The three locks on the Mitteland are enormous. They have a scary filling system which throws the two narrowboats about violently. We gave up with ropes in the end and discovered the calm water in the centre of the chamber.

This speeding pair on the Mitteland caused some interesting waves for Snail to cope with.

Now back on the Mitteland and the continued 350km plus slog to the finish. There are salt mines around here and this is a shiny salt slag heap in the distance.

Err, what are you looking at??

The Weser can be shallow and a tad narrow. The rocks beckon as we are overtaken by this empty barge who just couldn't wait, time's money.

Returning on the Weser and we put in a very long day so that we do not have to stop on that oh so helpful locky's pontoon again. On the way we pass this dredger combo.

It was a beautiful river leading at the head of navigation to the medieval town of Celle, full of heavily timbered buildings.

This is a typical sloping sided lock on the delightful and little used River Aller. The lockkeeper was friendly (hooray), if surprised to see us.

On the Weser we had a small contre-temps with a locky. This delightful chap would not speak to us unless we had perfect German with which to speak to him and put the 'phone' down on us. That made it difficult to get his permission to stay overnight near his lock which, with no choice, we did anyway. Cue Wasserpolizei the next morning, moving us on. It was the plan anyway but sadly, the same locky was on duty again. He made us wait 6 hours before he would let us through.

Our circuitous route took us over the aqueduct behind us in the picture, down through the lock, around and back under it to get finally on to the River Weser. We had decided to explore the Weser and its tributary the Aller while the Elbe that would take us onwards was losing its flood waters. It had risen 9 metres, so would take a while.

Waiting for the lock to open (where those towers are) at Minden. Eventually after a long wait we were told to move to another lock that would take us in a circuitous route to where we wanted to go so off we went. We heard later that, un-beknown to us, we had had a lucky escape. Three weeks before, the Wasserpolizei had fined another 'red ensigned' pleasure boat for being over 15m. long and for being here. They would not let him move until he paid for a pilot to accompany him but more of that later.

Stereo-type alert. These 'verboten' signs are everywhere, a positive rash in Germany. We did think about investing some money in the factory that makes them all.

The nearby town of Bad Essen was chocolate box pretty though.

Pleasure boats on the Mitteland are only allowed to moor at designated places. These are often woefully short reflecting the fact that the only others we've seen have been cruisers. No-one dares to moor anywhere else, even if empty as behind us here because the Wasserpolizei will have a tantrum and move you, whatever the time of day or night.

The Mitteland Canal crosses Germany from West to East and is the main artery for the 'big stuff'. We just have to get used to it.

Leaving Munster and all the hundreds of students in this university town have decided it's too hot to study. Their bodies line both banks either sunbathing or cooling off in the water. This is a commercial canal and we watch in horror as they swim dangerously close to the swirling props of the 'big boys'. We start to count heads at Snail's bow and then stern as they do the same with us. We learn later that students are killed every year when they attempt to swim underneath the commercial barges.

The city of Munster and inviting but strangely empty moorings for a lovely summer's day in June. The array of discarded bottles and broken glass in front of every shop and cafe on the water's edge made us decide to turn around and not stop too.

A determined Skipper -  we WILL fit in the lock with Louisa.......

It's always at this point that you hope the hydraulics don't fail.

Our first stop in Germany at the town of Linge and immediately there are reminders of WW2 with this anti-aircraft observation 'point' behind the mooring. We also have a taste of the behaviour to expect from some German yoofs when stones thrown from the opposite bank find their mark on our paintwork.
That night drunks decide to have a party on our roof so we move back and cosy up to Temujin for comfort.

On the border and realise we've lost our German courtesy flag so this EU 'cover all' will have to do. Germany, here we come.

The heatwave continued and we took advantage of shade whenever we could. Here we are waiting to go through a brand new lock on a brand new canal that had just opened. We were probably the first red ensigned boats to go through and needless to say the first narrowboats too.

From the rough to the smooth, there were some expansive waterways to cross on the way out of the Netherlands to Germany.

Passed this sad sight leaving Muiden. Surprised it was allowed in this expensive and exclusive port.

In his spare time, Skipper has been busy carving a 'trade plate' for the roof of Snail. Needs must.

Through the narrow medieval canals of Utrecht. Glad we didn't meet that one on a bend.

Windmill alert! Well we are in the Netherlands. Lovely mooring here at Meerkerk.

Many of the 'big boys' on the canals here have hydraulic wheelhouses lowerable for getting under bridges or raising for seeing over the top of their cargo. This one has taken it a little further, using the extra height to see the view over the tops of the trees. Extreme wheelhousing.

It was the start of a heatwave and keeping our black and hairy terrier cool on his favourite travelling position on the roof was a challenge.

Now we've stopped for the winter, time to catch up with our wanderings last year. In lovely May weather, we met up as planned with nbTemujin in southern Belgium and began to make our way to the Netherlands.

Just had to share this lovely picture of two out of the three 'boys' in my life taken from a reed covered unofficial mooring in north Holland near Groningen.

But the good news is that at last my book, A Cigar in Belgium about our first year in mainland Europe with Snail has been published and is available from bookshops, Amazon and best of all for my royalties, from the publisher at www.troubador.co.uk

An update on Snail in 2013. By the beginning of the summer she had reached Germany and by the end she was leaving again. This is us being escorted off the Elbe by the Wasserpolizei who had decided we were 5m too long for their waterways. We are still trying to find logic in their regulations.

And this inside the tank at Strepy boat lift. Only 73 metres to go to get to the top and all this hydraulic trickery set going just for us.

I've been asked for some more pictures of the Belgian boat lifts that we used again this autumn so here's one of the Inclined Plane at Ronquieres. This is one of the two tanks being sent up the rails from the bottom of the hill to come and get us waiting at the top and take us all the way back down.

Time to return for the winter via Gent, always our favourite Belgian city. Ideas for Snail's decoration here perhaps although skipper's sharpening his carving tools ready for a busy winter ahead. Will publish the results when the blog re-commences with our travels next spring.

We've a lot planned but after displeasing the gods so thoroughly in 2011, daren't mention them out loud......

Loved this Art Nouveau building in Brussels. It had once been a department store and is now a museum with a seriously large collection of musical instruments. Sadly closed the day we were there so could only see tantalising glimpses of the still original interior through the windows.

We were still at Halle for the 31st October, an apt place to be! Thanks for the pumpkins, Lauren.

We are advised not to moor in Brussels so stop at Halle, a short train ride away. The commercials pass very close to us moored on the town quay wall but mercifully very slowly with three low bridges to negotiate. This peniche powered on the reverse when the skipper remembered at the last minute that, although they had lowered the wheelhouse, they still had their car on the back deck.



We have a few weeks before we need to moor Snail up for the winter and head south to the Belgian Ardennes. On our return we decide to try out the commercially busy canal that goes through Brussels. This takes us through one of the deepest of Belgian locks, Ittre.

                                                 

Out at Wisbech, back in at Terneuzen

                                             
Not normally where you'd find a hole in a boat. 
Repairs now all finished, thank you Fox's, ferry booked, back to where we want to be on 21st September.

Poor Snail had an univited guest arrive last week. She's had enough of England now and will be returning very soon to her Wanderings.