Windmill 'De Passiebloem', Zwolle

'Passiebloem' = 'Passie-BLOOM' = 'Passion Flower'... exotic name!
'Zwolle' = 'Zwol-luh' = from 'gezwollen' = 'swollen'.
The town rose from that point where the river IJssel 'swells' when the tide is in.  Zwolle is also a 'vestingstad' or fort city, and you can see the structure of the fort in the map.
The province of Overijssel is in the north of the country, already close to Groningen, and I hope to schedule the mills there on a regular basis.  Zuid Holland is around the corner, but the far-flung places should get their fair share of attention.  It's just that....... they are really far.  Time and the weather aren't always on my side.  All in good time.

Left a bit before 11.00 as I had to fill up, and then on to the A59 - A27 - A28, a 2-hour trip with not one traffic jam, due of course to the late departure, but I was pleased, nonetheless, because the A27 and A28 close to Utrecht are always busy and 'thick', no matter the time of day.  Found the mill where Google said it had to be, in a quiet neighbourhood outside the area of the fort.

It was also a distance from the apartment of my ex-colleague and her partner, so ate at La Place, and by the time I was done with lunch it was just after 14.00.  I did say I was arriving between 14.30 and 15.00, to give me ample time to lose my way and find it again, which of course I did.  ;D)  Stayed a couple of hours and we used that to catch up with comings and goings and plans.  She's like me in that she doesn't ever want to return to the Rotterdam area, much less work there.  Her partner is a professional photographer and she's a free-lance writer of travel articles, and people wonder how they make their living (not that it's anyone's business) and are quick to think they're not doing anything.  I am familiar with the 'unemployed/weird job=lazy' prejudice.  They do own their place and don't have any mortgage either, but who needs to know, right?  We also talked about the COVID situation and how uncertain it can still be when it comes to the entry/exit policies of various countries.  Their apartment looks promising and I've been invited to visit again next year, when hopefully it'll be done, and perhaps we can explore a place nearby together.

Home a quarter past 19.00, this time straight from the A28 to the A50, again without any traffic worth mentioning, so I was quite lucky.  Utrecht and the surrounding area would have been full and exhausting.  AW was already gone by the time I entered the house, but he had a fantastic evening, as it turned out, finishing at first place.

Somehow, there is something to do and the day is not wasted.  One day at a time, one breath at a time.