Of Lakes and Forests – The Beauty and Pleasure of the Sarre (31 August - 10 September)

No French TV Here

So now we are on the Sarre Canal.  The official name is the “Canal des Houillères de la Sarre” which would probably translate into English as the “Saar Coal Canal” or the “Sarre Collieries’ Canal” though there is little trace of that now.

The Port de Houillon (should this be Coalport) is well-located and well set out, though the captain, who lives aboard a big old barge, is a little grumpy.  “Hm.  I could moor four hire boats in the length you’ll take up” he mumbles under his breath as nevertheless he fully assists in mooring, and only charges the standard rate.  Mind you there is no competition for our space.  3 or 4 boats arrive later to moor, but there is still space.

After walking the dogs a few times, and eating supper, we settle down to see if we can pick up any TV.  Only four stations!  And these all turn out to be German.  Maybe they give a better signal or cover easier terrain.  Our German is not so good and we can catch only half the news stories, but enough to get the gist.  We try another channel.  Would you believe it – the Bayern Munich – Chelsea Super Cup match!

The next morning we walk the dogs early all along the dyke between the canal and lake.  It is infested with fishermen (well it is Saturday morning).  Topsy is excited by all the rods which she thinks are sticks so has to be kept on the lead much of the time.  It is a cool but lovely morning.

A German colleague on the Jan Butz from Koblenz, on his way home, is very interested in the boat.  How did you cross the “Kanal” he asks and is perhaps a little disappointed that it was on an LKW?  He advises us on places along the canal, and especially recommends that we do not miss the restaurant at Ecluse 16.

The Glorious Lakes to Mittersheim

The day’s journey is past 13 locks to Mittersheim.  All downhill now, so the going is easy.  The first lock is on a stretch 9 kms long, with the lock in the middle of it.  It is really beautiful country.  We are surrounded by lakes all the way.  And on a Saturday morning it is buzzing – but ever so gently – with fisherman, joggers, cyclists.  We really do soak this all in.

The Etang du Stock as we cruise gently among the lakes

The Other Side of Etang du Stock from the Aqueduct 

We could bore you with pictures of woodland and lakes along this beautiful stretch so we will try to restrain ourselves.

At the first lock the keeper is very jolly. He welcomes us heartily and passes over the tele-commande to zap the opening of the next 27 locks ourselves.  He provides all sorts of information about the area, including a good food guide, and tells us that if the food is good we must tell them we got their name from the VNF guide, but if it is not good we must tell him on the way back.  He makes sure we have any information we want before we leave.

The next stretch of locks (2-12) all come very close together as we descend the upper Sarre valley.  The canal is beautifully maintained, as are the locks.  They are also beautifully painted with an inviting air and colourful display that makes you feel happy to be here.  They add to the glory of the lakes and forests.

The colourful locks (here Lock 2) of the Sarre Canal 

The abundance of flora and fauna is also striking.  We are not quick enough to photograph the deer.  But these beautiful cornflowers growing even in the gravel at the side of locks add to the feeling of nature.

Cornflower in the lock gravel 

The Wonderful Village of Mittersheim - of Wood and Milk

We reach our destination for the day, the village of Mittersheim.  It has a good port but we decide it would be nicer for the dogs to be moored a little upstream where there is beautiful stretch of bank against open paths and fields.  This is just before the abandoned Canal des Salines which also carried coal, and goes off the west proving itself an interesting walk.  This turns out to be a perfect mooring.  Not only can the dogs amble freely, it is a starting point for great walks, and there is even firewood to scavenge to help replenish our dwindled stock.

Above all we are light on food.  The villages along the Marne-au-Rhin sadly all lacked shops.  That at Mittersheim was a god send.  Light and well set out.  Not only plenty of fresh bread but fresh milk as well.  The village is delightful, with only one minor negative which might have been sited a little more out of the village. But overall this was a beautiful place, and with the Etang de Mittersheim just a little outside the village another treasure for fisherman, sail boats, and all nature lovers.  There is also a very pleasant cafe alongside the port.

We also notice that the ambient language here is not so much French, though we hear that as well.  The majority amongst themselves seem to speak a form of German which we take to be the Lorraine patois.  It is slightly confusing though, and we end up with French and German words buzzing in our heads.

Moored at Mittersheim – a Very Beautiful Spot

The next morning Glyn takes the girls for a long walk along the old Salines Canal and then out into open fields and woodland (though alas the latter is mainly closed off and clearly used for shooting). 

Morning Sunset Along the Old Salines Canal

And after breakfast he starts sawing up some of the scavenged wood we have collected.  Though someone thinks this is for her, not the wood burner.

This is My Piece of Wood 

After a really enjoyable evening, good sleep and excellent morning we head further north for the next village of Harskirchen.  We are pleased we chose the out-of-town mooring as the port is now heaving and overrun with a massive “vide grenier”.  First lock in the morning and we’ve never seen so many gongoozlers, all asking questions about the boat, the dogs, where we’ve come from.  There is even a four man coxed rowing boat adding to the jollity.

The Scenery from Mittersheim is Glorious

At the second lock a kindly VNF man joins us and asks us in German if we are alright.  Fine, we say, it is very beautiful here.  Do people speak German or French?  In the villages, he says, about 90% speak the local Lorrain (German-based patois).

At the next lock yet another VNF man.  It is a lovely day and we wonder whether they are enjoying it too.   He thinks 70% speak the local patois. But he explains he is there is to look after the “bateaux aux rames”.   Then we look behind us and see the four-man coxed boat coming up behind us. Are they really taking the locks too? Oh Yes.

We suggest they might go ahead of us but the lock-keeper says they can’t take next lock until after 13h00 (it is now 11h30) as he has to be there and they can’t get there before 12h00 and he has to have his lunch.  Whereas we can let ourselves through.  So we go ahead.

As we leave the lock we discover there is not one but three boats.  We go ahead at our normal pace (about 6kms per hour) and soon discover the rowers are gaining fast on us.

Coxed Fours on the Sarre Canal 

But then they stop.  Are they taking a rest, for there is no point in them racing to the next lock?

Harskirchen or Not

We pass the Harskirchen lock.  The port is in fact outside the village and technically in the hamlet of Bissert.  The port primarily has pontoons, too short for us, but we find some excellent quay a little further along.  There is no-one at the Capitainerie which doesn’t open until 18h00. 

The rowers arrive.  They look at the lock and then when have moored up we see they have come through on their own.  We apologise if our wash was making it hard for them.  The wash wasn’t a problem they say, but the fumes were.  Ah! Yes. We sometimes get back fumes in locks and they are not pleasant. So we understand.

The whole group is from the Bad Godesberg  Rowing Club near Bonn.  A former DFG colleague used to row on the Rhein there. Anne, but we can’t recall the surname and they don’t recognise the name.  Mind you these are somewhat older rowers.

They are in fact rowing the whole length of the Canal and then the river down to Saarbrucken.  We wish them well.  We are staying here the night, while they set off for the afternoon.

After skyping Lauren and Alfie, all kitted up ready for the Arsenal-Spurs match, Glyn wanders into Harskirchen with the dogs for a walk but forgets to take the camera.  This is a beautiful village with two churches (Protestant and Catholic as had Mittersheim), some beautiful buildings, and - very French – a Boules competition with cups and trophies in the central square.  An unscientific survey of the locals tell him 13/20 are normally speaking the Lorrain while the others more standard French.

While Glyn is away a German boater who has moored up in the port comes along and asks Linda if he can borrow a “Schlüssel”.  Anyway, after some exchanges he borrows the water hose.  So when Glyn comes back she asks what is water hose in German, but he doesn’t know.  But Schlüssel is “key”.  Maybe he wanted a tap lever or a connector.  We wander down to him with all our fittings.  No he wanted the hose.  He has just bought the boat and brought it all the way from Holland down the Meuse, and doesn’t yet have a long-enough hose.  The Capitainerie has found him a fitting.  

He’s a retired mineworker from the Saar and lives in Saarbrucken.  Well, retired early he explains.  There are no coal mines in the Saarland now, and not many in the Ruhr.  We compare the situation with South Wales. Like many he sees losing the mines as no great loss in themselves, but losing the work with no other work to take its place is the tragedy.  But Saarbrucken is great, he says, well worth a visit.

We wander across to the Capitainerie to pay our mooring, but the lady Capitaine is leaving and doesn’t see us coming.  After loitering for a while we see another person who says no, the Capitaine is indeed his wife.  He gets her out of the house.  No you are not moored in the port, she says, but on private moorings.  You are in Bissert. You don’t have to pay me anything.  Can we stay there, we ask.  “Not my problem” she says literally.

We wander back to the boat when we meet another boater also on the private moorings.  She has a fantastic collection of field mushrooms, which she has collected from local meadows, mainly for the freezer.  We ask about mooring where we are. It belongs to a German colleague, she says, but he’s not around.  Surely you can stay there the night.   

Glyn finally takes the camera and at least takes a photo of the lock-keepers garden full of animals and kids.

Kids and Things in the Lock Keeper’s Garden at Harskirchen

Sarreguemines – Saarbrucken or Not?

So Monday morning and our destination today is Sarreguemines.  20 kms and 10 locks is quite a journey for us, but we are going downstream so it is easier to travel faster.  We will go more slowly coming upstream.

The area is now a mixture of rural and urban, especially as we go through the small town of Sarralbe.  But even this looks very pretty from the canal.

A Flower Bedecked Bridge Leading into Sarralbe

The Aqueduct with the River Albe Below at Sarralbe

The mixture of the journey is fascinating, with a well maintained old-fashioned lock house at Herbitzheim, and constructions old new along the way.

The Lock House at Herbitzheim

A Block House from Yester Year

                                                These Turbines Sit Gently on the Horizon

Lock Keeper with a Foot in Either River

So we arrive in Sarreguemines.  The last town in France.  We are within a kilometre of the German border.  All along the way the question has been will we press on to Saarbrucken across the border before we turn back.  Ever since Toul there has been information and discussion.  Very nice to do but there have been issues of strikes on the German side and also the German authorities not recognising the ICC (boat driving licence) for boats over 15 metres.

We moor up in the VNF marina and go to see the lock keeper.  The strikes on the German side are “imprevu” he says.  They happen a day at a time with no notice.  Ah!  Wildcat strikes!  The German authorities are threatening to close the last / first lock on their side, and the strikes are against that, as it will destroy the through traffic.  We can’t tell you until tomorrow whether you can go then or not, he says.  And of course we can’t guarantee when you can come back, though the strikes are usually no more than a day at a time.

He recommends we come back in the morning.  He also recommends we go through his lock and moor down on the river where it free, and also a supermarket very close by.  There is also the Vet further along the road, which we will need as Shady is having dry skin problems again.  He is extremely helpful.

We drop down onto the river, and moor alongside a Dutch tjalk flying the red duster. We pop up to the supermarket, really only a minute’s walk, but alas it is closed for stocktaking today.  Just our luck.

After walking the dogs we meet Nick on the Onderneming (the tjalk) who has just down the ring from Toul to Konz on the Moselle and then up the Saar.  He says he is under 15 metres (just) and he’s sticking to that as there really are problems along the way with the German authorities for British boats over 15 metres.  We should look carefully at the DBA website.  Is this just one case which is being repeated endlessly on the canal jungle telegraph, or is there is a real problem?  The DBA website doesn’t help – well it does, it says there is real problem.  We decide we won’t risk Saarbrucken this year, unless the VNF tomorrow morning tell us we really don’t need to worry.

The Passerelle (Footbridge) over the Sarre at Sarreguemines to take the dogs on lovely walks

Next morning there is a stand-in officer at the VNF as the boss is at an important meeting about the problems on the other side.  He doesn’t think there is strike today but will have to check.  For the some reason our discussion switches between French and German – we trip over Mosel and Moselle - and he is easy with both.  On the driving licence issue he thinks we should be OK, but there can’t be any guarantees, he says, especially if the German Water Police are in a bad mood because of the strikes.  

It’s very different on the other side, he says.  You’ll have to speak in German.  How do you feel about that we ask?  He’s relaxed.  I am frontiersman he says, (“du pays de la frontière”).  My grandmother was from Cologne.  Here people feel neither one nor ‘tother, but both.  It’s good that there’s no real border any more.  But on the German side they are more clearly German. He is very sympathetic to the German canal workers.  Closing the last lock would be terrible he implies, without quite saying it.

We decide it is all too complicated for this year.  We’ll have to find out about the German 25 metre qualification, as we would love to do the Moselle / Saar ring.  But now we need to do shopping and go to the Vet, and then we’ll enjoy the day in Sarreguemines. 

The Vet is very friendly.  Shady has an allergy as well as dry skin so it is both antibiotics and regular shampooing.  But her glands which have been problematic are clear.  He, like the keeper at Rechicourt, talks about the 2,500 pottery workers, all now gone.  Worse he says, some Far Eastern company has bought the right to the name, so you can still buy Sarreguemines pottery but it’s not made here, not even in France.  But he shows us a back way out of his surgery to see one of the old pottery kilns.

The Old Pottery Kiln in the Centre of Sarreguemines

We spend an excellent day in Sarreguemines which has a good array of shops, and a real post office.  We cross the river to moor in the “Club Nautique – L’Eau Reine” so that we can plug in (we haven’t since Houillon).  The guy there is standing in for the captain.  He is President of the Club, and is very welcoming and an excellent salesman.  We even consider this as a future wintering station.   He has a Breton first name and Lorrain surname.  Yep, he says, half and half like everyone else around here.  Then he laughs about the Welsh (when Glyn says not “Anglais” but “Britannique”).  Great rugby, great singing, he says, but they’re all half and half too.  So very true. All the world’s half and half now.

This is a town worth coming back to, though next time also with its twin down the river we hope.

The Marina and the Club Nautique L’Eau Reine at Sarreguemines

The Mill (and Bakers) at Sarreinsming (How Do You Pronounce That)

We will take it slowly back down (south) or up (upstream) the canal.  More importantly it is now uphill.  The locks are somewhat harder work.  The VNF official at Sarreguemines recommended a stop at Sarreinsming, just 4 kms and 4 locks.  And it’s up to you how you pronounce it, he says - Zar-ines-ming, or Sar-rance-ma! 

The Mill and Weir on the Sarre at Sarreinsming

This again is a beautiful spot.  The mooring is opposite the mill.  There are beautiful walks along the river (as well as the canal) and the smell from the bakery across the fields from this little village in the morning is absolutely delicious.  It is great for the dogs too, though they have to be alert for the occasional racing cyclist.  Nick on the tjalk is moored next to us, but he is relaxed about Topsy’s over-excitement.

And Space for Shetties along the banks of the Sarre

Sarralbe in the Park

A longer cruise the next day down to Sarralbe, where we moor in a park just outside the town.  This is beautifully laid out, and again excellent walks for the dogs in a very quiet setting.  It is also very hot now.  The afternoon temperature is reaching 31ºC.  Lazily we take a nap during the afternoon, and just observe the town from afar.

The Thin Spires of Sarralbe in the Distance from the Mooring

The Restaurant at Lock 16

Friday and we just cruise just 11 kms and the two locks at Harskirchen to a very nice mooring at Lock 16.  Lock 16 is actually near nowhere, just out on its own in a beautiful setting.  The old forestry houses have been turned into a restaurant and this has been recommended to us by various people, French, German and British.  It was closed for holidays on the way up, and this is its first night re-opened.  And though a day late we have something important to celebrate.  The meal is very good.  We give it 8.5, but the starters and pudding even higher.  We would certainly recommend this.

On the journey down we notice that just one or trees are beginning to turn for the autumn, but they are still very beautiful all along the canal.

The trees with just a hint of autumn between Harskirchen and Mittersheim

Two Old Men and Their Memories

Glyn takes the girls for walks in the afternoon.  There is beautiful woodland here as well as open rolling fields.  At the lock nearby an elderly gentleman is sitting gazing out at the scene, almost lost to the world.  He says “Bonjour” and we ask whether he is from here.  

No, I live in Saverne now he says, but I was born and brought up here, in a forester’s cottage just behind the restaurant, where my parents lived all their lives.  He retells a story of a cold winter when he was two or three and the canal was frozen over.  A family arrive on a barge, breaking the ice as they go.  There is little girl on the barge about his own age and she beckons to him.  He steps on the ice but it is a piece broken by the barge, and suddenly it tips over and he is in the canal.  The mother on the barge races to him with a boat hook and fishes him out unceremoniously.  His mother arrives and he is not allowed near the canal again.  He still misses his mum and dad, he says, which is why he comes back often, just to relive his memories.

A cyclist comes by, a little younger than our friend but still older than us.  He jumps off his bike and starts to chat in German or is it the Lorrain?  (Actually, for just a few kilometres, we are in Alsace at this point.) Our French friend switches to German or Lorrain or Alsacien and the conversation carries on in that.  Our German friend lives just 6 kms away in Germany but he is not from the area, not a Saarlander.  He is from the Pfalz.  He was a policeman. 

Our first friend talks about the history of the area, and when it was French or German.  It depends upon who won the last war, he says, and recites the times it has changed hands since Louis XIV.  He is clearly an historian, and recites some of the earlier history too. Well, it’s all settled now, says our German friend.  He recalls a meeting between Adenauer and de Gaulle when he was on duty, and how pleased he was to see the two countries together.

Equally amazing we have quite an intricate conversation between colloquial German, Lorrain and Glyn’s very poor German, but the discussion rolls very easily.  Glyn makes his goodbyes.  I have to get back to my wife, he says.  Ah! Says our old French friend.  You look after her.  I wish I still had mine to look after, and he shows her wedding ring on his little finger next to his own. 

Back to Mittersheim

The next day we head down to Mittersheim, just 8 kms.  We have been cruising gently and never plugged in so power is a little low.  At Mittersheim port it not clear how the power system works, but a well-settled French colleague advises us that the meter system is out of order.  Just find a “borne” that works if you can, he says, and plug in.  There’s no-one here to help you.  Luckily we find a power supply quite close to the boat.  Water is a different matter, and in the morning we will have to manoeuvre slowly to the one tap which is still delivering water.

We use the wonderful local shop again, and ask how we contact who is responsible for the port.   The Mairie will be shut they say, and there’s nowhere else unless you want to cycle 10 kms out to the hut on Mittersheim lake where you might find someone. Oh well, perhaps someone will come tonight, we say.  But they don’t and we get free water and electricity for the night.

The Village of Mittersheim from the Port

A Village in Burkina Faso

In the port there is wonderful exhibition about a project this village is running to provide tractors, tools, irrigation and water to a village in Burkina Faso.  It adds to our respect and fondness for this village, set in such a beautiful area.

Exhibition and Fundraising Point for the Mittersheim Project in Burkina Faso

The People in Burkina Faso for whom the Project works

Lakes and Locks in the Grey

From Mittersheim we had planned to spend a day right in the middle of the lakes.  We pass Lock 12 where the lock cottage has been lovingly restored, with fascinating metal art sculptures all over the garden.  It is wonderful entry to the lakes.

The Cottage and Garden at Lock 12

But the weather has turned now, and the day hovers between occasional sunshine and dank and grey.  The woodlands are less inviting in this weather, and though we thought it would be easy to moor here on the bank side, nothing seems quite right. 

There are also an enormous number of boats – one if not two out of every lock.  We must pass 20 or 30.  Then we twig that it is Sunday. Nearly all the boats are hire boats.  All those from Hesse can only come this way, as may many from Lagarde.  Saturday is obviously “changeover day” and they are all now on their way up the Sarre.

The Quiet and Dark of Albeschaux

We carry on until we have passed Lock 2.  Maybe the day is brightening up, but the mooring at Albeschaux is the best we’ve seen all day. Not only is the mooring good, but it gives a good area around, no-one else in sight except the occasional fisherman.  We settle down for the evening.   Before dark the fishermen move off, and we are left in this rural paradise on our own.  When we take the girls for a late night walk there is no light at all except for our torches, and a faint glimmer from the cabin.

In the morning there are beautiful walks, and again Glyn scavenges for some more thrown away fire wood.

View from the Mooring at Albeschaux

Leaving the Woodlands on the Canal de la Sarre

A Long Day to Hesse

We are not sure what we are going to do today.  We have some time in hand so first after completing the Canal de la Sarre we will turn eastwards towards Strasbourg as far as Hesse.  We can at least recce this areas for future reference.

First we have 11 kms of the Sarre today.  There are still quite a few hire boats making their entry to the canal.  .  After a couple of hours we reach the junction, and will have a look at Gondrexange, Heming, Hertzing, Xouaxange and Hesse itself.

The moorings at Gondrexange look reasonable, but they are high and bleak.  The village has reputedly a reasonable shop.  These are not ideal but perfectly possible.

Heming is maybe a kilometre off the canal, and is very small.  There are some possible places to moor nearby but no fixed moorings.  On a lovely summer day this might be ideal.

Hertzing’s frontage is dominated by a huge cement works.  We are not sure where the moorings are, if any, but the cement works are very off-putting, and when a lorry kicks up sand grit which floats across the canal and gets into our eyes and mouths we think maybe there is somewhere better.

At Xouaxange the mooring is high and looks unstable.  Worse there is no quay, and we are too low to keep ourselves from going under the pontoon, or worse gashing the boat on the supporting metal struts.

Hesse is a big port, with maybe 40 hire boats moored there – Le Boat, Locaboat and Navig France.  Maybe they’ve been trapped here when the Arzvillier Boat Lift went out of action, or moved here (though less likely) when the through traffic came to a halt.  But there is nowhere for us to moor and plug in.  We find a reasonable quay for a lunch time stop, and then decide it was a very useful recce.  This is primarily an area of passage (or have we been spoilt by the Canal de la Sarre).  The weather is not the best, and it is quite windy, a cold wind. 

  

Leaving the Border Country at Rechicourt

So we decide to head for Rechicourt – it’s only 18 kms away and no locks.  Rechicourt and its deep lock is for us symbolically the border of the border country.  We twice try to ring Rechicourt to signal that we are coming, but no response to the telephone.

We arrive just before 4pm, with now another boat just behind us.  The lock keeper is there.  The lock is beginning to fill he says, it will take half an hour.  And he wanders off to work on his garden.  Now we know why we couldn’t get him on the telephone.  But it’s more sensible perhaps than sitting twiddling your thumbs in the lock house.

The German boat behind us is the Albatros.   He hasn’t understood what the lock keeper has said, so we explain.  We also joke that we are not sure we wanted to be followed by an Albatross.  But the “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” it appears has no recognition in German folklore.

We have to wait half an hour and the weather is not too bad, so we make a cup of tea and sit outside chatting to Wernher and his partner.  Our German is faulty but it is adequate and he has a few words of English. They are from Koblenz, though his father’s family are from the east, far east, Ost Preussen he explains.  He has a Rhein Patent (permit to cruise on the Rhein) he says, but to get it you must have at least three training trips on the Rhine, and then a test.  When we tell him of the narrow boat trapped in Strasbourg when the Arzvillier Boat Lift closed, who had to hire a Rhine Pilot to get him back to Trier / Konz which cost 600 Euros, he thinks that more than bit steep.

Then we ask what is water hose in German?  This leads to great fun.  “Wasserpfeife” clearly has a completely different meaning in German.  We explain a Pfeife to take water from the tap into the boat, he and his partner say. Ah! A “Schlau”.  Now was it a Schlüssel or a Schlau our friend on the Liesl asked for back in Harskirchen / Bissert? 

And so together we descend the Rechicourt lock, dare we say it, into France proper. 

The Old Route Past Rechicourt down the Five Locks which the Deep Lock has replaced – No Way Through Now

Rechicourt Deep Lock Ahead – Return from the Border Country

Next Post:  Friends and Fresh Rain – The Return to Toul

En Passant sur la Mosellē (18 - 30 August)

The Journey Down

Finally in mid August we head back to the boat.  This was to be our trip to Strasbourg but the Arzvillier Elevator (Plan Incliné) is still out of order, at least until next year, so we will head instead for Saarbrucken.  The trip down to Toul goes well, with a lovely stop at the Chateau de Liessies near the Belgian border north east of Cambrai and Charleville. Our route then brings us down through Verdun and again the WW1 battle fields.  The Monument to Peace at Verdun is impressive, and for the first time we see a German soldiers’ cemetery.  You don’t usually see these, and we have often wondered what happened too to their masses of slaughtered youth.

Caught Up in Toul

We arrive in Toul in very good time, and after unpacking we start re-installing our repaired stern pram cover.  The manufacturers were wary of a repair where they could not visit the boat. We have a number of aspects to do ourselves, but all in all it all fits well, and we are impressed by them (Wilsons of Kinver) as by ourselves. 

Agh!  Then one very small hitch.  The holding straps, for keeping the front flap up so that we can see out when it is raining, aren’t there.  All in all this is a very minor issue and can easily be put right, but it is like having a car without windscreen wipers.

Oops – We’re Missing Some Straps - see below

They Should be Like This

We contact Wilsons first thing Tuesday morning.  They are very apologetic and have put the parts in the post straightaway that morning.  We might get them by Thursday or possibly Friday.

We have some other jobs to do so focus on them.  We’ve had some water ingress in the rear bilge while we were away.  Most of this is rain water off the tarpaulin which had stood in for the stern cover, as we took it off.  A messy couple of hours to clean it all up, but not a major problem.  However we still seem to have more water than we had thought.  With Duncan who runs the boatyard we have a very good look all round, and identify that one of the seals on the hot water tank has perished.  So most of Tuesday is taken fixing all that, but at least we feel we really have achieved something, and seem finally to have cracked the ingress problem.

Although they get their walks this is not though the best day for the dogs.  But they are very good and patient.

Waiting Patiently

Wednesday passes with a T-Cut clean and wax polish of one of the sides to aim to restore some of the faded paintwork.  It works quite well but may need a second run.  And of course there’s the other side to do.  We also inspect for all rust spots following the water ingress problems and treat as many of these as possible, ready for re-painting, which takes up a fair slice of Thursday too.

The weather is good, sunny and warm, so we are reasonably enjoying the sojourn, and having plenty of snoozes in between, as well as British workmen’s tea and coffee.  But the routine is beautifully interrupted on Thursday when a Dragon Boat of youngsters descends to the Moselle – just a 100 metres to our right – in all their glory.

Meanwhile A Dragon Boat Goes By

The straps don’t arrive, so Friday we mix work with rather more walks for the dogs and a bit more tourism for ourselves.  We haven’t really looked around Toul so we give that a good priority, buy some wine (the local Toul wine is very good), and fix an appointment with the vet for the return journey in September.  We also take a drive out to the woodland at Lucey and walk the dogs there. Another day gone.  Where did it go?

Fountains (in the Centre of Toul) can even make Credit Agricole look Great

The Junction of the Marne-au-Rhin at Toul with the Gabarit Canal parallel to the Moselle Just Behind the Boatyard

Glyn’s sister Mary rings.  She is staying in Langres with Eliane whom we visited on the last trip, and we arrange a visit the next day, and book a nice restaurant overlooking the Moselle. The weather is still beautiful so it should be very good.  They say the food is good too!!

Alas Saturday and the weather turns.  It is pouring with rain and even worse at Langres.  We cancel lunch and apologise to the restauranteur, but promise we will come another time.  A cold morning where we just hunker down and do some inside jobs.    But great news.  The straps arrive.  By the afternoon the weather improving a bit, and we are under cover as well as, so we can fix them, and be ready to cruise as on as we feel fit.

Finally the Moselle

Sunday morning the weather is a bit better but still grey and damp.  We debate to move or not, but the meteo says it may not improve further until Wednesday, so we decide to go for it.  We contact the lock-keeper and take the lock right next to us down on to the Moselle at 10h00.  We gently ease up the throttle, but there is only one other boat (the Libertas) on the water, so we can cruise up a bit.

Full Cruising on the Moselle

At the first lock we let the Libertas go ahead of us.  They are a nice Dutch couple going down the Moselle to the Rhine.  But in fact we realise they won’t be allowed through the next two locks without us, and their getting there early will make it quicker for us.

Our First Moselle Lock – at Fontenoy-sur-Moselle

The early morning dampness starts to turn to drizzle, and by the time we pass the second lock at Angeray it is between drizzle and steady rain.   By now a third boat – the French-crewed Yvonne – has joined us and we let them ahead too, though they are travelling at about the same speed as us.  We pass Liverdun looking sad under the drizzle.  We will stop here on the way back, and hope the weather will be better.

We compose a little ditty:

En passant sur la Mosellē

Sous la bruine de la Lorrainē

Avec mes sabots.

Well, it’s not Baudelaire and not even original, but what the heck.  It’s also certainly too cold for clogs, and we are both wearing somewhat warmer footwear.

Liverdun and the Yvonne under the Drizzle

After Liverdun we pass the third lock on the Moselle at Pompey.  The Libertas turns north towards Trier and Koblenz, while we and the Yvonne turn east towards Nancy, the Saar, and if it were possible Strasbourg.  We are last in the line but we properly give a long-short hoot to indicate we are turning to starboard.  The Yvonne looks round to us, clearly wondering what these idiots are trying to say!

The lock off the river is only 3m deep but has nowhere to get ashore to fix ropes.  The Yvonne skipper climbs the lock ladder (always a tricky business) to fix his, and we scream “Pardonnez-nous, les nôtres aussi!”  He turns with a big smile, and fixes our ropes for us.

The next lock is 6m with climbing crochets or hooks to fix on at different levels as you go up.  They are not easy.  But we laugh together as fight the lock wall.

No more locks to Nancy.  Just 9 kms of easy cruising.  We gently follow the Yvonne all the way.  The weather is improving, dry, and even a bit sunny and warm now.  We carefully examine the mooring options for the return journey.

Nancy by Sound and Illumination

We have booked for the night in the main St Georges port at Nancy.  We do not like mooring in big cities, both for the dogs and because it usually costs a ton.  But we want to see the illuminations so we have made an exception.  When we arrive the Yvonne pulls into a pontoon mooring, but there is nothing for our length.  Linda goes ashore to the Capitainerie.  Yes he’s expecting us, yes it’s OK, no he has nothing our length, but we can double moor against “René” just outside the Capitainerie itself.  “René is not there but he’s a nice guy. He won’t mind.  What about the dogs going across his boat?  No he won’t mind that.”  This is a pleasant spot and it has a nice “alternative society” ambiance.  So for €25 we take our double mooring.

Double Moored at Nancy

We moor up, sort ourselves out and take the dogs for walk.  For a big city centre we have to say this is not bad for dog walking.  We get back at 18h00 French time (17h00 UK) and while Linda starts to think about supper Glyn heads for the Cardiff City iPlayer to see how the Bluebirds are faring against Man City.  (Even here priorities are priorities!)  Before he gets it all up his nephew Jon texts to say great first half 0-0.  But when it is all up and six minutes later it is 1-0 Man City.  The game goes well though.  A brilliant equaliser and then two slightly scrappy corner goals for a 3-1 lead.  Added time is 6 minutes and scary, and Man City pull one back, but the Bluebirds hold on for a great first victory in the Premier League.

At the end of that Linda has supper ready. René is now on board his boat and we briefly introduce ourselves and have a chat.  He’s from Madagascar, and is eating and shooting the breeze with a mate – what good luck, it’s our friend from the Yvonne, so we are all relaxed together.  René’s even taken a shine to Topsy, though she is not behaving her best.  He obviously likes rebels who show a bit of spirit.

Then another walk with the dogs, and at 21h00 we head for Stanislas Square for the Son-et Lumière.  René says it is only 10 minutes but between us and the usual discussions about port and starboard we manage it in 30.  But we are in good time, even to have a beer before the start.

Preparing for the Son-et-Lumière in Stanislas Square

The show takes up the whole of Stanislas Square, the Hotel de Ville, the Opera House, and all the surrounding buildings.  For 30 minutes it is really impressive, though we don’t quite get all the historical allusions, and sadly our flash can’t show how they transform the buildings to different historical periods with the light show.  This was really worth seeing.  And, as René said, “gratuit” as well.

Sadly Our Flash Doesn’t Show the Fantastic Illuminations

We slowly wander back to the port, but even slowly this time it only takes 15 minutes.  And that includes finding this quaint old bank branch which we feel we have to photo.

A Quaint Credit Agricole on the Way Home

Well, what a day.  It’s gone midnight when our heads hit the pillows, but sleep comes very easily.

Heading East Along the Meurthe

Monday morning and we are off at 8h30.  It is surprising how quickly the canal is out of the urban industrial landscape and into the countryside.  The next town we pass is St-Nicolas-de-Port.  Its twin towers dominate the skyline, though getting a clean picture avoiding the overhead lines off the railway running alongside the canal is a challenge.

The Twin Towers at St-Nicolas-de-Port

Our first planned stop for lunch is just a little further at Dombasle-sur-Meurthe.  It is now raining again, and although the “port” has a good inlet and many spaces it looks and seems rough.  There should be a supermarket nearby, but given the ambiance and the weather we stay put, and then cruise on to our overnight stop.

This is at Crevic.  It is a pastoral place, with a hotel boat already moored up there, but not intrusively.   It is easy for the girls as they can run about as they please.  In the evening the weather is better.  We really enjoy our stay here.

A Great Way to Laze at Crevic – But Don’t Fall In

Tuesday will be a light day, just 7 kms and 2 locks to Einville-sur-Jard.  This appeared from the guides to be a small town.  The moorings were good, though the plug-in arrangements were too complicated to be worthwhile (find somewhere to get tokens, then you only get 4 hours, not needed when our batteries are already well charged). The town was pleasant enough but the shopping was very basic.  And the post office, even though we found it on one of its days open, didn’t sell nor could it make up worldwide stamps.  This was pleasant, but should we have shopped at Dombasle?

A Tree House for Drying Your Wood

Well, Lagarde, our next stop, should be a bigger town.  First we cross the border from the Meurthe-et Moselle department into the Moselle.  We have also now caught up with the history we did not know.  It was here at Lagarde that the border was between France and Germany 1872-1914, when Alsace and the Moselle department were part of Germany.  And you feel here you are in real border country, with French and German names pleasantly inter-mixed.  No-one seems to agree how to pronounce “Einville”, but in these days everyone is relaxed.  It is not an issue.

No Flies on Us

Alas Lagarde is not a bigger town.  It has even less.  The port is well managed by Navig France, who also hire boats, and they are building up a little shop, but there is nothing else.  We are going to struggle to get shopping before Sarreguemines (next Monday) but the port organised bread for us and we could get some UHT milk.  Why do we have the same reaction to UHT milk that the French have to sliced bread!? 

What also hit us here was the number of flies, including horse flies and hornets.  Glyn got a nasty sting while we were mooring up for a cup of coffee and tea with a friendly couple from Norwich (though Midlanders originally and – agh – Villa fans), and Linda got one later.  We both take anti-histamines as a precaution when on the canals, so this helped absorb the shock.  But the flies were bad here.  It might not have been helped by a small and slightly cramped stables right next to our mooring. 

The mooring fee was €16 – OK once in a while, but not cheap, but we did need a fill of water.

 Horses Next to the Mooring at Lagarde – and Horse Flies Come with Them

A short day on Thursday again just 7 kms and 3 locks down to Port Sainte Marie.  We were thought this would be rural like Crevic, but it was quite well developed and very pleasant.  We settled in and then noticed that the mooring fee was €18 whether you wanted water and electricity or not.  We needed neither, and were beginning to think that this canal is rather expensive, though we moored free (without facilities) at Crevic and Einville.  We walked the dogs and find easy moorings on the opposite bank with a bollard and using one mooring pin, at a significant saving.  Glyn cycled into the nearby village of Moussey, but no shops or bakery there either.  We were beginning to wonder whether we’d find any shops before Sarreguemines. We should have planned for this.  Though we have enough stores to survive.

 A beautiful Willow at Port Sainte-Marie – But We Moored on the Opposite Bank

Port Sainte-Marie from the Opposite Bank

The Rechicourt Lock

One last section then before we reached the Canal de la Sarre or la Houillère and then down to the canalised river Sarre (Saar).  Just 6kms and 3 locks before the deep lock at Rechicourt, at 15.4m or just over 50 foot water drop/rise this is the deepest lock on the French canals.  After that there is only 7 kms lock-free cruising.  The weather was nice again, sunny and warm, and the countryside looked great.

Approaching Rechicourt – the Deepest Canal Lock in France

Inside the Lock

We had an easy run up to Rechicourt and had only a 10 minute wait before we could enter the lock.  Filling and emptying takes 30 minutes, so you can wait up to an hour.   Our rise was very smooth indeed.  At the top the lock-keeper took our details and tele-commande, and we asked about access across the German border from Sarreguemines to Saarbrucken.  We said we would like to do this, but had heard there were problems with the water police.  No problems with the police, he says, but they may be some German canal workers on strike.  German workers on strike, we laughed, surely not, only French and British workers do that!  We reflected on the decline of industry in Britain and France, relative costs of living, and he mused that some of the lower paid in Germany were as poorly off as any in Britain and France.  He hoped we’d be OK getting to (and back from) Saarbrucken, and said we might meet up on the way back.

Junction with the Sarre (Saar)

So this section is almost at an end.  The countryside now is very beautiful, with lakes and woodland all around, cyclists and fishermen in abundance enjoying the rural paradise.  We reach the junction of the Marne-au-Rhin and the Houillère / Sarre, and rue that alas we cannot get through to Strasbourg this way.  But Saarbrucken and Sarreguemines will partly make up.

Sadly Strasbourg Cut Off So It has To Be the Sarre

Will there be a shop at Houillon, our next stop before making our way down to the Saar?  A signpost says there is.  But when we get there the harbour master says alas no, it is at Gondrexange some 5 kms away.  You can do it by bike.  We think about it.  No, we have enough supplies to reach Sarreguemines if pushed, and hopefully there will be something at Mittersheim tomorrow. 

No bread and fishes here.  Plenty of fishermen though, on the banks and out on the lake.  But it’s too warm, they say.  Nothing to oxygenate the water. 

Fishing on the Lake at Gondrexange – But Too Warm for Much Luck

So Goodbye for now to the Marne and Moselle. 

Next Episode:  Of Lakes and Forests – The Beauty and Pleasure of the Sarre