The Solo Scale:

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One of Holland’s most iconic sights are the old-fashioned windmills that you might imagine dot the landscape. Add in some clogs, bikes, and canals and you’ve got a pretty stereotypical picture of the Dutch. While today, most of the windmills are gone, there are still several that can be viewed. You can even visit some.

If you’re lucky enough to find a tour that does this, you can meet a miller and see how the windmill operates. During my last Globus tour on an excursion to Volendam, we got the unique chance to head inside the mill. That’s where we got to learn from the miller and see the windmill operating up close.

There aren’t that many windmills left in Holland currently, but there are still a handful. Many of these also still serve a functional purpose.

The windmill we visited was a water pump. That means on rainy days, the miller provides a service to the town and gets paid for it. The day we went was sunny, but we still got a display of some of the mill’s features even though it wasn’t pumping. Right from the start, it’s truly impressive how noisy the blades are as they whip around. Inside, you’ll get to see how they’re able to maneuver the blades to turn in the direction of the wind, as needed. After all, it’s not like the wind if going to come out of the same direction every time.

It’s not that simple to do. After all, it’s a massive machine and requires a lot of work to reposition, which means hitting the brakes prior to turning. If you’re feeling courageous, you can ascend a very narrow and steep staircase to head up to the small area on the second story where you can see the gears involved in that process.

Take heed though — it is a small space and if you’re tall, you’ll be crouched down the whole time. Plus, descending the stairs means a pretty scary first step back down.

However, it was truly fascinating to see inside the windmill. That’s especially true when you look outside and hear the blades whipping by you. If you’re going to Holland, the chances are high that you see a windmill, but going inside is truly a treat. There are a couple options here, though not many. For one, you could take the same tour that I did (Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg). There’s also another windmill option at Molen van Sloten.

It’s not a long visit, but it’s absolutely a hidden gem of one to be able to say that you stepped foot inside a working windmill, and got to talk to its miller.

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