North of Maastricht on the Julianna Canal is the little known town of Maasbracht. The township is all about boats. There is the diesel station “Tillmanns” with the cheapest fuel in middle Europe, and the famous Linssen Shipyard. 
This Dutch company makes the most beautiful boats - definitely a kind of “Tiffanys” for men! In the showroom one can look, touch and admire a variety of designs. We took the tour through the boat building halls where every boat is made individually and to measure. From the smooth steel sheets to the 9 coats of paint and perfect carpentry of the inside, everything is quality craftsmanship.
Austin hit the ground hard when coming down from his “Linssen-high”, having then to face the prospect of cleaning and preparing the Freshwater for the winter.
Later that day, while asking around for a hairdresser I stumbled into a curtain/carpet place, where I not only found out about a haircut but also had the Freshwater measured for new curtains and carpet in a jiffy. The canvass roof guy came the next morning to discuss the new sun cover, and took decidedly more care than the hairdresser did with my head. So, with a bit of luck, after leaving the Freshwater at a nearby shipyard for a paint job, she should look almost as good as a Linssen!
After a sad good bye we left the Freshwater for the winter and headed up North to spend a weekend with my brother Thomas and my sister-in-law Vera in Ahlen. By beautiful summerly weather we enjoyed a stroll over the Saturday market and were spoiled with a delicious German BBQ on their garden terrace and lots of cuddles with their Retriever, Dusty. 
Thomas and Vera took us also to the forested hills of the Sauerland, where after an 11km walk along sunny hillsides we finished with a gourmet dinner at the "Hotel Landaus Schütte". This is a very special place for our family as it was the favourite hotel of our parents and the venue for various celebrations over the years, including their 90th Birthdays.
Our next stop was my home town, Remscheid where we had some “business" to attend to. This was very much sweetened by lovely get-togethers with Mareike and Renate & Georg, not to speak of Mareike’s home-baked cakes and fish roulades.
Now we are in Copenhagen to visit “our Mary” and delve into Austin’s Viking roots. With some photos from the capital of Denmark we’ll say good bye for this year and “see you real soon" to our Australian family and friends. We had a great time in spite of floods, the usual boat problems and lock closures. Seeing family, old and new friends, on and off the boat made these six month special for us.
Nyhavn
The Little Mermaid
Guards at Amalienborg
St. Alban Church The small boats harbour
Austin - only 1/2 the man he thought he was!
(at the Guiness-world of Records Museum with the tallest man)