Windmill 'De Vriendschap', Weesp

'Weesp' = 'Weysp'
'Vriendschap' = 'friendship'
Built in 1900.
The original mill was constructed in 1694, and called 'Het Bosch' = 'The Woods'.  In 1813, the name was officially changed into 'Het Anker' = 'The Anchor'.  In 1816, the owner of 'Het Anker' and the owner of another windmill, 'De Vriendschap', agreed to swap mills, and the agreement was reached during a meeting inside this mill, so this one became 'De Vriendschap' and the other mill, which became 'Het Anker', was demolished in 1993.  This one, now 'De Vriendschap', was hit by lightning in 1899 and rebuilt the very next year.  It is still functioning today.

The windmill database webpage has been modified to include all the mills that no longer exist.  To my shock, Weesp, a small town, had no less than FIFTY-ONE mills, not all at the same time, but there appeared to have been a constant breaking down of worn-out ones and building of new ones.  If all major towns and villages in the whole country had such numbers, it would take me twenty years to shoot them all, as there would be four or five times the 1200 that are still standing today.  At present, Weesp has 'only' three.  There's one close to this one but it had its back to the road, and the third one was facing someone's backyard and refused to be shot.

As a matter of fact, I literally waited the whole day for the skies to clear.  Up to as late as 15.30, I was not sure I would leave at all, and most parts of the country had too much cloud cover.  According to the radar, though, parts of Noord Holland would be almost completely clear by 16.30 or 17.00, so I crossed my fingers and went for it.  De Vriendschap is on a narrow dike, right next to the water, and the extra shot will show you that one has to trespass a bit on a driveway if one would like a full frontal with the sails.  The view is rather narrow because of the walls of the houses, and I had a good look first to make sure I was 'safe'.  Driveways are 'okay', I think, and no front yards were harmed during the shooting.

At home, some colouring, some bookkeeping, some genealogy, and some housekeeping and kitchen duties, as well as some text exchanges with the Viking and an email from another school informing me of an interview they planned for next week, without asking me, which I had to refuse because they scheduled it on a day when I have to be at work.  Mailed back requesting another date.

The rest of the time online was spent planning what to do in Geneva.  Now that I'll be exploring it alone, I'll need to plan carefully.  Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men will still depend on the weather.  The middle of October means it won't be warmer than 16 degrees and there will be a fair chance of rain.

Thankful for opportunities, but not so happy with the guilty feeling that I should have done some prep work today.  Oh well... tomorrow, then, and I will really need to sit down and get to it because I have border crossings planned for Sunday.