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....