... and here's me, still writing up the blog when it was dark, notebook pc plugged into the mains socket in the laundry room, but sitting outside so that I could get the Wifi signal - I got some funny stares as people came to the loos in the middle of the night - and difficult to explain due to language problems as to just why I was sat where I was doing what I was doing at turned midnight.... and a question I have often pondered - why do woman go to the loos in pairs? -even at midnight on a campground?????
The weather has been a mix of very very hot, with or without a stiff wind in varying directions, clear blue skies and completely covered in grey cloud skies, with the occasional very quick rain shower. The sheep on the dykes were finding it hard going in the heat - especially those that have not been sheared as yet - the lambs are not sheared from the look of it, so they must be feeling very hot. No wonder they all stand in whatever shade they can find or on top of the hill of the dykes catching what ever wind they can find.
These sheep were being sheered as we cycled past - what a racket -was a cool breeze at this particular moment so probably felt extremely cold and exposed when all that wool was taken off - some of them look they have got sunburnt skin as well.
The reclaimed land is known as koog land here - and its been very interesting seeing how they go about reclaiming the land. We have seen barges covered in bundles of sticks, all the same length - had decided it was too thick to be thatch for the roofs of the houses. They are used like wattle and daub with short thick fencing type posts to create low fences out into the area they want to reclaim, which is mud flats that are exposed at low tide. These groins then gradually encourage the mud to build up the level so that eventually it becomes proud of the sea in larger and larger patches, with grass starting to become established. Then the diggers go in and dig parallel narrow canals to drain the water off the land - the width of them appearing to be determined by how much water needs to be drained off. The sheep are put onto the land once enough grass has been established, and the sheep crap I presume is then left on to fertilise the newly established land - they have to hop over the drainage ditches. Bit by bit the drainage ditches fill up and the land becomes a fully fledged field.
A bit of excitement one morning - we could see a hill in the distance.... may only be the merest blip of one but after 800 miles or so of virtually flat land (not counting the numerous times we have had to cycle up and down over the dykes) it was worthy of a photo....
... and just incase we hadn't seen enough sheep - there was giant one for us to feast our eyes on as we cycled past.
A very windy day that was making cycling very hard work (yes, it was a head wind much of the day - isn't it always - you can see the wind turbines blades turned into the wind - and we always seem to be cycling in exactly the same direction as they are). Glad to find this sheltered lunch spot with tables and benches in the lee of some tall trees - weren't too sure at all what the sculpture was supposed to be - but found a small plaque, and despite being in German discovered it was an angel - can see this now!!!
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Very little English is spoken - I found something online that says that 99.5% of tourists to this area are German - so no need for anyone to speak English really.
Lots of the following signs up all along the busier roads we have cycled along.
Very glad to arrive at Dagebull - wind and sun beaten - a tiny place with a large ferry terminal capable of handling 3 ferries at once - they service the string of islands along the coast here - all not very far off the coast - one (Sylt) with it's own railway over a causeway as the only way to get to it - supposed to be a very up market island - Porches and other sports cars get put on the train to take them over to the island where many Germans have posh holiday homes. Cycles have to go on the train as well - didn't go but would have been fun to access another island in yet another 'different' sort of way. Lots of people staying in the few hotels here, walking out in the cooler evening with not really anywhere very far to go to. As we walked back along the dyke we heard a rousing sing song going on- but just finished as we arrived at the village hall - there had been a two hour (free) concert by a shanty male choir with handbells etc - a real shame that we missed out on that.
Loved the row of bathing huts - first ones we have seen along this coast as we cycle northwards.
Only a very small area for us to camp on - and a bit put out when a car belonging to two young lads parked very close to our tent - and then they sat drinking their bottles of beer in the car seats - and were still there when we went to bed - until Roger commented that at least we could sleep easy as the 'Ghost Busters' were on call and watching over us.
Cycled past a farm and all the fields round about it - full of different sorts of carvings .....
Perhaps these were the ghosts that the Ghost Busters were watching out for the night before?
... and really not very sure at all as to just what this little fella is supposed to be sat on the gate to this field?
One of my pedals was getting very suspect and Roger was worried that it might break on us somewhere very inconvenient - I've had on break on a mountain bike when out in the middle of no-where - a real pain because you can't cycle -can freewheel down hill but thats all - can be a long walk pushing the bike until you find a suitable cycle shop ....
We'd noticed one as we cycled through the last main town in Germany, not far from the supermarket where we made our usual daily shopping stop. Met up with a Dutch couple we'd seen on the campsite the night before - struggling to get their tent up in the wind, and looked as though not put it up very often before. Did debate whether togo and help but some people don't like assistance, and so used to no one speaking much English we didn't in the end. It turns out they spoke excellent English - they are cycling for a month from the NW of Germany to Sweden - they had forgotten to pack their pan though so were struggling to buy a suitable one to replace it. They had parked their loaded bikes by ours at the supermarket, and came out just after us - hence we finally got round to talking to them - it turned out they were also just off to the bike shop as well- they'd had a puncture the day before and wanted to borrow the proper pump to make sure the pressure in the tyre was correct.
The guy at the bike shop spoke excellent English and suggested that we should buy a new set of pedals - which we did. He was really pleased to see we both had British Dawes bikes (they both have a GB flag sticker on the frame) and went off to get his very first bike that he had bought -a 40 year old Dawes bike - he proudly showed us the Dawes symbol, and place of manufacture, Birmingham on the front of the bike. As I've said before our bikes are nearly 20 years old, you can still find them on the internet to buy but would guess they are no longer manufactured in GB, but China or somewhere out east.
The Dutch couple had invited us to have a drink with them in a cafe in town - they went on ahead of us as we swapped the pedals on my bike for the new ones, using the wrench from the bike shop to help get the old ones off, and we looked out for them as we cycled through the busy town streets. Was lovely to get out of the heat of the sun for a while and chat to them - Jan and Ria(n) - sorry if I've got the spellings wrong.
As we got near to the border with Denmark, an interesting and pretty off road section along a half-mile grassy track
.. and here we are in Denmark and not the Netherlands, and here is a photo of a windmill....
Very very hot today - camped last night at a lovely campsite on the coast at Emmerlev. A great cold swimming pool to cool down in yesterday afternoon when we arrived,and air conditioning in the toilet and shower block (first communal ones we have been to I think on this trip). Jan and Ria(n) were at the campsite as well - lent them the kettle to boil some water for a brew -still not got a pan as yet - and even though some hotplates here at the campsite in the small kitchen area, not much use if you have no pan. They re staying at Emmelev today and cycling minus the panniers to some nearby museums. They are cycling to Ribe tomorrow -where we are planning to be so will no doubt catch up with them again there.
More gravel first thing today - lots of lose gravel yesterday as well when we crossed over the border - Roger pulling faces as a bit precarious with the loaded tourers and also harder work than normal to pedal on.
Not the same quality of cycle paths here as in the Netherlands, and also in Germany. After some road work, commenting that we could see the sea without a dyke being in the way, and also how since crossing the border it felt like we had stepped back 20 years or so in time, definitely much more rustic feel to the villages and landscapes. Back suddenly to cycling the inland side of a dyke -came across a couple of cycle tourers coming the other way- we met at a sheep gate (one of many, many gates you have to negotiate along the dykes paths from the Netherlands to here) - the guy said some sort of mumbled greeting, and I knew at once he was British - so had a good catch up of experiences for the next 10 minutes or so. They had come from Romo (where we were off to) and heading for Emmerlev where we had just come from. They were cycling for 3 weeks from Ejsberg to the Hook of Holland (same time as we had spent cycling the same route in the opposite direction) - both very convenient for the ferries from Harwich - in fact the Ejsberg ferry is the only one now that goes from the UK to anywhere near Scandanavia.
A 10 km cycle ride across a causeway to the island of Romo - very hot work - even Roger was perspiring to day -so you can imagine how wet I was by the time we arrived at the campsite in time for lunch. There was an electronic sign as we reached the island - 30 degrees, and it's got much hotter since. Luckily there was a covered area with tables and benches so able to get out of the sun to eat our late lunch.
The campsite had FREE wifi here, so making the most of it - decided to come into the TV lounge as cooler in here and an electric socket for the pc - but the Netherlands Brazil football match just starting so loads of people watching the match. I am sat in a small niche off the room so can't see the TV r understand the commentary so had to try and guess what was happening by the faces and noises of those watching as to what was happening and then look at a web site to see if I was correct in my guesswork - which I was - was 0:1 at first to Brazil, then 1:1, then 2:1 - so lots of very happy people.
Hopefully it will cool down later and we will feel like going for a cycle ride around the island, minus the panniers for a treat.
We're a day ahead of schedule (the schedule more or less runs out after we meet up with Janet and Barry - had to have one to make sure we got here in time, but hope to make it up aswe go along a bit more from now on) so are cycling to Ribe tomorrow, then on Sunday we'll cycle up to Ejsberg to meet the ferry and then cycle back to Ribe again - supposed to be a lovely town so did;t want Janet and Barry to miss it. Then we'll turn north again and cycle around the Jutland Peninsula, leaving Janet and Barry to make their way back then to Ejsberg and the return ferry to Harwich, and well get the ferry over to Sweden.
Will be good to have someone else to have a conversation with - we've been cycling now for 9 weeks or so now with only each other for company - I think we've done really well - very few fallings out, and when we have it's only been for a minute or two. Having spent so much time in each others company on travel trips over the years we are both very very predictable on what we will find annoying and frustrating!!!
Glad to hear you are still speaking to each other......Enjoy your holiday with Janet and Barry. I'm off ti Bobs on Monday for the week. So will catch up with you the following week. Love Mum
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