When Alex wanted to turn off the gas on Sunday morning, he was approached by a nice gentleman from the north of Germany. He and his wife have 2 Whippets and regularly go to competitions. They had been to a competition in the Netherlands and were now on their way home. Once again we made a very nice acquaintance. We chatted for a long time before heading on to the province of Overijssel.
In contrast to Belgium, driving in the Netherlands is totally relaxed. The landscape is more beautiful than we expected. The people are incredibly friendly.
When we arrived at the pitch in Bathmen, we just managed to get hold of one of the two official pitches for motorhomes. It is right next to the sports field where various games, soccer and volleyball were taking place and the parking lot was full of parked cars. The area and the place are so beautiful that we decided to stay here for two nights.
After a good night’s sleep, breakfast and getting ready, we took a walk to Deventer.
It’s a beautiful area here. In Deventer we treated ourselves to a small snack before setting off on the 11km return journey.
In the Netherlands there are few parking spaces that are free of charge. If you find one, there is usually no service.
After almost a week without a service station, it’s about time for us because we only have a little fresh water left.
We didn’t actually want to stay in the Netherlands for so long, but it’s really beautiful here and we want to see more of the country. On the way to our next destination for the day, we discovered a place that is not for overnight stays but for free supply and disposal, which is very rare here. There are plenty of pitches with facilities throughout the country. However, they are not cheap and as long as they are free, we will use them. After we arrived at this supply station, we discovered that although you could dispose of your black water there, perhaps also your gray water with the bucket, you have to take the fresh water from a toilet house. What a hassle, so we drove to a private pay site nearby to ask if we could use the service.
The nice owner said it was no problem and we didn’t have to pay anything. We thanked him and left a small tip anyway.
We then headed north of the Netherlands, to Appingedam in the province of Groningen, where our pitch for today is not particularly great. It’s right on the bus station site. It is free and has supply and disposal facilities. There is electricity for €1 for 6 hours.
The buses run day and night and the road behind us is very noisy. The muffled sounds of the nearby bridge are also constantly audible.
Appingedam is the only place in the province with medieval town rights. It was once a flourishing trading town. The medieval town center is a protected monument.
The Ems rises in the Senne near Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock in the state of Westphalia, continues to flow through the Westphalian Bay in a north-westerly direction and then northwards to the North Sea. From the Dollart, the Ems forms the partially disputed border with the Dutch province of Groningen. It flows into the North Sea around 27 km northwest of Eden between Pilsum and Eemshaven.
And it’s about 5-6 km from our pitch to there. So we set off on foot to the Ems and the Bay of Watum.
Passing the port of Delfizjl, we reach the bay of Watum. From there you can look across to the German East Frisia.
On the way back, we found a nice spot for a picnic break.
Next destination, the northern German Hanseatic city of Bremen!
Who hasn’t heard of the popular fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm? According to the story, the donkey, dog, cat and rooster once set off for the city on the Weser to find a better life here.
The Bremen Town Musicians are probably the best-known landmark of the Hanseatic city. It has stood in the heart of Bremen since 1953.
Bremen Town Hall.
Church of Our Lady
Bremen Hanseatic City
St. Peter’s Cathedral in Bremen was built in Romanesque style over the foundations of older predecessor buildings from the 11th century onwards and rebuilt and extended in Gothic style from the 13th century onwards. In the 14th century, side chapels were added. In 1502, the transformation into a late Gothic hall church began. In the late 19th century, extensive renovations were carried out to the building, which was well maintained on the inside but appeared shabby on the outside when one of the two west towers collapsed. Today, the church belongs to the Protestant-Lutheran cathedral parish of St. Petri.
Source: Wikipedia
The Bremen drop tower was completed in Bremen in 1990 and is operated by the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity at the Faculty of Production Engineering at the University of Bremen. It is the only one of its kind in Europe and enables earthbound experiments under short-term weightlessness.
It is located on the university campus, is 146 meters high and has a 120 meter high, evacuated drop tube inside, in which a drop capsule falls 110 meters for 4.74 seconds. During this time, weightlessness prevails in the capsule. The duration of the capsule in weightlessness can be extended to over 9 seconds using the catapult installed in 2004. Depending on the space required for the respective experiment, the capsule has a diameter of 0.8 meters and a length of 1.6 meters or 2.4 meters. It falls into an 8 meter high collecting container filled with polystyrene foam balls the size of a pinhead.
Source: Wikipedia
In the meantime, we have been thinking about the route to Sweden. Iris panics easily on ferries or ships, so a crossing has only ever been discussed in the background. The alternative would be Denmark and over the Öresund Bridge to Sweden. We have now decided on the 5-hour crossing from Rostock to Trelleborg because it is much cheaper.
But at the beginning of next week we will be visiting friends we met on our trip.