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Steered by his Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo heads for the Netherlands, where he operates a crane in Europe's largest container port in Rotterdam, and experiences the power of Kinderdijk's picturesque windmills.

Following in the footsteps of early 20th-century British tourists, Michael tours this compact country, which boasted a mighty navy and a global empire to rival that of Britain. He discovers the magnificent art and architecture of the Dutch Golden Age and marvels at the engineering ingenuity of this fiercely independent nation.

In Rotterdam, Michael finds the great commercial activity mentioned in his guidebook has reached epic proportions through the port's automated terminal. He takes a water taxi along the Nieuwe Maas river to the windmills of Kinderdijk to see how the Dutch conquered the waters which threaten their land.

In Delft, Michael learns how the city came to specialise in pottery and finds out the secrets of its success. Michael is in his element in The Hague as he discovers the beautiful government buildings known as the Binnenhof and begins to understand the origins of the Netherlands' famous reputation for tolerance.