June 18 - Day 13
Distance 71.00 kms
Total distance on the trip 752.84km
Moving time 4:21 hours
Todays elevation 69m
Total elevation 1283m
Weather - 12 -> 27 degrees - no rain, Winds N at about 11km/h, again another slight headwind day.
We got up and got ready to head into Groningen town after breakfast (which was again fabulous). We left our bags behind and were looking forward to a lighter ride around town.
Groningen is the oldest and largest city of the northern part of the Netherlands. First settlement has been dated to about 3rd century AD. It is also a university city. We headed straight for the Grote Markt right in the centre of town.
Groningen was crowned the World Cycling City due to the impressive role the bicycle plays here: 57 per cent of the journeys by inhabitants are made on two wheels.
This statue was in the Grote markt - it was of a piper - we were not sure if was THE pied piper ... The tower in the background is the famous Martinitoren built in the 1400's. It can be seen everywhere you go in the city at 97m. The tower was not damaged during WWII, although quite a bit of Groningen was damaged in the Battle of Groningen.
After our quick tour of Groningen we went back to the B&B, picked up our bags and we were off into the countryside heading north. Of course crossing canals and seeing windmills.
A little while up the road was the Pieterburen Seal Rehabilitation centre. The Dutch call seals, Zeehunds, or sea dogs. The seals that are here are orphans which are rescued from the North sea or the Wadden Sea which is about 5kms from where the sanctuary is. The seals are so cute.
After spending some time at the seals, we found somewhere to eat, I was still not feeling 100% so decided that dessert for lunch was the order of the day - Strawberries and Ice cream - perfect.
We then rode along the northern coast of the Netherlands for a few kms. The north sea was very different to what we expected it to be.
We had planned to stop at Lauwersoog, but on approach we realised it was a name given to a place where ferries leave, and did not have very much else on offer, so we kept riding along the coast.
We came across a bunch of people stopped at a lookout on the side of the road, and to ensure we did not miss out on anything, we joined them. They looked over the north sea on one side, but then turning inland, you looked over the Lauwersmeer , which is a huge man made lake created in 1969. The area is renowned for bird watching.
We were headed to Moddergat (again we only booked our accommodation about an hour before we turned up). Moddergat in its literal translation is 'Mud Hole', named after the mud flats it is built along. To get there we used Google maps, however, I forgot to put the maps on cycling route, and we ended up going the long way, following the roads and of course directly into a strong headwind to get there.
Moddergat has a population of about 221 people, it has one cafe in the town, attached to the local bar, and family run. We had dinner there and everything on the menu was deep fried, but very reasonably priced Café-Snackbar de Zwarte Arend. The cafe was actually in Paesens - which is the town right next to Moddergat - it is separated by a line across the small road bridge. Paesens has about 242 people living in it.
After our deep fried dinner we went for a walk around the small town in particular up the the levy to look out over the sea. This town had gone through a very tragic incident on the 5 to 6 March 1883, when the fishing fleet of the twin villages died during a severe storm. 83 men and 17 ships were lost in the storm. The incident decimated entire families. The monument was erected in 1958, so long lasting was the memory of the incident. The monument also shows the names of all the ships and perished fishermen.
The statue I am standing with is called 'De Vissersvrouw - De Fiskersfrou' (The Fisherman's wife) commemorating the women who were left behind after the Moddergat disaster where many of them lost their husbands, and livelihood.
Some of the views from the levy we walked along for a little while. The photo on the bottom left shows a pathway that is popular for mud flat hiking out to nearby islands at low tide. The mud flats are UNESCO heritage listed.
Us having a look at the mudflats through the very tall telescopes ... we know the Dutch are tall ... but this is just not fair to height challenged people.
We stayed at the family run B&B Recreatie Meinsma, which had a spacious room, a place to lock up the bikes and a fabulous breakfast.
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