De Otter windmill

Mum and I had half a day left in Amsterdam. After tidying the apartment and packing, we decided to stretch our legs with a walk. I had downloaded a free Amsterdam app that I hadn't used so I thought perhaps it might come in handy now. My guidebook didn't have anything in the area to the west of us, but the app showed a windmill within walking distance.

The weather was still wet so it was a brisk stroll. We saw one cyclist holding an umbrella as he was riding. Yesterday we saw quite a few people employing umbrellas while cycling. I have much admiration for these folk - that's quite a skill!

The walk to the windmill didn't take too long. It's amongst a few derelict barns and some new residential buildings. We went through the gate to take a closer peek and Mum caught a guy in one of the residential properties giving us quite a stern look. I smiled and we backed out. We walked across the canal to view at the windmill from the front, and as we did so a sailboat came up the canal accompanied by a rowing boat, which I blipped. Both the sailboat and the rowing boat paused at the next bridge, which had lifted up to let the tall sailboat through, but the boats stayed still. We were a little puzzled as to why until an absolutely huge barge appeared from the opposite direction, followed by another large boat. It suddenly became very busy on the canal.

We turned back to head for the apartment, but stopped at Cafe Thuys for very hot soup (tomato, paprika and cayenne with parmesan croutons) and home-made apple pie with slagroom (whipped cream). It was delicious. This impromptu lunch also meant we wouldn't have to order horrid airline food.

The bus to the airport left from the bus station only a few minutes from the apartment and we made good time for our flights. Both of us reached home in no time at all. A big "Thank you" to Fred for meeting me at Gatwick.

And a huge "Thank you" to Mum for a great weekend!