Achel Abbey sits on the border between Belgium and The Netherlands. It's a great place to have lunch, so that's just what we did.
Plus, it's a cool place to take pictures. Now Nana can say she's stood in two countries at the same time.
And Grandma can say the same.
This church is very close to the Abbey, and it's beautiful as well.
Coming home from lunch, we noticed that the
Lilse Windmill was turning. I've never been by it when it was actually turning, so we decided to check it out.
We were excited to find that not only was is open for a little tour, but it's actually a working windmill! How cool is that? The
Lilse Windmill is open on the 2
nd Saturday and 4
th Sunday of each month, from April to October. They are open from 1pm to 5 pm on those days. They said if the blades are turning, then they are open, so stop by.
For a nominal fee, farmers bring their grain in to be ground up to feed their animals. They don't grind up grain to use for people, because that would mean much stricter cleanliness rules that they would have to follow.
This gentleman was
absolutely awesome. He took us throughout the entire mill and explained how everything works and what it was used for. He's a volunteer at the windmill. We got to see the mill in action, and that was VERY cool. I've gotten to go inside a windmill before, but never one that was actually working at the time. Here, he's showing us how they repair the grinding stones. It's all done by hand.
I think the Moms got a big kick out of it, as well.
This is where the grain is poured into the grinding stones.
This is a view from on top of the last section that I showed. We got to go all the way into the top of the mill.
After touring the inside, we got to go around the outside and learn how the blades work. They closed off some of the sail because the wind was so strong that day. It works a lot like a sail boat. They can actually turn the blades into the wind for less windy days, and away if the wind is blowing too hard.
Windmills were very important to the community in the past. They were used not only as meeting places, but also as message centers. The position of the blades could send out a message to
people far away. One position meant a baby was born, another meant someone had died. The Germans destroyed lots of windmills during the war, because they were afraid that the locals were sending out messages about the soldiers using the position of the blades.
This was probably one of my favorite days in Belgium. I've always loved windmills, and now I have a great appreciation for them, as well as the people of Belgium. Not only did we get an amazing private tour, a young lady stopped by with some delicious cookies and shared them with us. If you ever find yourself near the
Lilse Molen, stop by and say hi. You'll be glad you did. I plan on going back soon, and I'll be bringing some friends with me.
Achel Abbey sits on the border between Belgium and The Netherlands. It's a great place to have lunch, so that's just what we did.
Plus, it's a cool place to take pictures. Now Nana can say she's stood in two countries at the same time.
And Grandma can say the same.
This church is very close to the Abbey, and it's beautiful as well.
Coming home from lunch, we noticed that the Lilse Windmill was turning. I've never been by it when it was actually turning, so we decided to check it out.
We were excited to find that not only was is open for a little tour, but it's actually a working windmill! How cool is that? The Lilse Windmill is open on the 2nd Saturday and 4th Sunday of each month, from April to October. They are open from 1pm to 5 pm on those days. They said if the blades are turning, then they are open, so stop by.
For a nominal fee, farmers bring their grain in to be ground up to feed their animals. They don't grind up grain to use for people, because that would mean much stricter cleanliness rules that they would have to follow.
This gentleman was absolutely awesome. He took us throughout the entire mill and explained how everything works and what it was used for. He's a volunteer at the windmill. We got to see the mill in action, and that was VERY cool. I've gotten to go inside a windmill before, but never one that was actually working at the time. Here, he's showing us how they repair the grinding stones. It's all done by hand.
I think the Moms got a big kick out of it, as well.
This is where the grain is poured into the grinding stones.
This is a view from on top of the last section that I showed. We got to go all the way into the top of the mill.
After touring the inside, we got to go around the outside and learn how the blades work. They closed off some of the sail because the wind was so strong that day. It works a lot like a sail boat. They can actually turn the blades into the wind for less windy days, and away if the wind is blowing too hard.
Windmills were very important to the community in the past. They were used not only as meeting places, but also as message centers. The position of the blades could send out a message to people far away. One position meant a baby was born, another meant someone had died. The Germans destroyed lots of windmills during the war, because they were afraid that the locals were sending out messages about the soldiers using the position of the blades.
This was probably one of my favorite days in Belgium. I've always loved windmills, and now I have a great appreciation for them, as well as the people of Belgium. Not only did we get an amazing private tour, a young lady stopped by with some delicious cookies and shared them with us. If you ever find yourself near the Lilse Molen, stop by and say hi. You'll be glad you did. I plan on going back soon, and I'll be bringing some friends with me.
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