Off to Luxembourg

We arrived back on Matilda on Saturday 27^th September and Peter and Helen were to be with us for a few weeks yet, so we decided we would visit Luxemburg. This meant taking Matilda up the Marne au Rhin canal to its summit then down the Canal des Houilleres de la Sarre, This would take us on to the Sarre river and into Germany. Then we would turn left into the Moselle River and back upstream to Luxembourg.

We had a few days relaxing in Nancy before we were to leave and Peter and Helen enjoyed some of the sights of our adopted home city. These beautiful houses detailed in the Art Nouveau style are always an attraction.

Helen and Marg admired the floral arrangements on the bridge at the port which were still in excellent condition so late into the season.

We departed Nancy on Wednesday, Oct 1^st in lovely autumn weather.

Next morning we were stopped when the fog came in and we could not see more than a boat’s length in front.

This finally cleared and we continued on.    
The following day we arrived at the last lock before the summit of the canal’s route to the Rhine River. This lock, Rechicourt is the deepest on the French narrow gauge canal system and was built in the 1960’s to replace a ladder of six smaller locks. It is 15.7 metres deep and uses a huge amount of water (Peter worked out,  3,768,000 litres). Consequently when possible the lock keepers put as many boats in as they can for each operation.

We were put in behind a hire boat with a German family on board, and we just fitted.

 We were soon on the canal lateral to the Sarre (des Houilleres) and admired the open farmland that this canal goes through

 

 Fortifications like these were along the canal as it was part of the Maginot Line, defences that were built after the first world war to protect France from the possibility of another German invasion.

We have been this route before, the last time with Bill and Rhos. That time we stopped at Sarralbe too but we were pleasantly surprised this time with the new moorings that the local authorities have provided.

 

We spent a pleasant evening catching up on mail and generally just relaxing.

We were soon in Sarreguemines. Poor Helen had come down with heavy cold and we spent a few days there for her to recuperate. The weather was not the best so it was easy to do nothing. We were finally underway, on to the Sarre River and in to Germany.

 The Sarre  River (as we are now in Germany we will spell it Saare) is a working waterway and ships such as this collier of 3,000 tonnes were the norm.

 

 These vessels are around 110 metres long and we shared locks with them.

 

We are in an area of Germany that produces some exceptional white wines, both still and sparkling and all the south facing hills were covered with vines. Some of the slopes were so great that workers would have had trouble maintaining their footing. The tractor and trailer with the green buckets are on level ground.

We turned on to the Moselle and in a few days were moored at Remich, in Luxembourg. A short bus ride and we could tour the city and see its attractions.

 The ever present guard at the Royal Palace

Amongst the modern buildings on the city’s perimeter we found the remains of these fortifications, part of a system which in the 18^th century made Luxembourg the most heavily fortified city in Europe

Wherever you look there is evidence of this throughout the city. These were taken out of action in 1839 under the Treaty of London when over 90% of the fortifications were destroyed. Considering what has been left intact there must have been stone walls and cannon everywhere.

We had stayed in Remich before and enjoyed it, but this time we found the people of Luxembourg a little aloof and the quality of service wanting. We ate out twice and had bad service and food both times. Not really impressed.

What did surprise us though was what we found in Germany, on the other side of the river. We went for a stroll following signs that implied there were roman ruins in Nennig and were very surprised with what we found.

 

It had been known for some time that these old walls were part of a very old construction. While working his land around these ruins in 1852, a farmer  uncovered part of a mosaic depicting  a lion. Subsequent archaeological work has established that this amazing floor was in the entrance hall of a palatial building that would have had a frontage of almost 140 metres. The complex included bath houses and a 250 metre colonnade and gardens. The mosaic has been dated to the beginning of the third century AD and was fully restored in 1960.  

It was time for Helen and Peter to head back to Australia and on the 20^th  October we put them on a train in Luxembourg, to Paris to begin their trip home. We have seen a great variety of France and Europe and will have good memories of it all.

We were off now, back to Nancy to settle down for winter.

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

St Petersburg. Day 3.

Friday 26^th September dawned clear and cold in St Petersburg. Today we were being met by our guide and chauffeur for a drive around the city to see more of the sights. Then we would be dropped back at the ferry for our overnight trip to  Helsinki.

We visited the St Nicolas Cathedral. Following the Russian tradition, there are two churches in this two storey building. These are one above the other. The lower is intended for daily use and is lit by candles, chandeliers and icon lamps. Nicolas was known as the miracle worker and the church is constantly visited by the devoted. The upper church is dedicated generally to seafarers and specifically the submariners who perished in the recent loss of a soviet nuclear submarine.

The interior is absolutely beautiful but respectfully we took no photos. It was one of very few Russian churches that operated throughout the soviet regime.

We were off to visit the Saints Peter and Paul fortress. On the way we passed these light houses on Vasillievsky Island designed to give direction and protection to vessels approaching the port.

Another interesting stop was at these steps on the river that were decorated with Egyptian statues.

We had already seen a large collection of Egyptian artifacts in the Hermitage Palace

Peter the Great started the construction of the Peter and Paul fortress in the very early days of the construction of the city. The cathedral, with its 123 metre high spire is the burial place of all the Tsars and many other members of the Romanov family, 46 in all.

In the following photos, the gilt is real but the "marble" is fake as it was originally. The sarcophagi are real stone.

The tombs above are those of Nicolas II and other members of his family, killed by the Bolsheviks. They were re-buried here in 2006.

On our way back to the ferry we stopped to have a look at this unique church. It is known as the Church on the Spilled Blood or the Church of the Resurrection. We did not have the time to go inside and we missed the interior which is almost completely covered with mosaics. The building of the church which took 24 years was completed in 1907. It was closed by the soviets in 1930 and received damage during the war. An unexploded bomb that would have destroyed the building was found and safely removed during repairs in 1961.

Our drive back to the ferry was frustrated by a visit to the town by the Russian Prime Minister. Gridlocked traffic all around us with half the town shut down. Dimitri, our chauffeur did a great job getting us to the ferry close to our deadline. Others were still arriving at the wharf minutes before departure.

We have had a remarkable stay in St Petersburg. We have seen so much but appreciate that there is a huge amount we have missed. Buildings such as The Konstantinovsky Palace, Pavlovsk and Peterhof would have to wait for another visit. But, as the ferry headed for Helsinki we realised we could not have absorbed any more of this amazing city this time. We have been totally Palace, Cathedral and gilted out but we are greatly impressed with what we have seen. Our tour guide, Ksenia was absolutely wonderful, her knowledge of the arts and the history of her town was impeccable. Our chauffeur Dimitri was good and his knowledge of the streets invaluable when we were caught in the horrendous traffic while returning to the ferry

We get back to Matilda next day and soon are cruising again. There will be more to tell so, we will keep in touch.

St Petersburg, the second day.

Thursday 25^th September, our second day in St Petersburg.

St Petersburg was founded in 1703 by Peter 1^st  (Peter the Great) . It was built to be a gateway to western Europe and allow Russia to experience a new era of grandeur. It was built on the marshy delta at the mouth of the river Neva. Reclamation developed a series of harbour frontages and canals that are still in active use today. For this reason, it is often called the Venice of the North. Having a defined beginning, it has always been well laid out with large squares, grand avenues and majestic buildings.

It has suffered its fair share of historical and natural disasters including massive floods in 1724, 1824 and 1924. Even a blockade of 872 days by the German army in WW2 could not break the resolve of the inhabitants.

It was the capital of Russia under the Tsars up to the rising of the Soviets. Today it is a modern city, a centre of shipping and trade and a city with a wonderful historic heart.

We were met by Ksenia, our guide at the foyer of our hotel and taken on a walking tour of the Tsar’s Winter Palace. The building has developed over many years. Catherine the Great constructed a new building in1764 connected to Peter the Great’s Winter Palace to house her growing collection of artworks. This was known as The Small Hermitage. Then, as her collection grew, in 1771 she started the second building known as The Old Hermitage. This was followed in 1839 by The New Hermitage. The whole structure is now known as The Hermitage.

The palace was traditionally the home of the Tsars but has always housed a massive collection of internationally acclaimed works of art.

The building is extravagantly designed and decorated and is being restored to its former glory.

After taking lunch in the Palace (sandwiches and soft drinks bought at a kiosk) we had a cruise in a “barge” around the canals and the Neva River.

The Saints Peter and Paul cathedral with its 123 metre high tower sparkled in the afternoon sun. We would visit this church tomorrow and see it in more detail. Ksenia, our guide met us at the end of the cruise, walked us back to our hotel and arranged to meet us tomorrow.

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