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Friday, April 14, 2017
I just didn't sleep well last night. This bed has a big dip in the middle so that I felt like a hot dog in a bun...
I finally got up and went on the “sunrise” shoot. Sunrise fizzled, so we played camera tricks (panning, zooming, etc.) The photo on the left was created by a long exposure that panned for 1/3 of the exposure time, then held still for the rest of it, creating a "ghosting" effect with the windmill itself.
Then it was back to hotel for breakfast.
And I stopped by the front desk to ask about my shower. It's missing a part. It's been reported to maintenance...
We drove around the area looking for likely sites.
Our first stop was at a house where the entire front yard was covered in many varieties of daffodils. Really lovely. That's what the three photos above show.
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While we were shooting it, the owners came out to talk with us. They own several fields in the area and a little park that celebrates daffodils, so the house is a big advertisement. Very pleasant couple. They're in the photo on the right. More of the daffodils are in the photo on the left.
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Then we drove on down the road to another old windmill with flowers in front of it (most were hyacinths with some tulips). In the distance were modern Dutch windmills – aka wind turbines (see the photo on the right above).
Then on to lunch at the same little spot we ate at yesterday. Still delicious! And the waitress was still very pregnant (her due date was for the day after tomorrow...)
After lunch, we drove on to Zaandam, which is closer to Amsterdam, to see the “windmill museum”. Actually, it's a recreation of one of the first industrial communities in the world with a collection of working windmills, small shops, and houses. The windmills did things like grind spices, saw lumber, and grind grains. We spent most of the afternoon there, along with a large crowd of people. This was the Friday before Easter and a lot of people had the day off from work. In fact, we had problems finding a parking spot, so the leaders unloaded us and showed us were to meet at the end of the afternoon.
The left and center photo show a row of these working windmills running along the edge of a canal. The photo on the right closes in on one of the windmills and its support buildings.
These four photos show different views of one of the more interesting windmills. It's the only wind powered sawmill in the world (according to the sign). The first photo on the left shows the windmill and its support buildings. The second photo shows a closer view of the windmill itself. This was one of the ones that had thatching not only on the top cap of the windmill, but completely down the sides of it. The third photo shows the other side of the windmill. These long poles act as a counterbalance and an aid in rotating the top of the windmill to catch the maximum breeze. The fourth photo shows the admission sign for the outbuildings for this windmill.
These three photos show some of the details I picked out today. The photo on the left shows one of the weather vanes near a windmill. It's used to help position the large blades of the windmill for maximum efficiency. The center photo shows the colorful shutters on one of the windmills. The photo on the right shows the side entrance to one of the windmill's support buildings with a bicycle.
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The row of working windmills was quite long and ran along the side of a wide canal. These two photos show the view looking back across some of the windmills in this line, looking towards the entrance to the park.
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Near the entrance we came in was a small recreation of a village. The photo on the left shows a bridge over a small canal in this area. The path along the side connected the "village" area with the craft area, where various skills found in a typical village were on display. The center photo shows a gelato cart that pulled up and parked in front of one of the buildings. The photo on the right shows the fancy detailing on the gable of one of the village buildings.
These three photos are from the "crafts" portion of the village. The photo on the left is the window of the wooden shoe maker with an array of wooden shoes available for purchase. The center photo shows some of the barrels outside of the cooperage. The photo on the right is also of the wooden shoe maker's building. Some of the fancier painted shoes have been nailed to the wall and have pansies planted in them!
All too soon it was time to gather at our meeting place. This bridge and house were near that meeting place.
Then we drove back to the hotel to rest a little and clean up. I was pleased to find that my shower had been fixed while we were gone.
Some of the group went out for a sunset shoot, which fizzled. The rest of use went to dinner, which was delicious. The main course was either beef or veal (language difficulties). I had to get mine redone as it had mushrooms in it (no menu – you got the chef surprise). This was preceded with an appetizer sampler and followed with a dessert sampler. Most of it was absolutely delicious.
After all the walking, I was ready for a hot tub, but mine is many miles away.
Tomorrow we move to yet another town.