Finally! I was going to get to see actual
windmills. Growing up in Texas I’d
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| Several of the windmills |
seen windmills all of my life; those wimpy
little things with tiny blades that pumped water into the cattle tanks, or even
for household use. However, the day I heard the story of the boy with his
finger in the dike and saw the pictures that went with it, I wanted to see a
‘real’ windmill. Later in high school I read Don Quixote, and again, there were
‘real’ windmills. I’d been to the Netherlands previously, but never visited any
windmills – this was my chance!
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| Pig in a kilt |
So my burning question is what’s the difference
between a palace and a castle? In my mind, a castle has to have turrets, lots
of different levels, parapets, balconies, bridges, terraces and even a moat! A
palace is nothing more than a really big mansion. And I’m sort of right. It’s a
castle if it has fortifications; otherwise it’s only a palace. Since we had a
chance to see some palaces, off we went. The Augustusburg and Falkenlust
Palaces are in North Rhine-Westphalia rather than right down on the river. It
was a nice drive and the weather sort of cooperated – it didn’t rain, sleet or
hail.
