11th - 17th July. From Sarreguemines into Germany, on foot, then we sailed to the current end of navigation, before returning up the canal de la Sarre.

Sarreguemines lies on the German border, so we walked over the bridge to buy a German plant for one of our flower pots.

Re-entering France!

The first lock in Germany is currently closed, as they are still fitting new lock gates. It has been closed all year, but was scheduled to open on 7th July, which has since been put back to 15th, and then the 17th of July. We were going to go and have a look at it, but lock 30, the previous lock, was the current end of navigation, so we turned round here.

We have decided not to wait any longer, in case the opening date is even later in the month, and are returning up the canal de la Sarre, stopping above lock 29, which is not far below Sarreguemines.

Shannon has scratched a sore place under her chin, so has to wear her lampshade to keep it protected. She is not impressed!

There are some unusual boats about. Majesty of the Seas is 33.5 metres long, although she looks like a full size liner.

The church at Ketting is a very unusual shape, with a low 12th century nave and a higher chancel, which dates from the 15th century.

Unusually, for a village church, the door was open, so we were pleased to be able to see the stained glass from the 15th century. It is on the left of this picture. This is reputed to be one of the most beautiful examples in Lorraine.

The Roman round tower was a watchtower in the 9th century.

Ketting is a pretty village, with many different coloured shutters.

Moving on to Wittring, we moored beside the Victoria restaurant, which is very popular. When turning into this mooring, we upset a fisherman, which is not a difficult thing to do! He had four fishing rods, which extended half way over the canal, so had to pull them in as we approached the jetty. He felt, very emphatically, that we should have taken a detour around ''his'' part of the canal, before coming in to moor. Life can be tough!

This ''blockhaus'', a part of the Aquatic Maginot line, was built between 1932 and 1935, but was used for defence during the Second World War.

The weather on Friday is threatening us with a mass of clouds, but the rain keeps off. We had a pleasant evening yesterday with Terry and Hilary at Saaralbe.

Saturday finds us moored below lock 16, with hotelboat Johanna. John is the captain of this ship, and does self-catering trips on his boat in this area.

Our last night on the Canal de la Sarre was spent just above lock 1, and so we saw Boathome coming up, filling the lock!

We have seen Boathome several times on this canal. It is a prototype for a houseboat, which can be moved, using electric power created by the many solar panels on its roof. They are currently heading for Strasbourg.

22nd - 23rd September. South on the Ruiten Aakanaal to Ter Apel, where we joined the new Veenvaart, which opened in 2013.

On Monday we were the first to leave, at about midday, after an extremely wet morning.

Cees and Sam caught us up with Sambucca, below Zuidveldsluis, and we spent our third evening together. A good time was had by all!

Cheetah called round to see if Shannon was coming out to play.

Potatoes are now on the move, in from the fields. This was the third trailer load to pass us, on its way to the farm.

Further on there were three lorries queueing up to be loaded with sugar beet, another product of this region.

By Ter Apel sluis this marker told us that we were 10.5 metres above the Amsterdam water level .

All the locks on this canal were against us. We have a special key, so that we can work them ourselves, and each one took at least 30 minutes, from the first turn of the key. Electric motors do most of the work, but they work extremely slowly. Once the top lock gate is open, or nearly so, the bridge also has to be operated. Some are push button, once you have closed the road barriers, while some have to be wound up with a wheel. Sally takes The Puzzler out of the lock on those ones!

The canal continues to delight us, with its lining of trees.

After a brief shopping stop in Ter Apel, we carried on out of town. We left our special key with the bridge keeper in Ter Apel, as we do not need it any more, reclaiming our 25 euro deposit.

We had mentioned to the lock keeper that we were in need of diesel, and he told us what to do. The trouble was, he told us in Dutch! Our understanding of the language is not too good yet, so we were surprised to be ushered to the left, through this large bridge, on to the Haren-Rutenbrock canal, which leads into Germany. We had not planned to take The Puzzler into Germany!

However, just through the open lock beyond the bridge, before the German border, was a diesel point on the canal. The garage lady brought us a bucket of cleaning goodies too, in case we made a mess! This diesel was the cheapest we have found in Holland. We then backed back through the bridge, to rejoin the Stads-Compascum canal.

We are now joining the new Veenkanaal, which was opened in 2013. This has been our destination for the last month, and it is good to get here at last.

17th - 19th September. De Blauwe Stad, and on to the German border.

Going on northwards, we crossed the Winschoterdiep and went on towards De Blauwe Stad. We moored near to a steam museum and walked to visit a nature reserve. To get there we decided to go by this self operating ferry, but it took innumerable winds to get it to our side. Luckily two cyclists appeared on the island and helped us to get the ferry across again.

Below the lookout tower, in the middle of the island, is an outdoor theatre, which would make a superb setting for a play.

Having decided not to wind the ferry again, it was a long walk to the nearest bridge, and was quite dark before we were back at The Puzzler. These shetland ponies and Shannon did not know what to make of each other!

Moving round to the harbour and visitor centre on Thursday, we found several intricate sand sculptures.

De Blauwe Stad was an exciting new development for the people of Groningen, and should have been a great success, with room for many properties on the islands. Sadly, not enough people wanted to come here to live, and it has not reached its full potential.


Going back to the main canal system, this imposing structure takes the motorway over our canal, and also over the railway to our left. Through our "tunnel" there are built-in fenders on the walls, to protect passing boats.

Travelling to the east, the Westerwoldse Aa canal is long and straight. I think my remark last time about interesting waterways was premature!

We sailed as far as Nieuwestans, which seems to be the most easterly town in The Netherlands. It is very industrial.

The next canal, going southwards, runs alongside the German Border. This time we have trees to offset the straightness! On this canal we have a special key so that we can work the bridges ourselves.

We paused by one bridge to have a look at Germany. It does not look very different here to The Netherlands.


At intervals along this canal there are still pillboxes to be seen, dating back to more troubled times along the border.