Changelog

It turns the weather into a plain read of how much cold has built up on the water this freeze — and how far that is from what the ice clubs look for. It never says the ice is safe: only IJsclub Giethoorn, after measuring, can. Snow ice looks thick without being strong, the open lakes freeze long after the canals, and in an emergency you call 112.

One place for the numbers a resident needs: gemeente Steenwijkerland, your Giethoorn GP at De Tjasker, the nearest hospital and out-of-hours doctor in Meppel, ROVA for waste, and the water board. Numbers are tappable, with a note on the boat-route bins for homes on the water.

What each month is really like — the summer boat crowds and their daily 11-5 peak, the calm shoulder seasons, and the winter natural-ice skating when the canals freeze, with live links to check the ice and the crowds.

Stop-by-stop walks along the Binnenpad and the quieter southern lanes, timed to miss the boats — with the etiquette the village asks of everyone walking past its front doors: the gardens are people's homes, stay on the path, ask before photographing.

Two tools to start: a checker that reads the time and tells you whether your boat may use the Dorpsgracht right now, and a how-busy planner for the canal with the quiet windows residents rely on.