Saturday 11th September 2004 Neuendorf to Schmergow.

11.3°C – wow, the wall behind us must have kept the boat warm overnight. Grey clouds, showers in the morning, sunny spells in the afternoon. Set off at 8 a.m. The rain started at

Stadtschleuse in Brandenburg - my photo from 2013

8.30 a.m. I made tea and cooked some bread buns as we ran into Brandenburg. We came up the Stadtschleuse side by side. The old chap who was in charge of the lock was a bit concerned about the boats being side by side until we were actually both in the chamber. He asked lots of questions about the boat, was it for carrying freight, what draught, cargoes, etc? Bill asked him where the nearest bakers was, as he was out of bread. We paused above the lock while Bill went for bread. I glued the sole of my shoe back on. Must get a new pair of Eccos. Wound our way through the town and back on to the Havel. Nothing moving. Some distance further upstream, as we went between the lakes and backwaters, a Polish Bromberg tug came down river pushing an empty pan.

The basin at Deetz, very similar to the one at Schmergow
- my photo from 2013 

More cruisers were in evidence as the weekend got underway and the showers stopped. It seemed as if everyone we saw had a camera, even two women at a campsite came out to photograph the boats as we went past. Lunch. Ate it just in time to tie up in the old basin at Schmergow at 12.45 p.m. Today it was surrounded by caravans and camper vans, the occupants of which said hello as we arrived and then sat outside to watch every move as we tied up. Cabaret time again! Two small kids were using the swing hanging from the tree at the end of the quay and the people at the end caravan had a spotty dog (Dalmatian) for Fanny to

Moored in the basin at Deetz, very similar to the one at Schmergow
- my photo from 2013 

play with. Actually she kept growling at him and trying to bite him even though he was half as big again as her. Mike went to collect the car from Rathenow. It was either another “expensive” (1€) ferry trip to cross the river at Ketzin to go north, then west, or a trip south then west into Brandenburg before turning north to get back to Rathenow. Mike opted for the latter, as he said he can do 40kms on 1€ worth of petrol on the moped (middle name is Scrooge!). Mike was back at 5 p.m. having called at Kaufland in Rathenow for beer and ATU for a spare cover for the moped (we decided to get another one after the long search to get the one we’d recently bought). It rained briefly as we covered the moped and roped it down on the roof. Mike got all the gear out for a BBQ. It rained again, so Mike and Bill sat outside under their fishing brollies drinking beer. The rain stopped and we all sat outside eating chops and sausages. Lit the Tilley lamps as it dropped dark and watched for shooting stars as the clouds rolled away.