Stuck in the mud?

The plan was to leave Bremerhaven at low tide today. That was at 12:15. So in the morning, we went to buy bread rolls and a few other necessities. And when we got back to the boat at 11:30, the tide was so low that we were stuck! Even the river Geeste had almost dried up:





That was a bit of a surprise, we did not think that the water would get THAT low. No problem, we just waited and by 1:30 we were afloat again.
Now we still needed to get some diesel. As we had not filled up since Helsingør, it was not a little bit: we took 314 litres! The filling station is - at low tide - quite a bit higher than the boat, so they hand you the hose suspended on a rope:





Once the boat's thirst had been satisfied, we left Bremerhaven and went up the Weser. Initially it was a bit busy, with ferries, tugs and pilot boats but it quieted down after a while.
Our original plan had been to go to Oldenburg, but as it was later than planned we decided to call it a day at Elsfleth. This is where the river Hunte meets the river Weser. For pleasure craft ('sportboote') there is a jetty with power points and water right on the river. When the harbour master came to collect his €12, he told us to switch the anchor light on at night. That's a first for us, but of course we complied:





A bit later, a big barge arrived to tie up behind us:





Not a bad idea to have the anchor light on to ensure you are spotted!