Well, we picked some good weather to paint the decks on Matilda. A few days after we finished the rains started and for a few weeks things were quite wet. The whole of Europe seemed to be in the grip of Atlantic low pressure cells. Good for the garden, I suppose. All the better for French food.
There were jobs to be done on Matilda to get her up to the standards required for these vessels these days. We had to fit some additional instrumentation and get our Blue Board operational. All this meant more “spaghetti” under the control panel.
Pam and Geoff were joining us in late April for a few weeks so we had to be ready to go. When they arrived we showed them the high points of Nancy which is becoming one of our favourite French towns.
They settled in quickly and we headed east on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin in the direction of Strasbourg.
This canal has a number of interesting structures. The first we encountered was Ecluse #2 – Rechicourt at the beginning of the summit pound. It is 15.7 metres deep and needs 3,800 cubic metres of water to fill it. Any Australian farmer would like a dam with this much water in the corner of each paddock. It only works once an hour for this reason as the authorities are always conscious of water usage. It was built to replace 5 locks in the 1950’s
A little further on and we arrived at two tunnels. Really one tunnel but with a gap in the middle. This gap is shared with a railway line which dives into a tunnel alongside us. The combined length of the canal tunnels is nearly 2.8 kilometres
Shortly after leaving the second tunnel we arrived at the greatest structure on the French canals, - The Arzviller inclined plane caisson. This device can take a Freycinet sized barge in what could be described as an extended bathtub which slides sideways down an inclined ramp for a vertical distance of about 40 metres – replacing 17 old locks. AND – Uses virtually no water as the same amount goes up and down with the tub. Counterbalances mean that very little power is needed to run it. A much more successful design than Ecluse #2 Rechicourt.
There was a Freighter waiting to use the lift as we departed.
We continued on to Lutzelbourg where we stopped for a day and toured the town before turning around and heading back to Nancy. One interesting stop was the town of Hesse. Told by a fellow barger that there was nothing worth stopping for but we found on the way out that the whole town was involved in a flea market. Marg purchased a shade that now adorns one of our oil lamps. On our return trip we stopped to see if we could replenish some supplies. We could only find a boulangerie/patisserie that was full of beautiful things. Marg purchased some bread and asked the baker where in the town we could buy some wine. He disappeared out the back and returned with a half a dozen good reds. We were happy! The shop was doing great business. We found that Hesse has some character.
We wandered in the town and found an old church that has had a remake or two in its life. Now very worse for wear. Then back to Nancy for a few more days sightseeing before Pam and Geoff left us. They were off to England for a few days then a cruise on a liner into the fjords of Norway. The day before they left Bill and Rhos arrived to join us in our next adventure.
There will be more to tell then, so.
Keep in touch.
