So much more to see..

Friday 25/05/2012- still exploring Luxembourg City - We all caught the bus back to town this morning, Bill and I to explore some more and Marg and Peter to sort out their phone.  We left each other at the station and so began another amazing day of sightseeing.  This time we were following a route advised by Peter in the the Grund which is an area at the base of the towering fortifications. 

 Walking through the area we had admired from above was a real experience as we took a stroll through the grounds of the former Neumunster Abbey, saw the shrine to our lady and walked back over and around the 16th century fortifications that we had been roaming beneath yesterday.  Finally all walked out we found shortcut to the top, an elevator taking you up and depositing you in the middle of a square where all the justice departments  are.  Very modern compared to where we had come from.

Across the road we found the statue of the gold lady standing high above Luxembourg.  This is the 'Gelle Fra' memorial, set up in 1923 to commemorate the Luxembourgers who had perished in the first world war.  Today it symbolizes freedom and resistance for all the people of Luxembourg.  We explored some more of the city streets and squares before finding a busy square full of cafes and it was here we stopped for a bite to eat and a much needed Cafe Latte.

After lunch we boarded a little green train which takes you on a historical tour of the area we had walked through this morning. It is a fabulous little tour and the commentary is in the form of a story from the beginning of Luxembourg's history.  A novel way to see the old town.  After we got off the train we decided that we were all toured out and so caught the bus back to Remich. 

Travelling home by a different route we saw some new villages and farmland along the way. As we drove along the river in Remich we saw Marg and Peter riding along on the cycle path so once off the bus we decided that we would continue our tour of Remich before we went back to Matilda.  Armed with a local map we followed the numbers and enjoyed our walk around this lovely little town. 

 We walked through a little tunnel, almost too small for Bill to stand tall in, a tiny street called Dogs Ass St where only one person at a time can fit up or down this dark alley.  From there we followed a network of tiny streets where people still live today and came out to Rue Neuve which was the widest street in Remich many years ago. Now only one car could fit at a time. 

We found the statue of Bacchus, the Roman god most readily appreciated by lovers of good wine, and about then decided it time to walk across the bridge into Germany and have a look at the caravan park we had been watching fill up for the last two days.  We did this and found a park not too dissimilar to those we have here in Australia and as this was a long weekend in Luxembourg the place was filling fast.  

Feeling very weary now after another big day we walked back to Luxembourg and Matilda just in time for aperitifs with Marg and Peter.  Perfect timing really and a great end to another wonderful day.  I think we are all ready for a quiet day tomorrow.


until then....

Discovering Luxembourg City

Thursday 24/05/2012 -  Well what can I say, Luxembourg City is one of the most amazing places I have ever seen.  It is an absolute mix of the old and the new.  It is the Capitol of the Grand Duchy and has a population of about 90,000 coming from more than 170 countries.

With a history dating back to 963 Luxembourg's medieval roots have been preserved throughout the centuries and many still stand today to enthrall and amaze the many visitors.  Here is what we did in Luxembourg.

We caught the bus from Remich in the morning and enjoyed a very picturesque drive into the city through villages, grapevines and farmland before arriving at Luxembourg Gare.  We walked into the centre of the city from there first stopping at the Tourist information centre to get a map of the area. 

Our fist stop was right outside the door in the Place Guilliame II or William Square where you find the original statue of William II.  The replica of this statue is in The Hague in the Netherlands.  The town hall is here too built in 1830 is a wonderful example of the Neoclassical style of the day.  From there we walked down the road to the Palace of the Grand Dukes.  This very beautiful Palace has a soldier on duty all day marching up and down guarding the entrance.  We stood and watched for a while and wondered how he manages to do this all day.  Maybe they work in shifts!  

The Palace has many different styles having been built in 1572 in Renaissance style,added to in 1741 in Baroque Style and then transformed again into Renaissance  style in 1891.  Finally restored thoroughly in 1992-1995.  An absolute must see when visiting the city.  The Chamber of Deputies adjoins the Palace since 1859 making for very efficient governing of the country.

Leaving the Palace we walked through some of the old streets looking at the different buildings when a tour bus stopped in front of us.  We all decided that this might be the best way to get a good look at Luxembourg and so began the most amazing journey.  The bus takes in much of the old city and then crosses over ' the big red bridge' into the new city where it's passengers get a look at the new Modern Luxembourg.  

These include Europe Square, Musee d'Art, Philharmonie Luxembourg, the European Parliament and the centre for National Sportif et Cultural.  These two very different parts of the city live in complete harmony with each other and both are interesting places to see and visit.  We stayed on the bus for one full circuit before getting off to have lunch and during this time learnt so much about this city we were visiting.

After lunch we began our tour on foot of the old fortress still standing from 963.  Count Siegfried chose the Bock promontory to build his fortress and this together with the first market become the cradle of the city surrounded by a simple fortification.  Over the years a second and third layer were added to the west side while the rock on the Pertrusse Valley created a natural defense.  

This city was fought over many times throughout the centuries and has belonged to Spain, Germany, France and Austria all adding walls, battlements, forts, casemates and tunnels transforming the city into one of the mightiest emplacements in the world, called 'Gibraltar of the North'.  It is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Before we started our walk along the top of wall we stopped and took in the wonderful view over the Petrusse Valley and the Adolphe Bridge before descending to the casemates and the going into the tunnels where we followed many passages and spiral staircases up and down deep within the stone walls of this mighty structure.  To think that we were walking through tunnels made thousands of years ago was rather mind blowing and made us realize how little history we have at home in our young country.  Both inside and out we followed the Wenzel Wall looking at the Goethe Monument and St Michael's Church, home to the oldest shrine in the city.  

After all the stairs and tunnels we decided that it was time to leave the history behind us for the day and jumped back on the bus for a trip around to the new town where we stopped at a newly constructed shopping centre.  Here Marg had seen a supermarket and so we took the opportunity of picking up some shopping before heading home.  In this complex was one of the largest supermarkets I have ever seen but apparently quite normal for here.  Once our shopping trip was done we were back on the bus this time on our way back to Luxembourg Gare where Bill and I had to find out what time trains left for Paris on Monday.  Do not want to leave but we must.  The station here is another lovely building from 1907 and the painted ceiling is another must see when visiting.

We caught our bus back to Remich and I think we all dozed along the way home giving us a much needed rest before aperitifs on the deck at 6.00pm and a quite evening in.  Bill and I are going back tomorrow to see some more......

Turn left at the Moselle.....

Wednesday 23/05/2012 -Saarburg to Luxumbourg

We left this beautiful little town about 9.30am and very soon after we had reached a fork in the River where the Moselle joins the Saar.  We turned left onto the Moselle and continued on to our first lock on this big river.  

Whilst these locks were very wide they were nowhere near as deep as those we had passed through yesterday.

It was at our first lock when Marg spoke to the fellow supervising to get the lock that we discovered that we were already in Luxembourg.  Once again the river is the border and Germany is to the left of us and Luxembourg is to the right as we travel upstream.  And right now we are moored in Luxembourg and are sitting looking at a German caravan park on the other side of the river.  We might walk over tomorrow for a look.

The journey up the Moselle was lovely and the towns we passed looked very nice.  The style of housing has changed again though only marginally.  The vineyards seem to be the same on both sides of the river and we are doing our best to sample a wide variety of wine but as it is still a work in progress we don't have a definitive answer yet.  Stay tuned! 

 

Just after the 3rd lock we finally reached our destination which was Remich .  This is the closest point the Moselle goes to Luxembourg City and so this is where our journey will end.  We found a mooring right in front of the centre of town in amongst the larger passenger boats that carry tourists up and down the river.  We were not sure at first if we could stay but after checking with the boat next to us they said we could and so we are loving our prime position on the dock!  

Once tied up securely we went for a wander through Remich and have found another lovely little place.  The front seems to be geared to tourism coming off the passenger boats with the square lined with cafes and bars.  

The Washer woman fountain in the square is a reminder of how hard the women of the town worked in years gone by.  Once away from the quay the old town is a ramble of old streets, alleyways and squares all full of history with some lovely old buildings making it a nice place to wander around. 

 We will take a more detailed look tomorrow if we are not too tired after our visit to the city.   We came back to Matilda to sit and relax after another lovely day on the river.

So it's bedtime now as we get ready for a big day tomorrow.

On the move again

Monday 21/05/2012 - Sarreguemines to Saarlouis

This morning we left as Marg was riding back from an early morning shopping expedition and met her at the next loch which was just a few hundred meters away.  We continued on for another km or so and went through loch no 30 which was our last French loch.  We were crossing the border into Germany.  Well actually sailing along the border as one side of the Saar river is France and the other Germany.  

The river is wider and quicker than the canals and soon we were covering the kms much faster than the last few days.  We only passed 2 other small boats and were wondering where all the commercial barges were as there was was much evidence of industry along the river with huge lochs and very large moorings.  Power stations and scrap metal seemed to dominate the riverbank and we were missing our lovely scenery.

The lochs are very different to those we have passed through on the canal, obviously needing to accommodate the large commercial traffic and we looked very small inside these if we were on our own.  A little further along we seemed to have left the industry behind us and were enjoying the views again.  After our 3rd loch for the day we decided we had traveled far enough and moored beside the bank in a town called Saarlouis.

Once tied up we walked into the town to have a look.  It was an interesting town having been once the fortified city where King Louis 14th's architect, Vardun, had designed and built the town.  Today you can see remains of the walls and the moat throughout the city.  

As we wandered through the town we noticed the shops and houses were a different style to those in France and we see the Church still takes pride of place in the city.

Back on board we had drinks, then dinner and just as we were off to bed we saw our first commercial barge for the day pass us fully loaded with coal.  An amazing sight even though it was dark.  Perhaps we'll see more tomorrow but now it's goodnight all.

Tuesday 22/05/2012. Saarlouis to Saarburg

We were on our way by 9.00am this morning and traveling along nicely when we came to our first lock.  Our first thought was oh no when we saw a large commercial barge waiting in front of us to go in.  As we were to discover this was not a bad thing as he had called ahead and the lock was ready for him and as they are so big we were able to fit in behind him.  This we did and traveled along behind him for the rest of the day never having to worry about whether the lock was ready or not.  Shame we couldn't have attached a rope to him and been towed but never mind we had a great run all day.  

Yesterday's lack of commercial barges was certainly rectified today as we passed many of them coming up river all fully loaded with all sorts of cargo.  They are huge vessels and the tandem ones that push the front barge are so large you cannot imagine how they control the whole thing.  All of them carry at least one car with them but most have two and a speed boat. They certainly make for interesting watching as they pass.

The three locks we passed through today all got deeper the further up the river we got and the last lock was at least 15 meters deep.   The scenery we passed today was so different to yesterday's industrial landscape as we sailed through beautiful valleys where wooded mountain flanks alternate with wide meadows making for spectacular viewing.  It was a lovely way to pass the day.  

As we approached Saarburg we started to see the vineyards rising up steeply from the riversides and watched in wonder thinking how they might harvest the grapes.  Riesling, Elbling and Burgundy are all produced from these slopes.

We chose to stop at Saarburg for the night and what an interesting little town we found with it's history dating back to long before 1291 when it received the city rights.  We had a walk around the town taking in the lovely old Protestant church first erected in 1893, and then walking up and around Castle district where the remains of the once proud and mighty castle, one of the first and most impressive on the ridge in the Western part of Germany, still stands today.  The view from here over both the old and new town of Saarburg is very impressive.

Coming down from there we continued to wander the ancient streets and came across 'Little Venice' by the waterfall.  A roaring waterfall in the middle of town, once the power source for the medieval city, it now makes a lovely spot to stop and sit in the piazza or just wander round and take in the majesty of the waterfall powering the 3 waterwheels below.  With many houses hundreds of years old the walk through the streets was just delightful.  We decided that we would have a night out in this little town and had a lovely dinner in a little pub dating back to the 1700's.

Before going out we met some people looking at Matilda from the shore.  Once they spoke we discovered they were fellow Australians and Marg invited them on board for a drink.  Roger and Roslyn had been traveling for  almost 3 months and were very interested in life on a barge.  It was lovely to meet them both and they waved us off the next morning as we headed out of Germany.

Can't wait to see what is around the next corner....

Exploring Sarreguemines

Sunday 20/05/2012 -  It was a lovely morning when we woke up the next day Marg and Peter had already been out to find a boulangerie and it was croissants, cheese, strawberries and jam for breakfast.  Very French!  And very nice too.  After our chores were done we set off to discover Sarregeumines.  First stop was the Office de Tourisme where we picked up a map and a book which had a couple of guided walks in it.

We started at the Porcelain Museum which was very interesting, seeing the fine china, porcelain, ceramics and glass items on display. 

All the information was in French with no English translation so not so easy to follow the technical bits but you could get the idea most of the time.  The most spectacular sight in here was the Wintergarden room on the 2nd floor with wall frescoes and magnificent majolica dating from the 19th century. 

 Outside there was the large ceramic kiln, the only one saved when the ceramics works was demolished?  It is 11 meters tall and one of the last examples of this kind in Europe.  

From there we started on the Historic circuit walk and followed the numbers to see a good selection of the history of this little town.

We saw the ruins of the castle which used to dominate the town from its hilltop position, French Street, Goethe Place, Gold street, Plough street, Market Place and The Freedom street.  

All these are examples of the early settlement in the town and are still standing today and lived in.  An interesting look at life as it was.  Saint Nikolaus Kirche, The grand old Courthouse and the colorful designs in Cremer Generals street completed our tour of the old town and we walked back to Matilda for lunch.

After lunch Marg and Peter took the bikes to go the Moulin de la Blies,  and we left to follow the Ceramic trail.  We started just up the road from the port looking at the old workers housing estate which housed the workers from the earthenware factory.  The homes have been restored and are in good condition.  From there we walked through the newer area of town on our way to the Blies Mill which now houses the Musee des Technicques Faiencieres.  

Once an earthenware factory between 1825 and 1969 the Moulin de la Blies was just one of many ceramic manufacturers in Saareguemines.  Today it is home to a technical museum showing how the ceramics were made.  It is an interesting place to wander through and see how things were done so long ago.

A beautiful garden has been set up on the old industrial land along side the river Blies and as you wander through the many different areas you see many relics of the past.  Old storehouse ruins, old grindstones, potting sheds and kilns all make for a magical mystery tour through the grounds. 

On the day that we visited a local photographer had an exhibition on display throughout the ruins and we saw many incredible photos of life along the riverside.  And yes we did meet Marg and Peter there.

Once we were all toured out we walked home along the canal path coming back to Matilda about 6.00pm.  Just in time for a drink before dinner.  We had a lovely evening sitting in the balmy evening watching the world go by.  A group of boys and men playing soccer kept us entertained for most of the evening before we called it a night and headed for bed.  What a great day we have had discovering this lovely little town.

The still balmy evening turned nasty when sometime during the night there was a huge thunderstorm with lightning and hail. The rain had us jumping up and closing windows before sleep overtook us once more.  We need the rest as we are off again tomorrow and will cross the border into Germany sometime in the morning.

Until then.....