Windmill 'De Gooyer', Amsterdam

Amsterdam has 8 windmills!  Too far from each other, though, so I have a good excuse to go until I've done them all.

'Gooyer' = 'GHOH-yer' = from the area where the two brothers who rebuilt the original mill came from ('Gooiland').  This windmill was constructed in 1725 to replace an older mill, and that previous mill had been built sometime at the beginning of the 80 Years' War (1568-1648) and purposefully destroyed in 1572 by one William II de la Marck, who, together with William the Silent and others of their cohort, fought against the Spanish occupiers; he did not want the windmill to service the enemy.  The foundation of the older mill was preserved, however, and, in 1725, this newer, and now almost 300-year-old, windmill took its place.  It was turning very fast and I had to take several shots.

AW and I left the house at the same time -- he with the car to visit Isis, me with the bicycle to go to the train station.  The tracks to Rotterdam were being repaired, and will be unusable for most of the remainder of this month, so I could not take the fast-track line to Amsterdam, and had to take the route via 's-Hertogenbosch and Utrecht.  That was not really a problem until Utrecht, when suddenly the announcement came that the last leg of the journey could not be made because someone had jumped in front of the train between Utrecht and Amsterdam.  When I was still working with the police, I learned that this kind of incident happens at least once or twice a week, and even more often than that.  It is a sad sign of the times we've been living in.  Fortunately, there are more trains that go to the capital via other stops, but it did mean one extra transfer.  Never mind, all good end good.

Once in Amsterdam, it was a 4.5-km. walk to the windmill from Central Station.  In the middle of shooting it, I decided to take a snack at the café next to it -- two full glasses of fresh orange juice and a plate of bread and fresh butter.  While relaxing, read a bit of Clanlands.  I actually began with it about 1.5 weeks ago, and it is rather entertaining, meaning that I can read it without having to look for a plot or analyze characters.  After the thrifty meal, more shots, and then I walked back to the train station, but not before exploring more of the area.  Having walked around the city enough times, this was a chance to enjoy at least one small part of it.  There's a Science Museum, which I'm not all that keen on (more for kids) but the Maritime Museum ('Scheepvaart Museum') is something I'd like to visit one day, preferably with AW.  Took my time relaxing near the water and observing the boats, and of course I took more shots.

Extra 1 = the waterfront near the Science Museum
Extra 2 = one of numerous bicycle parking areas

Sauntered to the city centre and didn't bother to shoot as the shadows were lengthening, but it was good to go around and refamiliarize myself with the lay-out.  Then back to Central Station to catch the train.  First leg to Utrecht, changed for the connection to 's-Hertogenbosch, and then changed again for the Intercity to home.  There were no delays but it was close to half past 22.00 by the time I picked up my bike from where I'd parked it.  The wind wasn't all that cold and I was glad to turn my key in the lock at the back some 12 minutes later, followed by a plate of leftovers and a cup of tea.  AW had already had his dinner at Isis' place.

We both had a good day!