Windmill 'De Zwarte Ruiter', Aalsmeer

'De Zwarte Ruiter' = 'The Black Knight'!  Sounds like a swashbuckling adventure!
'Ruiter' sounds like 'Rider', and 'The Black Rider' sounds just as exciting.

The Black Knight is situated on a dike at the edge of town, one of three mills in Aalsmeer.  It is privately owned.  I wasn't sure I could drive on the dike, so I parked about a kilometer away and walked to it.  On my way there, I was joined by a 78-year-old lady who was busy with her daily walk.  We had a short chat and she said that The Black Knight is on a decline.  It never turns, and its owners don't seem to be really interested in it, despite the fact that the windmill foundation and local government invested so much in its repair.  Things like that are disheartening to hear, and I'll bet that if that lady were the owner she would have maintained it better.  That said, I cannot help but wonder why a young couple would occupy this expensive mill and then let it go to pieces.  It was built in 1778 as a polder mill (to drain the polder) and then in 1866 it was converted into a cornmill.  Its most recent owner died in 2018 and his heirs inherited it, but they have careers elsewhere and the mill is of secondary importance only.  In short, another one of those I am concerned about.

No panoramic shot was possible as the dike had narrowed considerably just before I got to it.  It had been possible to drive almost all the way, but I am glad I did not do that as there was not much room to turn .  Besides, with the weather warm enough as it was, I enjoyed the walk.  Aalsmeer is practically next to Schiphol Airport, so planes were arriving and taking off every few minutes, and I suppose everyone here no longer minds, but it must take some getting used to.  I have not flown since February 2020, and it feels strange now to even think that I might have to fly again soon.

Back home, some MOOCking, some hand-washed laundry (it's never a large pile because I am free to decide when and how much, thankfully), kitchen duties, but the main thing now is a review of Chapters 1 to 3 and some serious revision thereof.  Yet another full day, which is a good distraction.  Distractions are good for stress, especially stress caused by legal stuff.  During dinner tonight, I told AW I'm fighting in my case as a European and not as a Filipina.  Is there a difference?  Yes.  Definitely.