Breakfast at 7.00 am and then off to a windmill at 7.30.The windmills in Holland were originally there to pump out the water. Nearly 30 percent of Holland is below sea level. The windmills have been replaced by modern technology and are now mostly converted to private residences such as this one.
After the windmill we moved on to a clog and cheese maker.
The clogs are made by a modern machine, only one hundred years old and the rough shape and hollowing out for a pair are achieved in about ten minutes. Green Poplar is used as the timber. it takes about two weeks to dry after the shoes are carved out. We suspect that a lot more time is needed to finish the clogs off.
From there we moved into the Cheese making room. The farm we visited is a family run business making clogs and cheese. The cheese is made from milk produced by the farms cows. It is an interesting process and some very nice cheeses are made.
Steven touched a cow. It was not impressed.
We headed off to Germany for lunch at a highway road stop, or 'Autobahn' as they are called. There are no speed limits on Autobahns as we realised when a Dodge Viper went past the bus as if we were parked.
Lunch is expensive at Autobahn stops, we bought two medium sized salads in plastic bowls and two small yogurts for $45. We were also chased out of the building by an employee who insisted we hadn't paid for them. For the first time in Stevens entire life, he had actually kept the receipt. So after some apologies from the staff we escaped the hangman's noose.
The receipt was kept by Steven because, he said, no-one would believe how much we had paid for a salad.
Before we left the Autobahn shop Steven thought he should get some cash out of the autoteller. After much button pushing and complaining about the lack of English instructions it was pointed out to him that he was using the Autopay for the Autobahn toll and he had in fact paid the toll for three trucks and a bus to use the highway. They were grateful in their condescending way.
We drove on into Germany. Eventually ending up at the Cuckoo shop on the Rhine where they make the clocks. It was great to see all the clocks and hear the stories behind them. When we were asked if we would like to buy one we said 'No thanks, we've already got one' Tammy's Mum bought one for us some years ago from the same shop.
The scenery was fabulous from the boat. There were some very large barges going back and forth with shipping containers on them. It is a Saturday and trucks are not permitted on the roads between midnight on Friday and Midnight on Sunday unless they have perishable food on them. This has kept the barge industry viable.
The beer was good too.
After the boat ride we had a free hour to tour the town, we found a Roman ruin and a supermarket.
Here is a photo of Steven actually putting down his beer to take a photo. The best part was that the beer was only $8 a six pack and the stubbies were 500ml each. There are no high taxes on alcohol in Germany.
We went to a local pub for tea, a smorgasbord that Steven doesn't like, he did however, have three plate loads of main course.
A quiet evening walk along the Rhine and then off to bed.
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