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Having stayed up late listening to England winning the Grand Slam last night we are in no hurry to stir this morning. It's cold and rain varies from showers to squalls.
We treat ourselves to a cooked breakfast and take things easy, and by the time everything is cleared and squared away it's 13:00 as we leave. It's been a happy little stop despite the weather and we are still coming to terms with how quiet it is in the Netherlands. No background hum of traffic and general living, just ear splitting silence. Even the trains which pass the marina seem to hiss quietly by.
There's not much to say about a drizzly Sunday drive through the polders, which we have learned are areas kept dry by dykes or artificially drained. Around Leeuwarden there are delays caused by a soccer match but otherwise it's plain sailing.
As we go east there are certainly more trees. An area of managed forest near Noardburgum has recently felled trees and piles of thick trunks cut into short lengths. These, we assume, are the raw materials for the clog factories in that town.
The rain ceases as we approach Musselkanal but when we arrive at the canalside camperstop our hearts sink; it is closed until April. Neither of us had checked the opening period and after a two hour drive we are annoyed with ourselves and each other.
No matter though, a quick search finds a marina only eight miles away and we are soon entering the town of Ter Apel right on the border with Germany. It's another little Legoland, this time with small lifting bridges over the canal. We check in and join a German motorhome in the car park. The grass pitches are too soft so we settle on a hardstand right by the water with a fine view of the marina.
The clouds thin out and we get the occasional, brief burst of sunshine.
As darkness falls the town's lights twinkle on the still water.
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