Tuesday, June 19, 2018 (Amsterdam)

We got up early and headed to the airport so we could get a bus to our car rental place. We needed to catch bus 341 and had some trouble finding the designated bus stop. Turns out they had moved the stop to a temporary location but it was not clearly marked. We had reserved the car for an 8:00 pickup so we wanted to be sure and get it before having breakfast. With the delays of finding the bus stop, we did not arrive until nearly 9:30. It was a 45 minute drive out to the sea wall and we had an 11:00 appointment so we decided to find a quick breakfast stop on the way. Our rental car was a cute little white Fiat. I was going to help navigate and Tiffany was going to drive. It turns out we were leaving the town so food stops were nowhere to be seen.

Tiffany driving in the Netherlands

Johnnie with our ride

Tiffany with our ride

Johnnie going 102....km/hr . haha

As we approached 10:15, we saw a McDonalds just the other side of the lagoon and road construction was involved. It took us another 15 minutes before we realized how to find a street that went across the lagoon. We actually drove by McDonalds 3 times before getting to it. Our tour was a two hour tour so we knew we had to have something to eat first. We ordered a quick sandwich and hit the road with sandwich in hand.

At 11:05 we arrived at the sea wall, Maeslankering. This billion dollar engineering feat is very impressive. This enormous storm barrier is one of the largest moving structures on Earth, with each arm taller than the Washington Monument. Our trip to visit the wall was generated from student questions about the flooding in Houston and again when we were studying negative numbers and we discussed below sea level. We learned that 2/3 of the country is susceptible to flooding. In 1953 the only warnings of flooding would come on the radio. A flood came during the night and without adequate warning, took 1800 lives in one night. Today it is mandatory that all children must know how to swim once they reach the age of 7. Our guide was very thorough and provided us with resources so we can show our students the video we saw explaining about the barrier. There were many hands-on exhibits to show the students how the barrier is designed. Our students would have been very impressed and full of questions.

Johnnie and Tiffany at Maeslankering

Representation of the sea wall

What inside one of the pipes looks like

The sea opening is used every 7 minutes with a cargo ship coming through so the barrier is only tested once per year. It has been used twice for emergencies, most recently in January of 2018. The huge barrier doors are floating pontoons that can be filled with water. The weight of the water makes them sink and turns them into massive barriers. They are the height of a 7 foot tall building. After the potential of flooding subsides, the water is pumped out of the pontoons. Everything is computer controlled and reinforced with humans overlooking the process. Our guide was very passionate and talked about the vital importance of caring for our Earth now for the future. He talked about water conservation, saving rain water, and was not a fan of bottled water at all. He talked about as a child he would go out on the many lagoons and ice skate. He now has a son that is 16 and it has only been cold enough for him to skate once in his lifetime. He also talked about even if governments do not collaborate to a level we need, scientists across the world are collaborating and sharing ideas. He talked about how engineers and scientists in the Netherlands are currently working with engineers and scientists in the United States about flooding in Houston, Lousiana and other places. He said the barrier wall would not work in Houston because it could not withstand high winds.

Modern windmills

A ship passing through

Those are trailers for semis stacked on the barge

Tiffany, Johnnie and our amazing guide

We need these.  They use them with kids and they don't have any problem keeping this in a single file line!

After our visit, we headed to Kinderdijk. This is a town about an hour away from the sea wall and is a UNESCO world heritage site. There are nineteen windmills located in Kinderdijk. This open air museum is impressive and shows the way of life for the previous owners. We were able to walk up into one of the windmills. It was impressive how every inch was used for living space and that the family that lived in the one windmill we visited had thirteen children. The steps were steep and their were multiple levels. I’m sure there were many dangers for the family.

Kinderdijk

One of the families that had lived in the windmill

Johnnie with a windmill

We forgot our clothes to wash!  Darn!

A vegetable garden reminiscent of what would have been kept in this area.

A little "barn"

Johnnie and her goats

Tiffany with one of the windmills

Johnnie at Kinderdijk

Tiffany at Kinderdijk

After our visit to the windmills, we decided to stop at a local restaurant and have a snack. It was now about 4:30. After our snack, I drove back to Amsterdam to drop off our car. Traffic was busy now so the GPS took us on an alternative route. It was more in the country and very scenic. It was a nice drive. Upon arrival at the car rental, we were able to take a free shuttle back to the airport.

Tiffany

This was our last night in Amsterdam, our last night of this fellowship. We had wanted to visit the home of Anne Frank but tickets had to be bought at least two months in advance. We decided to get a bus and walk by her home. We were surprised that at 7:00 there was still a line outside her door. We asked about tickets, just in case, but none available. We were able to see her house. We then walked around to find a place for dinner. We found a cute Italian place and decided to split a pizza for dinner. After dinner we walked down the street and had an ice cream. We took the bus back to our room.

Anne Frank "house"

Johnnie at Anne Frank's house

Tiffany at Anne Frank's house

Just the door

Johnnie with a nice cow

We packed a little and got ready for bed. Tiffany was sound asleep within ten minutes. I was so excited at the thought of coming home that I could not sleep. I walked downstairs to the reception area and called David. We had a 11:00 flight tomorrow morning. It was a 10 hour flight from Amsterdam to Dallas. I could not wait for morning to arrive.

WALKING ACTIVITY: 7.4 miles; 16,312 steps; 3 floors; 72 degrees F