There Once was an Ugly Duckling.

From Groningen to Delfzijl 20 miles. Ferry to Emden and cycle to Wilhelmshaven 49 miles.

It’s always good to get the third days riding done when you are on a trip like this. The third day usually hurts the legs the most. By the fourth day the legs have realised that they are going to get some daily work and therefore they stop complaining. The third day is also the day when I get into a routine with my packing and I know where everything is kept.

Today I passed from The Netherlands to Germany and I definitely noticed a difference.

The border was the river Ems. I got to Delfzijl in plenty of time for the ferry across to the German town of Emden.

Being as German ferry it cost money! In Holland most things with a bike were free…,not in Germany. To be fair it did take over an hour, so it wasn’t a short crossing.

Emden looked a nice place.

I also knew I was in Germany when I bought…

I didn’t have a lot of time to get to Wilhelmshafen. The route was fairly straight and mainly along a canal. It was quite eventful though.

I stumbled across a fete of some kind with a boat race going on. Also there was another town having a sports day alongside the river with running races and throwing competitions.

Most bizarrely I came upon a group of young people pulling a drinks bar on wheels which had loud euro trash music pumping out.

I spoke to some of them. All I could glean was that this was ‘Day Drinking’. They were certainly quite drunk and it was strange because they were in the middle of nowhere!

I arrived in Wilhelmshaven at 5pm and got showered and changed. I needed food and fell into the first pizzeria I came across. I then scoured the town for something nice.

Here is my only decent picture of the town.

I thought a photo of ‘Ugly Ducklings’ was apt to the town. It was ugly…but I hope it turns into a beautiful swan one day.