Austin was warned by our friend Georg, that the inhabitants of Dokkum are “famous for killing native brits”. Indeed, the lovely locals murdered British monk Saint Bonifatius and 52 of his followers! It was a long time ago, but you’ll never know! So we made a quick get-away and headed further north.

Just like a duck in a bathtub, Lodi handled the strong Northwind and choppy waters of the Lauwersmeer unperturbed. 

The Lauwersmeer was closed off from the sea in 1969 and is now a beautiful nature reserve. Dense rows of reeds border the large “meer" and ducks, swans, oyster catchers and cormorants inhabit the National Park in large numbers. The old, Frisian skûtjses with their large sails fit right into the picture and are always a beautiful sight. 

Leaving the Lauwersmeer we could hardly believe our eyes: there was actually a lock, only our second lock on this trip! We were very keen to use our skills of 

controlling boat and ropes in the turbulence of a filling or emptying lock. Alas! The lock was a real fizzle with a mere rise of 20cm. Right after the lock layed the nice and on this Sunday busy harbour of Zoutkamp, a typical Dutch fishing village. Front yards were scattered with ankers, fishing baskets and nets, remnants of times past. On the dyke we found a touching memorial for 9 local fishermen who died in rough sees. One of them was only 17 years old.

Most boats in the harbour were sporting Groningen flags and we were quickly made aware that we had crossed into the province of Groningen. Just mentioning ‘Friesland' raised eyebrows with the locals! We hastened to swap our pretty Friesland flag at the bow with a “neutral” Dutch one. 

We got even stronger reactions once we entered the city of Groningen, where we were told:” We don’t use the “F-word here!”. A bit of rivalry you think? You bet!

A leisurely cruise along the winding “Reitdiep” brought us to the city. Passing through more than 11 bridges, it took almost as long again to circle the city and get to the Eastern harbour (Oosterhaven).

Three striking church towers are visible from the water. One of them is the spire of the St. Martins Church. The 97m tower was in danger of collapsing several times, but it managed to endure fires, lightning and storms. Being the highest of the city one can climb up for the view, but we took the chickens way out and opted for the free and easy ascend to the top of the Forum. This 5 year old cultural centre is an inspired, modern and playful construction of open spaces for work, creativity, education and leisure. We spent more than two hours there. As you ascend on one of the multiple escalators you get to three levels of library, the first being a fantastic childrens library. Lengths of computer stations follow, seating arrangments for work and research, aswell as armchairs fitted with virtual reality headsets and café/bars with a great view over the city.

The view gets even better as you escalate up to the media floor with a 3D printing laboratory, a green screen and museums spaces. Until you pass the cinemas and reach the open roof top with a birdseye view over Groningen.

The only fly in the ointment was the current “Trump Exhibition”, a collection of photographs and paraphenalia of the diverse stages of Donald Trump’s life. Even though we were assured that the exhibition is totally neutral, we couldn’t help wondering, whether it would feed the Trump cult. The gift shop at the entrance of the museum with all things Trump and American reinforced our impression. Maybe the fact, that on the next level was an exhibition of cartoon characters gave it an ironic touch.

Our way from the harbour to the centre leads through a small street with three “special” coffee shops. While passing, you have the choice of holding your breath or inhaling deeply for a free “high”. One had also the option to window shop at two sex toy shops, for pure educational purposes, of course!

Over two days, we did the full tourist walk. Only once we had to take cover from a sudden downpour and quickly make our way through "a few” parked bicycles into  the old, beautiful university building. We strolled through the court yard of Groningens oldest alms house from 13th century and  through the beautiful Prinsentuin (Prince garden). We also joined some locals at a vending machine in purchasing an “Eierbal", a speciality of Groningen! It’s basically the Dutch version of a Scotch egg and tasts astonishingly delicious!

A highlight was the modern building of the Groningen Museum, which is practically sitting on a platform in the canal and is accessable via a footbridge. Strangely an incontinent polar bear catches everyones immediate attention.

The museum features a variety of modern and traditional art and art history. One room is dedicated to the journey of one of Vincent van Goghs early paintings "The Spring Garden" which went through many hands, was stolen and damaged, until it was rediscovered and restored after Van Goghs death. 

On another note: food shopping in the Netherlands is always exciting. There are so many diverse delicacies, not all of them healthy, but often very tempting. We love Asian food, which used to be quite scarce in French supermarkets, but not here! Preparing a curry, the other night, I looked at the instructions on the curry paste via google translate.

It came back with the following translation: "add the fish in pieces to the pan, then feed the vegetables to the fish and simmer until they have grown”. I guess, that enforces my scepticism towards AI.

We have still three seasons in a day and night temperatures slipped again to single figures. The locals remain positive and assure us, that summer is on its way.  Fingers crossed! In the meantime, we are holding onto our jumpers.

(Avant-garde not fitting in a draw)