wednesday, 13th of august - 87 km 

no power supply today, so you have to be patient. but it was a 'grand day out' to speak with wallace and gromit! more support than ever and the belgians are super!

the day started sunny and there was not much wind. i was up early and on my way, i reached middelburg, a very nice city, just in time for breakfast. i fell into the first cafe i found. exactly the right one, with the motto 'coffee, love and art'. renee served a big meal and some extra rich apple and nut thing - i was ready for the day. 

then vlissingen, the last ferry in holland, and a sunny and partly windy ride. as i knew that this would be one of the last days, i really enjoyed it this time.

the plan was to reach oostende and take the ferry to harwich.

as my energy began to fade i found a bakery! like most of them supportive like hell, i even rejected two pieces of cake, because i thought i couldn't carry them.

next to the bakery a german with his son was just taking a brake from riding their bikes. we started to talk, and he was so enthusiastic about my project, that he gave me 15 euros - altogether 51 - rich man.

so the plan changed from staying overnight in oostende and take the ferry in the morning to go straight away to take the late ferry and rent a room in harwich with my fortune! 

my day was bright and gay and cycling went smoothly and i reached oostende pretty early at half past four. 

but! no more ferries there! they shut down the service 2 years ago! 

bummer! i had to go to dunkerque to get a ferry to britain, and that was 55 more km to go.

i thought i could at least go on for a bit and bike the rest in the morning. but i had to refuel first.

oostende has lots of pubs, but mostly drinking only. so i was very happy when i found a nice and lively looking restaurant in the outskirts. i walkedl in, told my story and they were absolutely fantastic. not only that they gave very generously, listened to the story and were cheerful, they asked me voluntarily, if i wanted to stay! of course i agreed! 

they put up a tent for me, no more kilometers to cover but a good long sleep after a very nice day!