Cap Sud again

After visiting the island I landed in Harlingen, a city with a long ( maritime ) history. I stayed overnight at the Zeezicht hotel, (Seaview hotel), no seaview though..

Picked up my bike next morning from the hotel garage, two streets down, loaded it and I was good to go. Another great biking day came up, starting a bit hazy, but I could change in my 5S dresscode: shirt, shorts, socks, shoes and sunlotion!

The preceding evening it had taken me a long time to find a bed for the night but I finally managed to reserve a b&b in Loppersum, 125 biking kilometers away, just short of Eemshaven. Eemshaven would be the north eastern turning point of the tour. No border riding, but edge riding, right on the line separating sea from land.

Sexbierum’s Coop was open for the daily shopping.

I took a small detour to Dokkum, as it’s history story made a lasting memory on the brains of me as small schoolboy: Bonifatius killed in 700. However, all I found at this early Saturday morning was a fair with a life band!

Huge, full parking lots draw my attention at Lauwersoog. Visitors to the island of Schiermonnikoog had to leave their cars behind: not allowed on the island!

At this place a nearly 3 kilometer dam closed the Lauwersmeer (lake) and the area was turned into a world heritage site. To me it looked all very artificial.

Friesland and Groningen, the 2 provinces I traversed, won’t get awarded for the variety of their landscape. I even followed a 13 kilometer straight track at the foot of the dyke!

It is a vast farming area, but as such not counted as nature. That’s why they proudly develop more nature reserves😊

The B&B was run by a nice lady in an enormous farm. After an old skool home cooked dinner I had a 6 bed family room to myself..

Leaving in a early morning fog Sunday morning had something magic; pure solitude, no single soul on the roads. I reached Eemshaven quickly and I continued along cities I only knew from primary school’s geography.

My ideas about these ‘far away’ cities, were completely different! Delfzijl, along the Eems, was a wide open city. I might be biaised, I like any city on the water…

Same for Appingedam, which gained its fame from the ‘hanging kitchens’ over the Damsterdiep waterway.

Passed Slochteren – famous for its profitable gas, which we, the Dutch, all spent – and Zuidlaren, which I know from Berend Botje😊 Drentsche Aa is a large national park, even less people around. Moor, forest, sanddunes, water and more.

I passed one hunebed, a prehistoric tomb, some 5000 years old, built out of natural stones which you only find – in the Netherlands at least – in this area.

I would stay at my brothers and his wife place, which I reached after exactly 125 kilometers, same as yesterday.

Even more striking: for both trips I needed just over 6 hours, there was less than a minute diffference! More important: I got invited to the best Italian restaurant in town, operated by Italians. We had a ball!

It was hard to leave early next morning, by 9 I was on my way.

An uneventfull day other than me enjoying the ride and the scenery. Warm too – but you won’t hear me complaining!

I had drawn a straight line to Nuth, destination, so I was sent at the German site of the border. Even went off road – gravel and sand – for a while,

then seeing German registered cars, I realized I was already in Germany, Bocholt, my destination for today.

One more day only..