We cruised with Edie and Otto a German couple who keep their boat at Kuikhorne. They are friends of Diana and Arthur who should catch up with us in a few days time.
I am sitting in the sunshine and watching all the activity going on around me. There are many large boats making the journey into Dokkum and a lot of small runabouts with people enjoying the warm sunshine. We are alongside a bike path and once again I feel guilty that we drive the car a small distance to the shops when at home. Passing by us is a constant stream of young people and families on bikes, as well as grey nomads ( retired people in Aussie language) hikng or riding bicycles. No wonder the women all have great legs.
Tody we started our keep fit campaign and rode our bicycles 15k to Moddergat, an old fishing village on the Waddenzee. Up on the dike we saw a memorial for lost fisherman from Moddergat who were drowned in a terrible storm in 1883 which affected most of north Netherlands. 17 boats of the 22 boat fleet and 83 men were lost, what devastating news for a small village, many were fathers and sons.
We visited the museum with displays in the original fishermen’s houses. One of them had an original fireplace with beautiful tiles made in Makkum, famous for its blue tiles.
This comb in a display cabinet caught my eye, it was made out of bone with the comb fitting inside the fish.
Next morning we rode into Dokkum
to do some shopping and came across the Town Crier at the markets giving away free bags. We are back in the swing of shopping here where the trolleys need a coin to unlock which you get back once they are parked back in their space and there are no plastic bags only BYO, Bring Your Own.
It was lunchtime and Kevin couldn’t go by Kibbling ( little pieces of fish) from the local take away.
Arthur and Diana arrived
after morning coffee with Edie and Otto
we cruised out to the Lauwersmeer then across it to the Rietdiep canal.
It was a nice day but very windy. The navigation markers on the lake are unusual, sometimes there are the usual kind
and other times they are sticks. This one is for Port
and this for Starbord
Coming into the Rietdiep canal we passed this colourful fishing town.
and a row of unusual environmental houses being built at the next town with large windows to catch the sun and grass growing on the roof.
On the way down we called in for coffee with Iain and Jill who have just bought their barge and getting it ready for a trip. 
Coming into Groningen we were behind this barge. The Skipper was outside judging his clearance.
We stopped in a private boat club in Groningen which is only 1 k from town and in a very handy spot right next to a Praxis ( hardware shop)
While we were here Kevin decided to finish making our new table. He laughingly asked Arthur if he had a router on his ship and wonders of wonders Arthur did. So now I have a very nice table complete with fold back hinges all nicely routered in.
In Groningen we hit the big time shops and had a good time at Ikea. I loved the name for the trolleys.
They also had a very interesting escalator for getting the trolleys from one floor to the next.
While in Australia Diana and Arthur and Kevin and I had decided to visit the German island of Borkum, as we had visited the islands of Texel and Tschelling together last year. It is closer to the coast of the Netherlands than Germany so we started our enquiries in Groningen as to how to get there.
And so we started our journey.
On bicycles to the train station where we left our bikes in the parking station.
Caught the train to Delfzijl.
While in the station we came across the smoking area.
After arriving we walked to the harbour and found the Ferry going to Knock in Germany on the other side of the Dollards and then onto Borkum.
and arrived in Borkum to take a short ride on another train to the town.
The town is quite different to the other islands off of the Netherlands which have a very natural environment. Borkum has many large and small hotels in town and along the beach with smaller natural camping areas and hotels away from the town.
We had a typical german style lunch of Sauerkraut and Hock and Beef and red cabbage and walked around the town.
Then off to see the beach. On the way over the ferry had to navigate between the sand bars and as the tide was out we wondered what we would see.
WHAT A SURPRISE !!!
Kilometres of deck chairs in the sun. With the water way out there somewhere.
The cabins were really cute
Soon it was time to say goodbye to Diana and Arthur and we headed off to start the canal cruise out of the Netherlands and into Germany.
We left Groningen and found our way down through the Zuidlaardermeer to a new channel into an old canal system which has just been opened up to join another canal.
At the end of the lake we had to call through to make arrangements for a lockkeeper/ Sluismeester to open the bridges and locks ahead.This area has thousands of small channels draining the land and many bridges crossing the channel.
We came into the canal past this wonderful bird hide.
Then past this windmill which has been restored it was originally used to drain this polder.
and down through many many bridges.
Through some very old historical round locks which are being restored
Through the Stadskanal and the Musselkanal to Ter Apel where we had a nice quiet mooring before going down to the last lock into Germany.
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