Kinderdijk at the End of March, 2015

It so happened that Astrid made an appointment to have koffie break with a previous co-worker last Thursday, a week ago, just to catch up.  And when I realized she lived in Alblasserdam, the back side of Kinderdijk, I invited myself to tag along so that I could take a walk while the ladies hobnobbed.

You know, of course, that Kinderdijk is one of my favorite spots in the whole wide world!  It's where we like to go on Christmas Day as a gift to ourselves, remember?!

But this was my first time to enter the area of the 19 windmills from the backside.  You know how they say you should always turn around when you're looking at something?  Right.

First of all, a rain storm was coming, so I really tried to hoof it with my new knee.

I wove my way around the corners of a subdivision, trying to find the bike path to the mills...

...all the while snatching pics across the fields between the houses.

There they were, far away...but how could I get to them with all the canals crisscrossing the fields!

When all else fails, ask for directions!  Which I did...

and soon I saw the bridge that would cross me over to the promised land.

Standing on that bridge I looked to the left and saw the Kinderdijk mills.

Looking to the right I saw one of Alblasserdam's 2 mills, the home of the co-worker's friend.

It's the Kortlandse Molen from 1890, dressed in white.

The date was March 26, and though cold and windy, spring had sprung.

There were even groups of tourists taking rides up and down the canals.

You know me, I had to take another '360' video of what I saw.
For one thing, the wind was ferocious and 3 of the mills were working hard.
With the rain forecast, it was important to keep the mills pumping out the water.

Each mill has a name, of course, or a number, actually.
I should probably care, but I don't...at least not yet.
For now, I just bask in the whole, which is more than the sum of its parts.

And guess what!  I found 3 new weathervanes on this venture.

The 2 on the left are the same vane from different directions, showing the 3D design.
The 2 on the right are the same 2D vane with a charmed visitor.
(Most of the Dutch vanes I've seen, btw, have been two-dimensional.)

By the time I was done, I had walked non-stop for 1-3/4 hours, nearly killing myself.
But was it worth it?  Oh, yeah, Baby.  Oh yeah!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

BIG NEWS:  We found out this week that my "for life" resident permit has been granted, 
effective the day I applied for it, 17 February 2015.  YAAAY!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And, today I celebrate my 12th week post-knee-replacement, progressing as best as can be expected.  The good news is that the Dutch government encourages an entire year of therapy after hip and knee replacements, requiring insurance companies to pay from the 21st session on.  Today is my 23rd session and, starting next week, I'll visit Eline only once a week, continuing throughout the rest of this year.  As Astrid says, it's a small price to pay for "getting it right."

Blessed Easter Weekend ahead, however you celebrate it.

Surely we all rejoice over Spring 'resurrecting' itself once again!