De Kat

Today we visited Zaanse Schans and toured this working windmill named De Kat. . The massive timbers and huge wooden gears were grinding dye that will ultimately be used to tint paint. The winds were strong and the sails and boards were aligned to move fast. When the wind picked up, the building shook a little with the powerful energy that moved the 7000 kg edge runner stones that were used to grind the dye.

We stood for a while on the first floor deck where it was very windy. The mill is definitely in a good spot! Then we climbed a few more levels inside on the well used ladder-stairs. Kevin and Justin were interested in figuring out how the mill could change over from one set of runner stones to the other and by following the trail through the floors they were able to understand the engineering.

The best exhibits of the day, however, were in the Zaans Museum & Verkade Paviljoen. The museum showed the history of the region while Verkade has been making chocolade in the Zaan Region for over 100 years... Needless to say, there were some purchases in the gift shop!