Canal-Strasbourg

Canals connect the Mediteranean with the English Channel. This trip explored a small section in a houseboat rented through Le Boat.

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Carol, Reed, and I took the "train" (actually a bus with a SNCF train identifier) from Verdun to the Meuse TGV station (50 minutes) then boarded a high speed train to Strasbourg. The train station in Strasbourg is large and busy. I paid €1 to use the restroom at the station. (I couldn't seem to muster the energy to do it for free on the train.) We all grabbed a sandwich from Paul's - a boulangerie convenience food chain in France - and took the first taxi in the queue for the 40 minute ride to the Le Boat dock outside of Boofzheim, France. The taxi driver surprised us by asking for cash; cash has been unheard of practically in England and France as most places assume you're paying by 'tap' credit card. I had some euros for a portion so finally he took that and then reluctantly pulled out a credit card device for the balance; I wasn't too pleased to now have zero euros cash.

Our boat we reserved was still being cleaned and the other half of the passengers were in route from Colmar, France. We enjoyed lunch and after Theone and crew arrived went through the orientation process with Phillipe. Between Theone and myself we managed to comprehend Phillipe's broken English. Hopefully we won't break any serious rules or crash or the boat! Phillipe's co-worker took a couple to the nearby grocery store in Le Boat's van for us to stock up for a couple of days. She was most helpful in the store with suggestions and the French labels.

Shortly before 4PM we nervously engaged the throttle and pulled away from the dock. Phillipe had said we could get just past the locks at Kraft before they close at 5PM.

How complicated can it be to drive a house boat down a canal and get it through a lock? Well, the first lesson that took a couple of days to master is the steering with the rudder - it isn't the family car. We've learned to only move the steering wheel a couple of inches back and forth. Any more and everybody not driving on the boat is screaming to look out for the side of the canal as the boat zigs and zags down the narrow canal. The boat thankfully does come with a bow thruster; I'm not sure how one would drive a canal boat without that feature! It's invaluable entering the locks and keeping the boat from ramming into objects (as the boat zigs and zags!).

Learning how to drive the boat and going very slowly meant we didn't make Kraft. Instead we pulled over on the side of the canal, drove in a couple of stakes to tie off to and glamped for the night. Because the locks close, nobody comes by all night and we had the beautiful calm canal and surrounding farm land to ourselves.

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It rained during the night, but we woke to a beautiful morning. Today our goal is Strasbourg about 5 hours away. I'd driven yesterday, so the co-captain, Theone, took her hand at the wheel. A boat caught up with our 3.4 km/hr full throttle tourist safe houseboat speed and joined us in some of the locks. We had just started figuring out the locks with just us and now we had to squeeze forward in the lock to accommodate the second boat. They gave friendly support and it went very smoothly.

Commercial vessels have the right-of-way. A vessel that looked much to big to fit in the locks approached us at one point coming down the center of the canal. That left very little space for our boat stretching driving skills to place our boat at the canal edge to allow passage.

We eventually arrived into Strasbourg and encountered an automatically operating bridge that rose. A sensor identified our approach, closed the road to traffic and raised the bridge. Another lock in town had someone recording the boat information but just observed us as we continued to work on our lock operating skills. That brought us to the boat maneuver I dreaded - parking the boat in a crowded marina.

The Strasbourg marina only had a couple of slots left. It required backing the boat about 100m into a spot just wide enough for two boats. I'm certainly glad it was wide enough for two! I surprised myself in doing a great job relying mostly on the bow thruster to aim the rear of the boat and not smashing into the dock. The owner of the adjacent boat was there to help. (He said he'd already been hit early by someone else so I believe he was looking out for his boat.) He showed as good trick with the ropes to secure the boat that also made the departure easy. We paid the marina fees, topped off the water, and plugged in for electricity. I was very relieved to have the boat secure in the marina!

We jumped on the bikes cycling into Strasbourg. We took in the Strasbourg Notre-Dame Cathedral and it's very elaborate clock. Then we headed over to La Petit France section of the city to look around and for dinner. The light rain of the evening dampened but didn't soak as we made our way back to the boat.

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The morning saw us cycling through Strasbourg to see the Palais du Rhin and visit the Strasbourg historical museum. Strasbourg is the seat of the European Parliament. The city has been a 'free' city in the past meaning it didn't to pay taxes to a king. It also had a democratic leaning government structured to give representation to tradesmen as well as the noble class. This and the location of the city near the bridge over the Rhine river made it a place for trade and very wealthy.

We almost became lost leaving Strasbourg even though you can't really get lost on a canal. Multiple waterways about the city required a little map reading and navigation briefly. The canal passed by the European Parliament building; the glass cylindrical building impresses!

Each day our method of passing through the locks improved. Rope handling skills improved as did control of the boat.

We chose to moor just outside of Vendenheim. A feedlot in the area made the air rather foul at times, but mostly we became inundated with black flies. Jumping on the bikes we rode a few miles to Fort Ducort. The fort originally served as outer defenses for Strasbourg. WWII saw it used as a command center for the allies. We stopped at a bread shop on the way back to the boat.

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Day four and we're becoming far more relaxed on the lock operations and the boat. Theone drove the boat the entire four hours we made our way along the canal. We traveled from Vendenheim to Hochfelden. Searching for a place to fill the water tank on the boat the best we did was to find a place to dispose of the recycle and trash.

The big activity for the day took us a mile into Hochfelden to tour the Meteor Brewery. The family owned brewery has been in operation since 1640. Our self-guided tour ended in the pub where we sampled several of their beers. I found their IPA to be the best I've ever had. Supposedly they export to Denver so I'll be looking to find it upon my return.

The group split up for dinner. Carol fell over biking and cut up her arm, so three of us stayed closer to the boat.

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We past field of sunflowers, wheat and corn today. The canal wound about more and the hills grew higher as we approached Saverne. The lights at the second lock we arrived at indicated the lock was out of service. So we pulled over and tied up to figure out what to do. As we finished tying up, a small vehicle rushed up to the lock, a guy jumped out, and soon the lights reported it was ok for us to enter. I guess he slept in a bit this morning and hadn't activated the lock!

The locks came frequently today. At one lock, someone on a loudspeaker asked that we wait for another boat to enter with us. We shared the next several locks. Since leaving Strasbourg the flow of the canal required that each lock raised us instead of descending. That meant that for this stretch, Theone found herself climbing the ladder on the side of the lock to assist placing the ropes around the mooring points high above the boat before activating the lock. Once in the lock, the cycle of lowering or raising the water level starts by pushing up on a blue rod within reach of the boat in the lock. Sometimes it can take both hands a some effort to lift the rod. There is also a red rod or cord to stop the operation in the event of an emergency. The locks operate through their cycle automatically once started. There are sequential steps the locks must proceed through to manage the flow of water and filling. It's good us tourists don't have to know how to do it!

Saverne is a lovely town with Roman, Bavarian, and French influence. We cycled and walked about taking in the sights. We spent the night here filling the water tank and connecting to electrical power.

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Saverne lies at the edge demarcating the flat agricultural area west of the Rhine and the more hilly Bas-Rhin Moselle region. The waters of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin flow from this region. The locks come more frequently as the canal rises into these wooded steep hills. The first lock headed upstream in the city of Saverne is so deep that places to secure the boats while in the lock are found in the wall of the lock.

As the water level rises or falls depending on the lock operation, the securing ropes must moved up or down. The water filling or emptying a lock can move the boats around with force. The ropes are never tied as doing so could risk a boat trying to hang on the rope which likely would cause some serious damage. A pole is provided to assist with running the ropes over the bollards on the sides of the locks. Some folks can toss the rope over the bollard. Wearing life preservers would be a good idea, but we've only seen the crew of one boat do so.

The canal west of Saverne winds its way through a beautiful wooded valley paralleled by train tracks and a road neither of which was often in view. The valley was tranquil in the still quiet morning air with it's blue skies. Around almost every other corner we entered a lock as the canal slowly rose 60 feet over about 7 miles. We passed several boats heading in the opposite direction before arriving into the town of Lutzelbourg.

The mooring services in Lutzelbourg included electricity, water, bathrooms, and showers. However, one needs to deposit euro coins to turn on the electricity and water which none of us had. Curiously, the showers are free with plenty of cold water only.

We cycled a couple of blocks into the city centre or at least where a bridge crosses over the canal. Only one restaurant was open and they only took cash. I broke down and visited the sole ATM in town to obtain some. This food stand restaurant next to one of the locks appeared to be a family operation. Prior to ordering I asked if they spoke English. The man behind the counter responded with 'Deutsch?' or 'German?'. When I said no he grabbed the young lady (daughter?) who was delighted to test out her English.

We then made our way up to the Castle of Lutzelbourg. Built starting in the 12th century, the ruins have a commanding view of the town and both up and down the valley. We spent the rest of the day trying to relax in the heat, take showers, do a little laundry, and play some games. The slow pace of life on a canal boat soothes anxious thoughts.

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Today marks the last full day of the canal adventure but what an action packed day!

Waking before everyone else, I took the short walk into town to capture some photos in the morning light. An open patisserie cried out with fresh coffee and pastries, but my wallet lie back on the boat.

We launched and the crew immediately went to work on the five locks left to pass through. The first one lay just beyond our mooring location. Two boats came through going the opposite direct, then the gates closed and the light remained red indicating not to enter. We waited and waited. We backed up then went forward thinking maybe that would trigger the lock. Finally we let Theone off who walked up to the lock and pushed the emergency button. Quickly a voice in French then English said they would set the lock for us and indeed the light turned green. That was the first time we had to seek help. Theone waited at the lock at stepped on board once we'd risen to where she stood on the lock's edge.

We counted down the remaining four locks and Carol expressed some sadness as we passed out of the last lock. These locks comprised only the first part of the days adventure!

Just a little further the signs of an old canal came into view on our left. We moored, jumped on the bikes and road up a bike path that passed 15 dilapidated locks and lock houses before coming to a restaurant residing in lock number 2 or the 16th lock house. We enjoyed several different kinds of refreshing drinking including a hibiscus mint and a ginger orange. Carol and I ate a chef's special eggplant crepe filled with cheese and a sunny-side-up egg resting in the center. The ride back past the abandoned canal and locks with some people living in the old lock houses was a pleasant coast downhill through the narrow valley. The 17 total locks along this stretch have been replaced by a unique boat lift - more description to come.

Back on board the houseboat, we could see the next stop before we cast off. From our next mooring point across and about 300 meters along the canal, we walked to a glassblowing shop. A young woman in the shop provided a demonstration of simple glass blowing while some of our group shopped. Depending on your tastes, the blown glass was either nice or good tourist fodder.

Back on the boat yet again, the big lift of the day was about to happen. The 17 abandoned locks were replaced in circa 1962 with a 45 meter 'plan incline'. A large tank that can hold a ~100 meter barge or 2-3 houseboats rests on a ramp that moves up and down the hillside for an elevation change of 45 meters. Sightseers sat on grass just to watch the thing in action. We motored into the 'bathtub' with a small motorboat. A gate closed and sealed and then the 'bathtub' with us in it started to rise as some large counter weights with numerous cables descended the ramp. The ride took less than 10 minutes. We existed into the canal now much higher. We took some time at the top to visit the mechanical room and walk through a museum that contained original drawings of the project.

The 'plan incline' would've been highlight enough for the day, but there remained more! We followed the winding canal for a couple of kilometers until arriving at the intersection of the top of the abandoned lock system we'd cycled up and the current canal. Here we encountered a red light at the entrance to the canal tunnel. Yup, the canal became a tunnel through the mountain. We waited for maybe thirty minutes and finally after several boats emerged we got the green light to proceed. The tunnel is approximately 2 km long with yellow lights along one side and green (or red depending on which way one looks) lights placed periodically. We existed and traveled a short distance before entering another much shorter tunnel. When we entered the tunnel the weather was overcast but fine. When we existed it was pouring rain! A mad scrambled ensued to take cover inside the boat from the top deck where we usually sit. The engine had to be turned off and a lever flipped to be able to operate the boat from inside. (There are two steering locations.) It felt like a Chinese fire-drill! Driving the boat became a new experience because the steering locations are on opposite sides of the boat - right hand drive on the top and left hand drive inside. I was sure I would sideswipe the right side!

We moored in the town of Nidderville. Some folks bicycled around town coming back to report the lack of stores or restaurants. One restaurant existed a short walk from the marina. The harbor maiden made reservations for us. It turned out to be an excellent meal with the best dish a venison.

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In less than an hour we went from Nidderville to Hesse and the Le Boat dock where the house boat left our hands to return to its owner. The ladies in the Le Boat office called many taxi services to finally find one that would take us the 8 minute drive from the Hesse dock to the Sarrebourg train station. Robert was having an allergic reaction to something so there was stop at a pharmacy for some medication. Theone almost missed the train because just before the train pulled into the station she decided a different medication was needed. Fortunately there was a queue at the pharmacy so she sprinted back making the round trip in under 6 minutes and boarded the train with Reed, Carol, and myself just as it pulled away from the platform. The train to Strasbourg passed near several parts of the canal we'd motored down over the last week. It was fun see those places with the chance to reminisce. It took the train 45 minutes to cover the distance that had taken us 5 days in the boat.

Carol and Reed catch a train to Paris and fly back to Denver tomorrow. Theone, Bobby, Robert, and myself will explore southwestern Germany and the Black Forest over the next couple of days.