A gray, misty day didn't keep us away from the Kinderdijk UNESCO World Heritage Windmills. After some confusing research, we took an early train to Dordrecht and walked to the first waterbus stop. We got all day hop-on hop-off pass (cash only) and went one stop to the main waterbus stop in Dordrecht. We caught the next waterbus to Ridderkirk and took a small boat ferry to Kinderdijk.
We got the hopper boat and museum package from the ticket booth so we could go inside and learn more about the windmills and windmill life.
The most fascinating part of Kinderdijk is how many are still functioning as homes, farms, and businesses.
It was beautiful in the mist. When the crowds got thicker, the rain fell harder, so we headed out. We made it at the perfect time to get the express waterbus straight from Kinderdijk to Dordrecht. Super lucky and fortuitous timing.
Once in Dordrecht (2-ish), we were starving. Shelby took us to a fascinating restaurant/theatre/stage called Khoutinsky with a super nice waitress who gave us tons of free postcards (ads but I don't care) and seemed highly intrigued and confused on how we had made it to her town. We split a feta, watermelon salsa, mint Khoutinsky fried burger with fries and a delicious piece of cake.
After an odd, but good, meal, we wandered around Dordrecht which is fascinatingly separated into old and new sections in spurts around the town.
We saw some really cool antique shops and building clusters, an artist doing mosaic in the window, and Leonidas chocolates! After exploring and buying Kristy's favorite pineapple white chocolate chocolates, we headed back to Leiden to explore more of our town.
While walking back to our apartment, we saw yet another haring booth. It is very common to see Dutch people consuming headless herring covered in onions by holding them by the tail, tipping back their mouths, and taking a huge bite. While in Italy Shelby was willing to consume horse, but this was a no-go for her. I was the more adventurous eater this trip.
Shelby was tasked with picking a restaurant for our last night. She chose a highly recommended restaurant where we got
We took a wandering path to get back to the apartment. We saw way more of the awesome poems on the buildings and passed lovely homes, churches, canals, and flowers. We saw and smelled wisteria climbing on walls and even got a person on a bike to take a photo of us with one particularly lovely wall.
We made it back to the apartment and packed for our travels the next day.
Day 5 - Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Once at Schipol, check-in was easy and security efficient. The lounge was very nice with a full breakfast to satiate us before our flight. I had made little Thank You baggies for our flight crew for each flight. Lately I feel like airlines are being vilified, and I don’t think being an airline attendant would be a particularly easy job, so I like to thank them. Our seats were near the back of the plane, and we had time to chat with two of the flight crew as boarding was commencing. I gave them two baggies of goodies and a heartfelt thank you.
Toward the end of the flight, the flight attendant came over and said, “Earlier in this flight you did something that touched me and changed the course of my day. We have little tokens of appreciation the crew can bestow upon passengers. We’d like to give this to you.” He gave Shelby and I a bell from Chaing Mai, Thailand and worry dolls. It was such a splendid gesture.
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