Yesterday and todays morning I was going through an gigantic industrial area. Not much else to see. In the afternoon the landscape became more rural with small towns and villages here and there. Many bridges to pass. Some important ones opens just a few times a day on fixed times, smaller bridges opens when they see you coming, other are remote controlled and you have to call on the radio and ask for opening.

In the early afternoon I arrived in Leiden. I moored along the canal one and half kilometer from the city center, on a stretch where boats are allowed to stay for three days for free. No facilities though.

I took a nap in the afternoon and after dinner I walked down to the city center. Very pretty and lively a Saturday night. It looked to me a lot like Amsterdam with lots of canals and many restaurants on remade barges along the docks.

Leiden is a university city with more than 100 000 citizens. It was the home town of Rembrandt among others.

Update 24/4

There is no end to the northeasterly, it seems they will last a bit into May. This is extreme. I decided to stay at least one more night in Leiden, probably two since it seems to be raining tomorrow. I worked on the boat in the morning and then I took the bike downtown in the afternoon, made some shopping and sightseeing.