22nd July 2005 Dutch border nr Ter Apel to Roelagebrug.

Bridge working instructions

12.6º C overnight. Lousy weather – it was STILL raining. Mike went to Potze’s garage and hired a key for the little Ruiten-Aa canal before we set off following Rosy at 8 o’clock. There was no keeper at the liftbridge so Mike went off on foot down to the lock to inform him we were waiting and got a lift back to the boat with him in his car. The boats set off again at 8.50 a.m. turning right on the Stadkanaal, with a couple of idiots in cruisers getting in the way on the turn. The keeper let us through the other swing and lift-bridges. A white yacht that had moored by us overnight, had set off before us and was in the lock chamber, waiting to go down. We left the lock at 9.20 a.m. following Rosy. A cruiser had just tied on the landing stage by the bridge which carries the main road over the entrance to the Ruiten-Aa, a young lad had gone to work the bridge. We went through the lifted bridge first, the white yacht carried on down the Stadskanaal, and Mike told the crew of the waiting cruiser that we would do the next bridge. When we got there the crew of a black steel-hulled yacht had just untied and they

Box for the key //

were working the next swingbridge. We went through and said we’d do the next. The next was the first lock and a liftbridge. I got off and opened the liftbridge, the lock was full with the gate open and so Mike called the cruiser and black hulled yacht in first. Not enough room for all four of us in the 27m x 6m chamber. Helped them through the lock, then turned the lock round for us. The rain was still pouring down. Mike pressed the

Ruiten-Aa kanaal and landing for operating the liftbridge 

green button to empty the lock and we waited and waited and nothing happened. By chance, a maintenance man in a white van arrived and told Mike he’d forgotten to turn the key in the box on the landing stage above the lock. Waah! We motored on down to the quay by the next swingbridge at Roelagebrug and tied up. It was 11.30 a.m. I made some potato salad ready for lunch. Mike put the satellite dish up and we had a quick look at the

Mooring on the old quay by Roelagerbrug

weather forecast. A great depression centred on Scandinavia was throwing rain across the whole of northern Europe, from the Netherlands all the way across to Poland. Mike put the TV on again ten minutes later, as I’d said that there was a breaking news headline about a suspect suicide bomber being shot in Stockwell. The TV came on with a horrible green screen. He turned it off and then back on and it still wouldn’t come on again. Took the case off when he noticed it was damp. Rain had leaked through the top edge of the window and dripped on to the TV. Dried it out and left it to dry thoroughly before we dared try it again (luckily, it worked OK later). Ate lunch, then Mike got ready to go and get the car, dressed in waders! When he left at 1.15 p.m it was still raining.

Here's a link to my map of today's route.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1VUS_iCSzy0.kMTmExb-XnBs&usp=sharing

Thursday 21st July 2005 Lingen to the Dutch border nr Ter Apel.

Rainbow at Lingen

12.2º C overnight. Sunny and windy first thing, clouding over to overcast later. After a day off to get our mail and Mike to do some shopping (I was still not 100%), we set off at 8.10 a.m. with the pins in and the washing machine going. I started catching up with the chores. Cleaned the floor, then sat down for a rest, my back was nowhere near right yet. Made some tea and toast before we got to the first lock of the day at Varloh. A cruiser overtook us and was waiting in the lock when we got there. Mike held

Leaving the harbour at Lingen

the string again. It was spitting with rain when we set off again at 10.15 a.m. The cruiser was waiting for us again in Meppen. The washing finished at midday as we were running through the twisty section through Meppen, where we met two blue boarding uphill commercials and a cruiser. It started raining as Mike paused to take the pins out. Lunch on the move then down Hüntel lock with another cruiser, leaving the empty lock just after 1

Contra-rotating propellers at the museum in Haren

p.m. Forty minutes later we tied on the landing below the bottom lock, Haren, on the Haren-Rütenbrock-kanal. Mike went into the office and paid 2€ for each boat for the trip up the canal into the Netherlands. We went uphill in the lock by less than a metre and tied on the landing stage on the left above the lock where the keeper had agreed to let us stay for an hour while Mike and Bill went for a look round the ship museum. A very strong wind was

Working boat cabin at the museum Haren

blowing the rain horizontal straight down the canal as we tied up. They came back with a fine collection of photos. We set off again at 3.30 p.m. Mike gave the keeper a hoot as we set off and he lifted the road bridge for us. Rosy lead the way. A lockful of three German cruisers passed us heading downhill at 4 p.m. Helen phoned to find out where we were. They had loaded their peniche Floan with a cargo of talc in Gent for

Bill admiring pistons from an old boat engine

Douai but had the day off as it was Belgian National Day. Told her where we were and she asked what the trip had been like. I said the MLK was getting busier with more and more Polish and Czech boats coming further west than they used to. She said that the Belgians weren’t happy with the big influx of migrant Polish workers, same in Britain. She said it had just been on the news that more bombs were going off on the London underground, but they were smoke bombs – still causing as much of a scare though. I wished her a good trip as I rushed out to hold a rope as we rose in lock 2, remotely operated by the keeper at the first lock with the aid of cctv (as are all the bridges and locks on the canal – he used to ride up the canal on a moped to work all the locks and bridges!) Up the third lock and through the next liftbridge at 5.30 p.m. Across the short summit, down the last shallow lock and through the last

Moored at the boat museum in Haren

swingbridge at a few minutes before six. Timed to perfection as the canal closes at 6 p.m. Still pouring with rain as we tied up on the old Dutch custom’s quay. Mike decided to leave the car where it was, safe on the car park in Lingen.

Tuesday 19th July 2005 Ibbenburen to Lingen.

Tug Rudolph pushing an empty pan going to pick up more dredgings

14.2º C Heavy rain overnight. Hot and sunny morning, giving way to heavy showers when the wind picked up mid-afternoon. I had another really rough night, waking each time I tried to turn over. Mike set off at 8.15 a.m. Arrived at the first lock down, Bevergern, on the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal (DEK) at 9.30 a.m. An 80m barge and two French péniches (one from St Mammés!) went into the lock and we weren’t allowed in, as the lock keepers in Germany don’t allow pleasure boats to use the space on the wall

Bill on Rosy in Bevergem lock

opposite commercials. After an hour’s wait two commercials came up, Thoedor and Diena, then we went down, just the two of us. Mike had to do the ropes and fenders himself. At the next lock, Rodde, a loaded tanker was coming uphill. We went down as soon as he’d cleared the lock. We left the bottom ten minutes later at 11.15 a.m. Dropped down the third lock, Altenrheine, at midday and I made some lunch. We had to increase speed to keep up with an empty tanker called Schildhorn to get in with him at the fourth lock, Venhaus. We left the bottom at 1.45 p.m. I made a cuppa as we ran down to Hesselte. The lock was empty as the commercial had gone much faster than us. Another loaded tanker came up and we went in after just a half hour wait, during which time Mike had nipped in the cabin and made himself a sandwich.  We dropped down the lock and left at 3.45 p.m. The last lock of the day, Gleesen, had an empty Czech boat and a loaded Dutchman coming up in it, so we had to wait again. The wind had picked up and had blown Bill’s planters full of geraniums

A very odd-looking  workboat with a split hull

over on Rosy’s roof. We went into the lock chamber and had to wait again for three cruisers to arrive and share the lock with us. It was 4.30 p.m. by the time the lock started to empty. One cruiser turned left and headed up the Obere Ems, the other two went past us to moor in the harbour at Lingen. It was 6 p.m. when we arrived at Lingen. Plenty of room left for us to tie up, even enough space so we didn’t need to tie side by side. Forty minutes later Mike went off on the moped to get the car and was back at 8.30

Liquid gas carrier Eiltank 4 at Hesselte

p.m. 

Rosy passing the scrap berth in Lingen

Monday 18th July 2005 Bramsche to Ibbenburen.

Boy on bank at KP6 MLK looking for his friend who is swimming
 with mask, snorkel and flippers somewhere in the stern wash

12.1º C. Sunny spells with dark clouds. Humid. Set off just after 8 a.m. I’d had a really rough night, kept waking up. I was horizontal all day. I managed to make some tea, slowly, and salad for lunch. When we stopped in the old canal arm at Ibbenburen, Mike went off to get the car and called in the local supermarket for beer, sausages and bread. He lit our BBQ and Bill lit his and they sat out,

of this passing commercial! Idiot child!

Mike cooked sausages and he’d bought some ribs from the supermarket for Bill to cook for him and Fanny. I spent most of the day sprawling flat out on the bed. It was very hot and sticky.

Sunday 17th July 2005 Bad Essen to Bramsche.

Just shows you - big boys get it wrong sometimes

11.2º C overnight. Chilly. Sunny spells cloudy later. Mike installed some capacitors in the wiring for the big new powerful extraction fan in the engine room. He started off well by melting a test lead by attaching it to a live connection first and accidentally earthing it! Not a good start. Set off at 8.20 a.m. following Rosy. Then it was my turn for a disaster. I stepped back into the cabin, after tidying up the ropes and fenders on the front deck, and had a huge stabbing pain in my back. I took two pain killers and lay on the bed. I managed to make some tea 10.30

Sand unloading crane at hafen Engter

a.m. then crawled back on to the bed. I took some more pain killers at midday and made some salad, just in time for Mike to have his lunch after tying up at KP 34 Bramsche. Bill had no map for this end of the MLK and had forgotten where we’d moored on the way over. Mike said he’d remarked first thing that we’d got a shorter day today - so he knew what kilometer post to look out for - but then he went past it! I helped tie up by throwing a rope around a bollard. A camper van was parked by the slipway and a tent had been pitched there too. Some people

The writing on the silo says "Eyes open when buying eggs
 - only German eggs have DE written on them!"

had slipped a small speedboat and were zooming up and down in it. After lunch Mike unloaded the moped and went off to get the car. It was 2 p.m.

Saturday 16th July 2005 Minden to Bad Essen.

From the mooring at Minden

14.9º C overnight. Much cooler. Cloudy and breezy, with sunny spells. Set off at 8 a.m. backing out from under the stern of m.v. Schulau. It was very quiet first thing, not many cruisers or commercials about, but it made up for it later. A Dutch pusher pair went past, an 80m boat pushing a 67m, both loaded, being overtaken by an empty German 67m. The wind was getting chilly so we both put fleeces on. We

To a mooring at Bad Essen

noticed that the Polish boats seemed to be going further west (and some Czech ones too) as we were overtaken by a Transbode-9 from Wrocław at KP66. An empty Dettmeer tanker, N^o87, went past heading uphill. The Wiehengebirge hills came into view directly in front as the range of low hills got closer to the canal at Bad Essen. At 2.30 p.m. we moored at KP 61, Bad Essen, on a 50m long piling (on the sloping end again), behind a German cruiser, whose occupants sat on their top deck looking down us while we tied up and never said a word. Rosy came alongside. Unloaded the moped and Mike went to get the car.

Friday 15th July 2005 Haste to Minden.

Mooring at Haste KP138 MLK

13.6º C Hot and sunny with a nice cooling breeze. Thunderstorm at midday then hot, sunny and windy. Commercial traffic was busy from 6 a.m. We set off at 8 a.m. and were treated to glorious views of the Bückeberg hills to the south and the Wesergebirge behind them. At 10.20 a.m. we passed KP 130, Sachsenhagen, where there were two boats on the quay, Heikew of Tangermunde 67m x 8.2m 902 tonnes, was waiting to load and Lena, 85m x 8.2m 1200 tonnes, was loading with grain. The hotel ship Rembrandt went past at KP 124 as a group of three

Hotel ship Rembrandt. KP123 MLK

cruisers from MYCT Berlin overtook us. The water was a bit bouncy for a while. Into a cutting at KP120 as a Dutch yacht overtook us. The skipper wanted to know where we’d been. Mike told him Poland, Elblag and the lakes. He said he’d been on the Baltic. Must have been doing the round trip, round Friesland, through the Keilkanal into the Baltic and into Poland up the Oder to Hohensaaten then followed the same route we’d come, then across the Mittellandkanal back to Holland. The wind was picking up, so the sunshade had to come down before it ripped apart. I made us a cup of soup, some new stuff I hadn’t tried

Well loaded mv Altmark from Magdeburg. KP105 MLK

before, made by Maggi, little packets of dried noodles and a flavouring (we had duck and shrimp) called a taste of Asia, which were quite good if a little spicy for Mike. At KP 117.5 we were overtaken by Sequana (wasn’t she the goddess of the Seine?) 85m x 8.2m 1169 tonnes from Maasbracht.  Minutes later Deo Duce from Rotterdam went past, heading uphill followed by two cruisers, as we rounded the bend at KP 116. Two kilometres further on, a big cruiser overtook us, followed by Delphin,  a loaded German barge 85m x 8.2m 1281 tonnes from Twist, with two cars on the top - one of which was Polish. At the same time Lünen was going in the opposite

Support towers on the old Aqueduct at Minden. KP102 MLK
Far distance is Kaiser Bill memorial on the hill in Westphalian Gap

direction, 67m x 8.2m 900 tonnes loaded with sand, followed by another yacht. At midday heavy spots of rain heralded a thunderstorm. Out came the brolly and maps and GPS, etc, went into plastic bags. I made sandwiches for lunch. Mike got bitten on the leg by a cleg and one bit me on the rear through my skirt! More repellent needed! A woman on a passing Dutch barge, called Heber, leaned out of the wheelhouse and shouted something like “listen on 10” or “you can listen on ten” – which Mike did and heard nothing! He asked Bill if she’d said anything to him. No. That will

River Weser from the new aqueduct at Minden

forever remain a mystery! We paused on the aqueduct as there was nothing but a couple of cruisers going the opposite way across the old aqueduct, and Mike hopped off to take a few photos of the Weser. A man on a bike asked where we were from, he said he was a tourist too - from the Black Forest! Saw police boat WSP22 as we went into the town, we’d just passed his mooring place. We moored alongside Rosy at 2.15 p.m. on the first mooring in Minden, along the sloping edge between two signs about 15m apart, behind an empty called Schulau. Bill gave us a hand to get the moped across the roofs and round the armco. Bill went off on his bike to get supplies from a local shop and Mike went to collect the car. I put the PC on and looked in the log to find out where we went shopping last time we were here. It was on the 5^th July 2004 (wet

Boatmen's Association garden in Minden

and horrible weather) and we found the Real supermarket in a shopping centre in the middle of town and parked in an underground car park by the bus station. Mike was back at 5.45 p.m. and we reloaded the bike on the roof, just as two people with an outrigger canoe arrived to use the launching area, which we’d blocked access to as our stern rope was tied across it. They said there were some kids coming to do a training session in a dragon boat. Mike moved the rope, which wasn’t easy as it was all that was stopping both boats going forward and we were at forty five degrees to the passing traffic. The kids arrived with the huge long paddle boat on a trolley. It was 6.15 p.m. by the time we set off in the car to go to Real. Bill came with us to do some stocking up. I got most of my groceries, but not much off my long term list of non-food items as Mike was complaining that I’d got an overflowing trolley. I bought two insulated mugs as they were only 5€ each, half the price of ones we’d seen before. Mike bought himself a new pair of trainers 7.95€ (the first he’s ever had) and I picked up two light cotton shirts for him, a long sleeved one for 5,99€ and a short sleeved one for 2,99€ (he said he would wear it, but he didn’t, he doesn’t really like short sleeved shirts). The supermarket was unusually quiet, probably as it’s holiday time. When we got back to the boat I made a cheese sandwich with an onion baguette – first onion bread since the UK, it was delicious.