Monday,
Got picked up by Jane and Geerlof and headed for the Delta Works and the Neeltje Jans park. Had to drop the hire car off in De Haag first and sorted all that out after which I could relax a bit and let Geerlof do the driving. We headed south west and stopped at the beach on the way and noticed how the 4 metre tides can make it a long walk to the water. The beaches are very flat so once the tide is out - it’s quite a walk to get wet.
Then on to where the dutch have built a dyke that consists of a series of gates that can be lowered to keep out the high seas generated by storms in the North Sea. There was a dyke breach during a big storm in the 1950s and it was a national disaster. It was decided to protect the country from this sort of thing so a series of three large dams/dykes to control the level of the water. We visited one where the gates are always open and let the tide in and out but if the sea gets too high they close and stop the water levels from rising and flooding the low lands. Lots of new technologies developed to help build the dykes and the mechanisms that let the water in and out, new ships, barges, concrete structures etc. In one dam they had to build a series of locks but had to over come the problem of letting sea water into the fresh water systems of lakes and rivers. They managed to created a sophisticated system that used the principle of salt water being lighter than fresh water.
At the Neeltje Jans park we visited an exhibition and watched a film about the tragedy and how they overcame the challenge of keeping out the water. It cost a lot of money to do all the work but now the dutch are consulted whenever anyone needs to solve this sort of problem. Had lunch outside and learnt about the ‘zee meeuw’ (sea gulls) which have become a bit of pest (so we didn’t feed them. Big birds that are coming into the cities, make a lot of noise and a fair bit of a mess. The municipalities remove eggs from nests and replace them with fake ones to hopefully slow down their reproduction.
We then went onto the delta works and had a look at the structure close-up. Very impressive indeed. Back at the park we also checked out the whale exhibition and the ‘storm’ (wind) tunnel. There is a fantastic water playground for the young at heart and also a water slide that Geerlof and I tried out! Then back home or a nice dinner with Jane and Geerlof and before being driven back to Apoline’s to sleep before heading of to Paris tomorrow...
Got picked up by Jane and Geerlof and headed for the Delta Works and the Neeltje Jans park. Had to drop the hire car off in De Haag first and sorted all that out after which I could relax a bit and let Geerlof do the driving. We headed south west and stopped at the beach on the way and noticed how the 4 metre tides can make it a long walk to the water. The beaches are very flat so once the tide is out - it’s quite a walk to get wet.
Then on to where the dutch have built a dyke that consists of a series of gates that can be lowered to keep out the high seas generated by storms in the North Sea. There was a dyke breach during a big storm in the 1950s and it was a national disaster. It was decided to protect the country from this sort of thing so a series of three large dams/dykes to control the level of the water. We visited one where the gates are always open and let the tide in and out but if the sea gets too high they close and stop the water levels from rising and flooding the low lands. Lots of new technologies developed to help build the dykes and the mechanisms that let the water in and out, new ships, barges, concrete structures etc. In one dam they had to build a series of locks but had to over come the problem of letting sea water into the fresh water systems of lakes and rivers. They managed to created a sophisticated system that used the principle of salt water being lighter than fresh water.
At the Neeltje Jans park we visited an exhibition and watched a film about the tragedy and how they overcame the challenge of keeping out the water. It cost a lot of money to do all the work but now the dutch are consulted whenever anyone needs to solve this sort of problem. Had lunch outside and learnt about the ‘zee meeuw’ (sea gulls) which have become a bit of pest (so we didn’t feed them. Big birds that are coming into the cities, make a lot of noise and a fair bit of a mess. The municipalities remove eggs from nests and replace them with fake ones to hopefully slow down their reproduction.
We then went onto the delta works and had a look at the structure close-up. Very impressive indeed. Back at the park we also checked out the whale exhibition and the ‘storm’ (wind) tunnel. There is a fantastic water playground for the young at heart and also a water slide that Geerlof and I tried out! Then back home or a nice dinner with Jane and Geerlof and before being driven back to Apoline’s to sleep before heading of to Paris tomorrow...
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