After picking up Jo in Harlingen, we were going to stop again Leeuwarden, but Peter decided he couldn’t face all those bridges again so we continued onto the small village of Wergea..

Now Wergea, and I’m sure nobody has heard of it, because I hadn’t, is a typical Dutch village. A canal wanders through the centre of the village, there is a marina (of course), and houses reminiscent of traditional fairy tales from your childhood. You can even spot a windmill nestled in the polders

Having done the town, twice (yes I said it was small)we moved on the next day to Grou and stayed again at our mooring along side the hotel.

Our next destination was Akkum, another stop suggested by Terry ( he had suggested Wergea). Now this is a much larger town, but as we arrived on Sunday everything was closed. We chose the first mooring as we entered the town, as it was next to a water point. With visitors onboard it is best to keep the water topped up. But anyone who has been on board or travelled with us know that I like a full water tank! The waterway was very busy, plenty to keep Peter amused while Jo and I investigated the town.

Still heading south we stopped at Sneek arriving on the 11th August. Sneek Week finished on the 8th, so we had no trouble mooring close to the Water Port for the second time this season.

Sneek Week was over, but there was plenty of traffic on the Sneek Meer, the lake that leads into the city

Another city, another day, sounds a bit like a Women’s Weekly world tour. So why were we going so quickly? We had decided that we would like to cross the IJsselmeer from Friesland to North Holland, instead of taking the inland route. This feat can only be accomplished in calm weather. The IJsselmeer is a shallow waterway, and any wind tends to kick up a very nasty sea with short steep waves. Not suitable for Joie de Vivre. We had a good weather window over the next few days, so we pressed on. Next stop Bolsward.

Bolsward, like many of the towns in Friesland was built on 3 artificial mounds, with access to the North Sea. During the Middle Ages it was an important trading town and a member of the Hanseatic league. It is also one of the 11 city skating race and has an impressive fountain to celebrate this event. But the most notable building in town, is the 17th century Stadt Huis, which today is home to the local museum ( sadly no English translations for the displays). During its life it has had various functions, as a weigh house, a police station, a midwifery hospital and as a seat of local government.

Outside the Broerekirk is the Bat fountain, that symbolises both the dark and positive forces in the world.

If you climb on the bat it is said that you conquer the dark. Well we can only hope.

Leaving Bolsward it was 43 kms, or 4 hours, across the Ijseelmeer to Den Oever, North Holland. The most challenging part of the journey was travelling through the lock at Makkum. Not only did I need to tie up in this small lock, but at the same time access an app to pay for our passage. Quite a balancing act!

Den Helder occupies the northern most tip of the North Holland peninsular. Not only is it home to the Dutch Navy but is a busy ferry boat port, with a service that links North Holland to the island of Texel. We thought that we would explore the historical city centre, but it was no more, having being destroyed in WW2. However the old naval dockyard of Willemsoord, built by Napoleon survived, and now houses the Dutch Naval Museum and of course a number of restaurants and entertainment venues.

7 cities in 7 days, quite a feat and obviously too much for Jo, as this was were she left Joie de Vivre to enjoy the delights of Paris

We stayed in Den Helder an extra day so we could visit the Naval Museum, which I can highly recommend