and living. Here are Josh and Dad Engelbrecht in classic Dutch scenery.
Rotterdam is the largest shipping port in Europe and is a busy place. Because it was badly damaged during WWII, all of the buildings are new, and it has some interesting architecture. We took a fun river cruise up and down the harbor to see container shipping equipment, and lots of boats.
Much of the Netherlands is below sea level, and there have been many catastrophic floods. The North Sea Flood of 1953 was especially harsh, and to prevent damage from future floods, the Dutch government started building the Delta Works, a series of dikes, dams, locks, and storm surge barriers. The Delta Works were completed in 1997 when construction of a huge sea gate near Hoek van Holland was finished. This photo does not do justice to this neat piece of engineering. For better photos of the sea gate, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeslantkering

Before heading home, we had a dinner of “Doner Kebap”, shavings of roasted lamb served in a pita pocket. Doner Kebap originated in Turkey, Greece, and Pakistan, and doner stands are very common in much of Europe. This has become Josh’s favorite fast food.