Can't beat vitamin C!

So here we are, in Deventer. Never heard about before either, so I don't blame you if you have to Google it. 
Why are we here, then? Because my human's friend told us to go. So we went. Her parents live in this little city, and their house was our first stop. Just in time for coffee, we are off to a good start! 

Her parents were very welcoming, told us a bit about the city, what's going on with the festival and her dad showed us his great talent when it comes to all things wood. He has some unique, beautiful pieces in the house, one of which I would have really liked to buy off him, but my human said no, no space! I hate it, when she's right!

Then we drove together with her mum to a friend of theirs, who runs the local wood mill and lives on the grounds. And so did we, for the next two days! What a spot! Right on the river, next to a bridge getting you to town in ten minutes by foot, greenery all around!
500 meters down the road is a caravan park. There they stand all in line on their tiny pitches, paying top dollar to get the river view. Well, what can I say...

But before there was any enjoying the place, I send my human off on the bike to get her clothes washed. There is a petrol station on the other side of town that has a couple of machines and a dryer just around the corner of the house. I know of nicer places, but hey, it served the purpose.

This mill is the last one standing of many that used to be in this area. It is still fully functional, but only runs two days a week and is operated by volunteers. On those days visitors can come and see how the mill works, which is actually really interesting. If we would have had this connection before building my interior, some things might look very different. Not that I'm complaining, don't get me wrong.

After enjoying this epic place for a while and chatting to the miller and a couple of volunteers (and to the friend's dad; he helps out a bit as well and actually rocked up in Clogs! A real Dutchman!) my human and Carmelo went to check out town. 

Its got a very nice, old center and a good vibe about it. It being Saturday, there was a large market going on as well. After a few hours of randomly turning left and right, it was time to find a place to watch the quarter finals of the Euro 2020. 

St. Lebuinus church in town center

This is the facade of the town hall. Each window pane is the finger print of a citizen.

When they came back, the miller, his daughter and two friends, who were visiting for a few days, had started a nice little bonfire and were toasting marshmallows. They offered, but I respectfully declined, screws up my intestines. But I enjoyed warming myself on the fire a bit, the night was quite chilly. 

It was almost midnight by the time we turned off the lights. The miller had some very funny and interesting stories to tell, and Carmelo and I were just happy to stare into the fire.

The next day started like all the others for the last week, chilly and rainy. So we stayed under the covers a bit longer than planned, skipped the planned morning run and then they were off to explore the town some more.

By lunchtime we had some sun and worked a little bit on our tan. Just before it started thundering and hailing down again. Well, good time to work on our Spanish homework and take a little nap. 

The evening brought more idle conversation and a strangely tasty dinner. And more rain, of course.

This morning it was time to leave this little haven and move on. But before we did, we learned a very important and valuable lesson. Disconnect your power cable before you start driving. Always! They don't stretch very well. Needless to say, it was brand-new, we bought it a week ago. Snap, there it went. Oh well, one has to boost the economy a bit these days, right?

From Deventer we drove up to Staphorst, which is a small town bang in the middle of the Dutch bible belt. Yes, correct, the Dutch bible belt. The existence of such a thing was news to me, too. It works pretty much the same way as the one in the US. 

Here in the Netherlands the northern part of the country is predominantely Protestant, the south Catholic. And in between, the frontier, so to speak, is where the most conservative, orthodox Protestants thrived, and still do. It runs from the southwest to the northeast. 

No working on Sundays (that includes driving a car), no sex before marriage, swearing is outlawed in many communities. Think Amish, tune it down a bit and you got it. Although, as we've been told by locals, it's not all as it seems. All a bit hypocritic. 

We've been told to come here on a Sunday to see the people walk to church in their traditional dresses. Well, the mill was just too nice a spot to leave after one day, so we missed it. On any other day this town is just a normal, average place, at least from the outside.

This is the only photo we took in Staphorst. Not because it's very special, just so we had taken one. But this is actually a very normal Dutch backyard, they seem to be very proud gardeners.

So after an hour we figured we had done our duty and kept moving. Next stop, Giethoorst, the Venice of the North. Well, maybe a bit over the top, but very picturesque and pretty, nevertheless. There are probably more little boats than people and on every corner you can rent one. 

Considering all the bridges that are to be expected in such a place, I'm not sure who told so many people that a bike would be a great option to see it. Per pedes was obviously the choice for my human and her and Carmelo had a great time exploring all those little waterways.

Love the message on the car!

The afternoon we spent at the Dwingeldervelt National Park. Very different to the Vuelvewooz National Park we visited a few days ago, and in my humble opinion very inferior to it. But, and that's it's claim to fame, it has this radio telescope. 

The dish is 25m in diameter and over 3m deep. The surface of the mirror is over 500sq meters. 1956, when it was officially opened, it was the largest of it's kind in the world. 

By now we are parked off a huge sports complex near Gronningen, relatively far north. They have a climbing hall, a swimming pool, a ski arena!, and a hundred other courts and fields and halls, really quite an impressive complex. And what they also have is showers! And the let the campers use them for 1,25€! Lived altruism! Not sure how Staphorst would hold up in a comparison.

Tomorrow we will check out town and the surroundings. There seem to be some interesting places around here with telling names like Hongerige Wolf, Finsterwolde and Doodstil. Which translate to, you might guess it, Hungry Wolf, Dark Forest and Dead Silent. Although at least the last one has a very un-creepy explanation. Dood is a woman's name, and "til" is an old word for bridge. So it really just is Dood's bridge.

And not to forget our new category, "Things that are different in a van":

This is a real problem in a moving vehicle!