windmill's in holland

Through out our journey we came across modern windmills, in holland and on hillsides in France. Yeah!!! I love seeing cleaner sources of energy. But there is a certain charm, involved in the not so modern windmills as well. This windmill, is an actual working mill. You can buy flower and bread in the store that is located in it's base. The top of this structure can spin, so that it can change direction and face the wind. It is not often that I am in town, and see this windmill in action. We all lucked out, in that not only was this windmill working, but one Saturday we were allowed to go in while the sails were open, and the mill was turning. There were about 4 different levels. You can walk out on the outside wooden platform as well. That felt a little scary :) . And all the way at the top of the windmill you can see the wooden gearing over head.

The gears were huge, and between watching them turn, and feeling the movement in the building, you could feel a tremendous amount of power, and force flowing through the building. I don't think the modern windmills in the distance made much sense to me, until I felt this building... and this day there was only a light breeze.