Cruquius Pump Museum, North Holland Province, The Netherlands

4Patricia E 5:00 PM Oct 1, 2010

Wonderful explanation of the canals and polders
We just returned from a week in Leiden, Holland and took the train to Haarlem one day to visit the Cruquius Museum. It was an adventure to get there. A stop at the visitor center gave us info on where to catch the appropriate bus and we reached the museum easily. The museum is small but comprehensive. The volunteers who staff the museum are very friendly and enthusiastic about their museum. We had a private tour with one of the men who explained each of the mechanisms on display. We watched a short video which showed what happens when a dike is breached and the water comes surging in. In addition to watching the largest steam driven pump, they had a large display of the canals, polders and dikes and we gained a real appreciation of all that goes into ensuring that the dutch "keep their feet dry." There is a delightful little tearoom next door to the museum. We left with a much greater understanding of all the land that was reclaimed from the sea.

4nzooks 5:00 PM May 11, 2010

How Holland came to be land instead of sea; very interesting
This was a great overview of how the Netherlands came to be, including films (in English too) active displays, knowledgeable tour guides, and watching the workings of the biggest steam engine in the world. Very informative about the threats to the dikes and the topography of the country. I enjoyed a deeper understanding of where I live here in the Netherlands, its history, why it is shaped the way it is, and its possible future. I found it interesting that our guides referred to "when the dikes fail" rather than "if," and the description of the land as "a big bathtub." Highly recommended.