Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Never too much Champagne



We left Langres after a stay of four days. We needed a set of vee belts to drive the alternator on Matilda’s main engine to keep our batteries charged. The ones we fitted in St Jean de Losne were just the wrong size and were slipping badly. Having no luck to get the right size, Peter had to modify the alternator mountings to get the old ones to work.






For those who are interested in the machinery on Matilda, her main engine is a six cylinder Henschel diesel. With a capacity of eleven litres it idles at 700 rpm and develops 150 kw (200 HP) at a speed of 2200 revs per minute. They were used in trucks and motors for diesel powered rail cars. The original generator (Bosch) developed 25 amps at 24 volts. We have replaced this with one that generates 80 amps. The motor was made about 1955 and was fitted in a rebuild done to the boat about that time. It is not too thirsty and our recent cruise from Paris to Nancy gave us the following figures: 299 kilometres travelled in 61.3 hours using 215 litres of diesel. That is 3.49 litres an hour or .71 litres per kilometre. Not bad when pushing over 80 tonnes at an average speed (while moving) of about 7 kilometres per hour.

Henschel manufactured steam engines in the early 20th century and exported them throughout the world. During the first and second world wars they made all types of weapons including the Panther and Tiger tanks as well as many different aircraft.This included the V1 and V2 and other rocket powered weapons. The company’s factories were the most bombed targets in the second world war. Unfortunately, today the company hardly exists with its various sections sold off to the likes of ABB, Mercedes and Bombardier.

Now, having wiped our oily hands, let's get off down the Champagne and Burgundy canal. We were now in a very old section of the canal which has been known until recently as the Marne a la Saone canal. This section from Vieville to Vitry le Francois was built around 1860 and as it serves mining and industrial areas has seen a lot of use.









Even now, the canal has a lot of commercial activity meaning it is kept in relatively good order




We passed this spot where the VNF were dredging the canal. Three full sized barges and two dredges working within 100 metres made for some interesting navigation as we worked around them. The dredges are anchored to the bottom but the barges collecting the mud moved for us.

We passed a French airforce airstrip and were fascinated by the jets taking off and landing. All very noisy but exiting to watch.







Peter watched this twin engine delta wing fighter bomber doing touch-and-go circuits at the rate of one every three minutes. It did six and we still hadn’t gone the length of the strip!

We were now off to Paris as we had some visitors joining us. Marg’s brother Peter – rapidly being known as the Serial Visitor was joining us for the fourth time. Also we were being visited by Marg’s cousin, Robert who, with a friend, Rod were visiting France to take in some wine and food tasting through the Champagne and Burgundy regions. All three would be with us through the Champagne regions along the Marne River.


We picked them up from Paris at Austerlitz, mooring Matilda in the Seine just outside the railway station. Peter arrived by taxi while Rob and Rod came by Metro from Charles de Gaulle airport.






We entertained a French couple to dinner, They were old friends of Peter M’s who lived close to the route we were taking out of Paris. Danielle and Joël were a charming couple who had many stories to tell of their experiences throughout the world.



Soon we were in Champagne country and the hills were alive with the sounds grape pickers. The harvest was starting and there were itinerant workers everywhere doing their bit for the French economy







The group on Matilda weren’t doing too badly either.







We visited a number of champagne houses along the Marne and found the smaller houses in the villages and towns most welcoming. The large houses such as Mumm and Tattinger in Reims and Castellane and Moet in Epernay are very tourist driven. We found small producers in towns like Dameray and Conde sur Marne promoted their excellent products in a far more personal way.  



Every spare patch of suitable ground is under vines.



The river is used to irrigate the vines in dry weather. This bank of pumps had over 20 diesel powered pumps to deliver water all over the hillside.

Robert and Rod left us in Epernay to continue their travels with the exploration of red wines in the Burgundy region. They were off to Beaune by train. Peter M was still with us as we pressed on toward Nancy.

There will be more to tell, so we will keep in touch

Friday, October 11, 2013

Another town on a hill



There has always been a settlement in the top of the hill at Langres. The Gauls had a village here over two thousand years ago. The Romans called the town Andematunnum and it became the meeting point of twelve of their major roads. When they left it became Lingones and now Langres. Again, during the middle ages the town became important due to the power of the bishops and the church. Their area of influence included Champagne, the Duchy of Burgundy and Franche-Comte.

That is enough of the history lesson, it means that the town has some very grand buildings, some remarkable fortifications and in all, a good place to visit and take in the sights.



The whole town is ringed with a wall at the top of the hill. It gives great views of the surrounding countryside.




This is the Romans Eastern Gate. The arches have subsequently been filled in as the structure became part of the town’s walls in later times. The classic roman detail still remains adorning the arches.

The hill had a commanding view over a large area of surrounding countryside – the reason for its importance as a fortified town.


The view to the east



The view to the south. The tram type car is actually a rack railway that for over 100 years climbed the hill from the railway station down by the canal. The system was steam powered until the 1960’s when this electric car was introduced. It closed shortly after.



The view to the west. The lake and three others in the valleys surrounding the town – all man made, provide water for homes in the area as well as supplying the canal.



The view to the north must have more to offer!



This gate at the town’s northern entrance is only one of six major entrances through the walls to the town.







Others still show their structure and machinery designed to close gates, draw bridges and generally secure the town if under attack.  


Langres has a famous son whose statue stands proudly in the centre of town. Denis Diderot, was born in Langres in 1713 and was prominent as a philosopher, art critic and writer but is best known as the co-founder of the first encyclopaedia.




There was an art exhibition in the town with exhibits everywhere and amongst the displays we found this chap – named Pierre – with his sculpture that somehow looks strangely familiar!

We had to move on as we have to get to Paris. We are meeting friends soon and can’t be late. There will be more to tell so, we will keep in touch.     

Thursday, October 3, 2013

The Champagne Canal


We settled into St Jean de Losne and those who know the moorings here will realise that we had moored on the steps outside the Café du National in an area that specifies mooring for boats up to fifteen metres long and for a maximum of three days. Everyone knows Matilda is 25 metres in length and we were there for about 21 nights. In France there are some rules that are just made to be broken!




The above picture of Matilda shows her new coach house cover replacing the old blue tarp of the past few years.

While we were moored here we saw some interesting sights. We were surprised by the strange array of floating things that people go on the water with.








Who would call this comfortable boating.




These two lads are canoeing through Europe to Turkey. Check out their exploits on:

This fellow moored his boat behind us.




Locals and those musically knowledgeable might say “That is Johnny Halliday the French rock star from the ‘60s". They would nearly be right, He is an impersonator and does quite well with his talent.

Mid August we departed and set out for Paris. We were taking a route we have not traveled before, we were taking the Canal de la Marne a la Saone (now known as The Champagne to Burgundy canal) north west to the Marne river and then into Paris. It connects the Saone River at Heuilley sur Saone to the Canal Lateral a la Marne at Vitry le Francois.

This canal is 224 km long with 114 ecluses as well as several swing and lift bridges. Construction was started in 1862  from Vitry le Francois and construction slowly progressed to Condes and Chaumont. The decision to extend was made about 1890 and it reached the Saone in 1907. It provides a third route from Paris to the Saone River and the Mediterranean but has never been a real commercial success. The southern section traverses some very attractive country but does not pass through any large towns. It is difficult to find supply points for food and fuel but we traveled its length (and the 4.8 km tunnel at its summit) without any problems.









Rolling farmland is very productive along the canal.






At one point we passed this large netted area ( about 1 km in length) – much like a chook run, and found it to be full of what we believed to be pheasants. There were hundreds of them.



This beautiful viaduct, built when the railway crossed the canal in 1886 has seven arches and is 295 metres long. The railway of course spelt the reduction of commercial traffic on the canal.





Commercials still use the canal though, and this one went past us on a narrow bend. It was fully loaded and we had to squeeze past.  At this point we struck the soft muddy bottom. The color of the water indicates the depth of the canal.









We were reaching the summit of the canal and with it the Balesmes tunnel. At 4820 metres long it takes about 2 hours to traverse at a crawl. We don’t like tunnels!



  

We were finally out and moored below the town of Langres. Below, because Langres is on the crest of a hill and the canal is about 100 metres below it. Matilda can just be seen amongst the trees.

We were going to stop here for a few days and explore the town so, stay in touch as there will be more to tell.