What would a shot of the Netherlands be without a collection of picturesque windmills?
In the South Holland province, the Mill Network features 19 of the windmills the region is known for. But look closely, and you'll see other parts of the area's truly remarkable water system, including draining mills, pumping stations and discharge sluices.
When UNESCO named this a World Heritage Site in 1997, it sang its praises: "The landscape is striking in its juxtaposition of its horizontal features, represented by the canals, the dikes and the fields, with the vertical rhythms of the mill system," officials stated. "There is no drainage network of this kind or of comparable antiquity anywhere else in the Netherlands or in the world.”
Hands down, the Dutch are experts when it comes to water management — some of this technology dates as far back as the Middle Ages.