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Quite a bit of rain in the night but it's quiet and dry this morning and doesn't have the raw cold feel of the last few days.
We crawl along the canal-side and through narrow suburban streets, all brick paved, where drivers give way to one another and no one is hurried. A few miles of rural roads and then it's busy motorway for the next hour. We are still close to Germany for a third of the way and there are a lot more trees than we have seen so far.
At 13:00 we reach Meppel and trundle along another canal, crossing a couple of skinny bidges, to the Jachthaven. Ali finds the harbour master and we pay our mooring fees (well that's what it feels like with all these marinas). €10.50 including electric, wifi and use of the washblock all in.
After a quick cup of soup we set off for the town. It's good to be out again after a few days stuck inside.
As we pass the houses along the canal we notice how many ornaments everyone crams onto their windowsills. Some of these houses are a good few years old but the clean brickwork and white pointing make them look like brand new dolls houses. Likewise the little patios and front gardens; all vey informal, but all 'just-so'.
We pass an original wooden windmill which houses a museum, but what is striking is just how large these structures are close up, it must be over 40 feet to the hub of the sails. There are also a few traditional barges moored up on our way into town, one dating back to 1907.
We reach the centre and stop for coffee in a heated, tented terrace, then decide cup-a-soups weren't enough for lunch so order toasties, which go down oh-so-well with a glass of Malbec. Wandering around there seem to be loads of restaurants, bars and take-aways, but also loads of shoe and clothes shops.
We stop to look at postcards through one shop window, when the door is opened and a woman says 'Come inside it is warmer'. As we browse the scrubbed floorboards creak beneath us, and near the back of the shop is a book section with little wooden cafe tables arranged for readers planing a purchase.
A florist shop with stained glass panels in its windows was displaying some really attractive arrangements of daffodils, including an Easter wreath with a ring of twigs and mound of moss, but we thought €15 for a pot of 6 bulbs a bit steep considering we've got a garden full of them.
The next shop we visit is less quaint and bears the name Aldi, in Dutch, which Nick translates as 'Aldi', but it seemed OK as we came out with much more than the milk and bread we went in for.
We amble back to the marina zigzagging over some of the skinny-bridges as the light starts to fade and are inside with heating on just before a short shower comes.
Despite the cold it's been a refreshing and enjoyable visit to another little toytown.
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