A weekend in Meppel: Picnic in the park

We have spent the weekend in Meppel. It's a really pleasant little provincial town. Now that the season is drawing to an end, the harbour in the town centre is very quiet (we actually are the only boat in the town harbour proper, that is BEHIND the lock which after 1 September does not operate on Sundays).
But yesterday, Saturday, there was market and the town centre was buzzing. And one of the two windmills was in operation.

We spent the weekend doing some useful / important stuff: We finished the photo book of this year's trip, which can now be sent to the printers in London as soon as we have good, reliable Internet. We can then collect the finished product when we are in the UK at the end of the month. And we did some 'boat stuff', maintenance and touching up some paintwork. The hull is filthy after the German canals and that still needs a good clean!

Today was the annual 'Picnic in the Park' event. Of course if you're Dutch, you go on your bike:

It was not far for us, so we walked.
Families having a proper picnic on their blankets, a band with 'traditional' Dutch music, canoes on the lake for which everyone queued up without pushing and shoving, it was all really nice family entertainment.

It's the second time we have been here, and we just like it: small enough to have a 'village atmosphere' but big enough to have enough 'going on'.
Tomorrow, the lock operates between 9 and 10 am, we'll be on our way, off to Zwolle then.