We've been in Nordeney since Wednesday and we're aiming to leave tomorrow. We've been delayed whilst we waited for the right tides to get down the Elbe to Cuxhaven without having to get up at stupid o'clock. We will still have to get up at 5am tomorrow but at least its slightly less stupid o'clock than 2am! The weather has also turned a bit the last few days with night time thunderstorms and stronger winds. When we arrived it was 22C - lovely! The winds are forecast to ease a bit for tomorrow so fingers crossed it stays that way.

Once we're in Cuxhaven its only a couple of hours to the Kiel Canal which we'll take maybe 3 days to pootle along and then we're in the Baltic!

Nordeney has a fairly large town with lots of hotels, cafes, bars and shops and soft sandy beaches. There were far more people here than in Vlieland but still not too crowded despite it being a holiday weekend. Bikes are welcomed and can go pretty much anywhere and there are good bike paths into the sand dunes towards the east of the island. It also seems to be the home for new navigation buoys as you can see in the picture.

We had a cycle around the island and then looked around the town ending with a sit down in front of a band playing in their outdoor bandstand. They've got a German band playing Irish music on tonight and are showing 'Brassed Off' next week at the cinema!

The harbour master here is very helpful and friendly and for the first time we have reasonably priced internet. However, its unlikely we'll have any internet again until we're through into the Baltic.

We're listening to 'Riddle of the Sands' at the mo, its quite good knowing the places that it is set in.