To Bar-le-Duc and back and via Chaumont to Paris

Contrary to what is “normal” this time the same map as last time. As I already explained these last weeks have been spent on to-and-fro’s, hence.

Absolutely no problem as the trip back is always completely different from the way up, the company differs and the surroundings are beautiful.

We’re certain that we will return and then do the Canal between Champagne and Burgundy in its entire length. We now already know which spots are the nicest, which spots we passed but are on our list, which restaurants have to be visited, which bike-trips are still to be made etc.

Mussey-sur-Marne, what a surprise to come upon your own ship like this when biking

But first about our stay in Bar-le-Duc. We never made it to Toul, because of the broken lock we would have been underway too long to be able to meet the appointments we made with our guests

We could have gone a bit further to the next turning point (because of our length there are not too many of those) but we decided not to. The weather was not too good, cold and wet, so cruising was not nice. We decided to do a bit of DIY- work in a town with a nice DIY-shop, awaiting the arrival of our guests.

Bar-le-Duc is built on both sides of the river Saulx and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin, uphill on either side. One side is the historical town, beautiful old buildings and a nice upper-town and the other side is covered with big flats, but with a splendid view!

 

After a walk through the old town all the way up we made a picture of the view, looking at down-town. Later we noticed the added value of the beautiful camera we were given by our friends and family: : even ‘t Majeur’s crane was visible but only on the picture. 

Vue sur le grue is what Michel calls this picture.

We were moored behind the station, maybe not the most picturesque place but very convenient

 

and a field with poppies at our doorstep.

 

During one of our walks we ran into this nice kitten, lying in the gutter and shamelessly waiting for attention; she got it!

 

All canals that we cruise are close to one or more rivers that you frequently cross by way of a  pont canal and that run through towns and villages.

In some towns, like Bar-le-Duc, there may be as many as 4 or more water courses crossing the town. They make for a lively view and beautiful spots like here where the stream goes underneath a church.

We enjoyed the Fête de la Musique; since 1982 every year on June 21^st , Solstice Day, throughout France amateur musicians and others play their music on the streets in the evening. Great atmosphere and lots of dancing.

Unfortunately I deleted the pics I took so you have to use your own imagination.

We also went to a concert in a church, life’s little joys in a more urban environment.

And then it was time for us to cruise with our guests.

We heard and learned a lot about Australia and we think they learned a lot about living on and cruising with a ship. And foremost they experienced how nice life on board a ship can be.

They are all sold to the idea of barging and they all want their owns ship in the future. We hope to meet our new barge-friends often on the waterways.

First we cruised from Bar-le-Duc back to Vitry le François, no locks out of order this time and then we sailed South, an unknown stretch for Michel and me.

Of course not all went smoothly, because we soon were hovering in front of a bridge that had to be opened by hand without anything happening. There were a couple of boats waiting with us.

VNF (the waterways management of France) came to us to report that, alas, since an hour the bridge was broken down, couldn’t be opened any more, a specialist was called for and it could take days. The little boats turned and went back to Saint Dizier, the town we had just passed, but here again size mattered ….

We decided to give it a nights sleep and to confer with our guests then but, behold, next day there was a solution.

A commercial had arrived and for them VNF does what they don’t do for pleasure craft: they rig it so that the bridge can be opened just once and then we could come along.

of course our rescuing commercial could pass first when possible. The bridge in the foreground is not the broken one but an even older, derelict one in front of it.

On the way back, a few weeks later, the bridge was still out of order, but now it was permanently open, a nuisance for road traffic but okay for us.

Now we were on the Canal between Champagne and Burgundy, as said before very nice and we want more of it.

Meanwhile summer had started and as of July 1^st no complaints from us.

Nature shows the change as well, everything blossoms abundantly, not at least our on board geraniums.

 

On a lock quay I saw this tree, no idea what its name is, but I have seen it before with those nice deeply red leaves, but not before with these pinkly blossoming clouds.

All farmers have immediately gone at it on their fields, they are working everywhere and throughout you can find these big rolls of hay, each year I think it a splendid view.

Very often you can see local youngsters swimming in the canals but as we also see very often dead animals, mainly deer and fish, floating around we don’t dip. The water is quite often crystal clear with big and small fish everywhere.

In Amsterdam you will pay quite a price to have our feet nibbled by fish, here I just put them in the canal for free

 

and have my drinks chilled too.

After our first guests debarked we cruised two long days so we could reach Chaumont. Because we moored late in the day and planned to leave early we didn’t bother to moor properly, no one can pass you once the locks are closed. And as long as we can go on shore – and back – it’s all right and the boat sticks out into the canal, no problem with our spud poles. 

we just put it across, who cares

Next to the spud poles, ever since entering France we have rarely used our lines, the new canopy is a real success and very easy to handle. Down in front of a tunnel or bridge and then up again. And, when necessary, it can go down all the way without fuss.

going with the wind in your hair!

And another find, our solar panels. We have the genny on far less and there are still improvements possible.

Michel now cleans the panels each day in order to maximize the output.

 

There are very few pictures showing me and Michel together so it’s hard to pass this one over. It is a special place underneath this impressive “rail-duct” in Chaumont, where you can walk on the first layer and the train takes the top.

 

Near Chaumont there is a tunnel and just to show that not all tunnels are a horror I give you this picture. Sometimes you can see the end already before you enter and this one is so broad that it has two-way-traffic and it takes bicyclists as well.

 

On the way back from Chaumont, heading North, we were stopped by the VNF, because at he next lock there were two boats already in and the doors wouldn’t close.

It was great fun for the local youth who were swimming and lots of VNF employees, all shaking hands and then those two boats with all crew still onboard.

I don’t understand how you can stay on board in this heat and then in such a narrow empty lock, but there you are.

After a while this problem  was sorted out and we could get on.

In Saint Dizier we were moored on a quay and when Michel came into the pilothouse early in the morning he saw a car being towed from the water, just in front of us.

it was really very close

When we asked they told us that the driver had been running from the police and had driven straight into the canal.

Not only had we not heard a thing but neither had our guests and they sleep in the front. Good beds apparently :-)

Had we been moored a few meters ahead the car would have landed on our front deck.

Fortunately we also hadn’t moored on the opposite bank, which we had considered, because on the morning of the Quatorze Juillet there was a string of fishermen along the bank, a concours. Now, this is serious business and hard work throughout the day.

 

at least 40 fishermen and women on a row

The fisher just across from us won the day, must have been our good vibes.

each had an enourmous amount of equipment that had to be lugged in and out

We stayed on this quay for a few days because we wanted to see the Quatorze Juillet fireworks and when dusk came we admired the swallows who flew to and fro to the quay side where they apparently had their nests. Just the last evening we realised that we had been blocking 26 meter of nesting space for the past days and we did feel guilty at that time.

they had their nests under the concrete ledge

We couldn’t miss being in a wine region, there being caves, champagne-chateau and vineyards all around.

One of the most special caves is this one with a bas-relief wall and a door in the shape of a barrel. Such a pity they put up an ugly sign; there also was a white letter stuck to the door which I managed to photo-shop away. The sign is a step too far, maybe next year.

Now we thought we had enough blocked locks, but no.

En route again we were quickly stopped by the VNF as there was a car in the lock.

We moored and got on our bikes to ride quickly to the lock because we had a sight to behold.

We were just in time to see them towing the car out of the pond and then it smashed on the ground as the cable broke.

Never a dull moment on the French canals.

The divers, who were in the water in any case, cleaned the lock and with a bucket they brought quite a few rocks to the surface.

 We are moored now for a few days in Orconte, on shore power, using the washing machine frequently and having a spot with shadow to write the blog.

From here we go to Paris, where we booked the last week of August, we’re really looking forward to that.

More of it in my next blog.

Sillery and further, with changes

the itinerary we follow now

the original itinerary

As you can see on these two maps we made significant changes to our itinerary compared to the original one.

When, after our stay in Amsterdam, we continued on our journey we realised that we had made more cruising days and motor hours since leaving Amersfoort in March than we actually liked, had spent less time exploring the surroundings than wanted and had lost a bit of our sense of unwinding (which was what it is all about, isn’t it?).

Plus it was about the time that we had to arrange meeting points with our guests, in such a way that we can offer them a nice and interesting route and don’t run the risk of getting stuck somewhere because of problems on the waterways. 

Meanwhile we had been told that attending the rally on the Nivernais had to be cancelled. Because of heavy rains the Nivernais is closed to barges our size, just this season.

Size does matter and big is not always a good thing.

At the end of May the Canal du Centre was still blocked, due to a landslide caused by the abundant rain fall. Change was that the canal would be open again mid June, but we didn’t want to take the risk that it wouldn’t. And there were more stories going round about problems due to the rains. 

And last, but not least, we had discovered the Champagne region. Sloping hills, huge fields with rapeseed and with (small) vineyards and newly planted vines. So many colours!

still very low those vines

every field has a different colour, because of the ground or what grows on it

After the return trip from Amsterdam we had rented the car for another day and we made a tour of the region. That we wouldn’t mind extending by barge.

So we changed our plan to going to Toul and back (more about that later) then going South to Chaumont and back and then via the Marne to Paris where we will stay for a week at the end of August before heading for Holland.

After Sillery there was a tunnel again, this one well lit on the side so you could see where you were going.

here we are halfway the tunnel

Starting from Condé sur Marne we began with the leg that we will go up and down this season.

No problem to us because the return trip is always different from going up, plus you can visit all the nice spots that you sailed past in the first place.

In Châlons-en-Champagne we were moored opposite the tents where a festival took place.

Here we had to use our stakes for the first time, at least one of them, because our front spud pole wasn’t long enough and bollards were out of reach.

work to be done for Michel

Unfortunately all tickets to the circus were sold but we could eat at the restaurant tent, enjoying the atmosphere and also the crêpe, made to order on the spot, fresh as they come.

These are the best but you don’t find them too often, most times pre-baked.

really, really good!

a kind of circus in Chalons

In Vitry-le-François, not a very interesting place, but with a very nice brocante/vide grenier, we turned left, wanting to cruise to Toul and back then with our guests.

Not so!

Once we were on the canal, and unable to turn for a while, we were informed that a lock, just before Bar-le-Duc, was out of order and it would take some time before it would function again.

No problem, we are not in a hurry.

Two days later the “some time” turned out to be another week. No problem, we don’t go to Toul but we’ll make a turn just after Bar-le-Duc. That is also unwinding, no problem.

enough space left for us to move in the lock, watch those girders in the doors

with anchors like that it's a piece of cake to lift those doors

The damage was caused because a peniche (not the one in the picture) that had been rocking to and fro in the lock.
On the picture you can see that we have plenty of room ahead, and aft as well, but a peniche has virtually no give, neither lengthwise nor width. So it is very important that they tend to their lines; the swirling water rocks the boat.

Apparently something had gone wrong because the anchor – not from the ship in the pic – had come stuck underneath the girders of the door and lifted it as the barge came up in the lock. Just like that and then the lock is out of order.

The Marne Rhine Canal is situated in different surroundings, more hilly, more woods and more half-timbered houses, clearly we’re getting towards the Alsace.

From the beginning of the canal to Toul it numbers 70 locks, over a 85 Km distance, going uphill.

To Bar-le-Duc it is just 30, which alone brings down your cruising speed.

more green, more trees and most of all many more locks

We are crawling through the canal and have ample time for bicycle trips, also up and down hill!

Cute villages with lots of old houses and a spring for to fill the dogs canister. 

beautiful old villages

comes in handy, a well

Alongside the canal there are numerous streams, so also lots of Ponts Canal where they cross and a large area in between which is a bit swampy, the “marais”. Beautiful scenery and you can cycle if you’re prepared to dip your feet from time to time. For Panache it’s homecoming and he loves it.

who knows Michel is aware that here he acts like a hero, with bare feet in the cold water, he hááátes it

The sides in this canal are rather sloping so we cannot moor up to the side, getting stuck before we are there (we leave the few quays and jetties free for smaller craft).

We are rather good in swinging the ramp out with our crane and fixing it on our steps so we can moor a meter or so out.

After a few years experience we make sure we have all the right stuff handy and know how to use it.

Some things really make life easier.

almost a meter from the side and enough room for others (not that there are many)

Yesterday we made a beautiful trip on our bikes to the abbey in Trois Fontaines, at least the ruins of the abbey situated in a very nice and spacious park, where the former annexes surrounding the abbey are restored and are lived in.

Built in 1118 by Cistercian monks it was lived in until the French Revolution.

That is one of the things we look at with pleasure, all the villages with their old churches and nice buildings.

the entrance and annexes tot the abbey

these ruins are huge, three floors, so what do you think of the trees

Quite a jolt when at the next lock we saw the newly built houses, thrown in in a nice village.

It is so out of order you cannot call it ugly, it’s just amazing that someone made it up.

On the left the village on one side of the lock and on the right the former lock keepers house, behind it about 20 semi detached boxes, with their polished metal sheets.

sweet, lovely and rural on one side

just one more nice building on the other side and then those ugly metal boxes

We will continue our trip along this canal, next blog will be about the Marne Saône Canal.

Diemen to Sillery

Till now we had avoided cruising the Amsterdam-Rhine canal. Long time ago we once did a stretch onboard a friends barge and we remembered the canal as busy, choppy and with nasty waves.

And in later years other skippers shared this opinion, so we avoided it, rather taking the slightly longer route via de river Amstel (just as nice).

We now had no choice as the Amstel was blocked and, as waiting for the quiet of a Sunday was no option, off we went.

As is so often the case it’s fear for the unknown and it turned out not half bad.

It is not a very nice route, choppy indeed, but still fair cruising. We keep forgetting that we are not a small barge plus you can cruise at a fair speed.

 

After a short stay in Meerkerk we carried on to the quay at Thieu. We had made arrangements with different guests to tour the Belgian artefacts twice.

The trip South is known territory to us, not exciting anymore but still nice cruising.

And the first Belgian beer, in Willebroek this time, didn’t taste half bad.

But, Michel using the time it takes to go up at Ronquières for checking his email, is a bit blasé.

going up on the Inclined Plane of Ronquières

We were in Thieu in good time and put our time to good use; we cleaned the ship inside and out, we put fresh soil and flowers in the flower tubs and made a new tabletop.

We had not been up to that yet, after wintering and our trip to Groningen. It had been too cold and wet but now, mid April, the weather was fine.

We also had time to spare for a few jobs, like stripping all the paint from the side of the corridor to our sleeping quarters.

Ever since the conversion it is been house to a creepy kind of worm that only likes plywood.

We tried to fight them over the past years (look it up in the blog) but without much success. Now we go all the way, stripping and applying a nasty fluid to kill them. It’s a bit frustrating to remove paint you applied yourself.

quiet a bit to do here, but now it's done

Once the work was done we could go cruising again, both the old and the new lifts have been visited before but are still very impressive.

What adds to the fun is that it is new for our visitors. Plus we found different moorings to stay overnight, we visited new places and had to reroute because some lifts were out of order.

We stayed one night just off this illuminated lift and there landed a small crustacean on our deck, falling from the lift door.

an unexpected guest

before the lift

We wanted to do the Spiere-canal en route to Lille. We wanted to do it once more not only because it is a nice waterway but also because it has been reopened for a five-year period. If there are not enough boats using it they will let it silt up again, as was the case till 2011 (see my blog of August 2011) and we would like to prevent that from happening.

Unfortunately we could not go through it as there was – on the Belgian side – a stoppage that would take too long to repair. We now intent to go through on the way back.

We spent a few days in Antoing, there is a bunker boat where we filled up our tanks; 3000 litres diesel, 2000 litres of water. All our tanks were empty and it increased our water draught by 10 centimetres. 
We had so little gasoil left that in Thieu we had to take 4 jerry cans to the local fuel station.

Our bike trailer was strained to the limit getting the cans back.

Antoing on a photo

Antoing, artist's impression on a house

From Antoing we took the train to Tournai, we passed right through it two years ago but didn’t stop there then. It is a beauty, oldest town in Belgium, lots of history and beautiful buildings, a 276 steps high Belfroi

on top of the Belfroi, not bad for someone with vertigo

and a museum where this happy hippo was suspended over a field of sunflowers, each of them powered by a small solar panel.

 

Although here, like elsewhere in Europe, temperatures are too low and there is an amazing downpour there are also signs of spring.

We get more and more info on problems with high water levels causing stoppages on rivers and canals further South and East. Partly on our intended route, so we’re glad that we are not in a hurry. We know from past experience that these problems can easily and quickly change into problems due to low water levels!

We’ll see what happens, it is beyond our control anyway and if it affects our plans we just have to adapt.

trees in bloom in Tournai

the family swan

endless fields of bright yellow rapeseed

little ducks without their mother, they got away in time

So, we cruised via Valenciennes where we didn’t stop, saving it for next time.

We did spend a few days however in Cambrai, spending frustrated time watching out for the two SIM-cards we had ordered. It appeared afterwards that one of them had been delivered to the wrong mailbox and the other one is still out of our hands. It’ll be alright in due course.

Cambrai was host to people we knew, so we had a few get-togethers, touching up our contacts.

The canal Saint Quentin is very nice with little traffic. Here commercial barging has declined over the past years.

We crossed the beginnings of the Scheldt river and the Somme, both rivers we cruised; here they are but lovely, puny streams.

the Scheldt

the Somme

And then in this canal we reached the Tunnel of Macquincourt, the longest in France at 5,67 kilometres. We were a bit hesitant about going through it because of its length and because you cannot go under power but are being towed by an electrical tug.

Quite a few horror stories do the rounds and it is hard not to be influenced by them.

We had to be at the ready at 9:30 a.m. at the entrance so we moored just short of it the night before. Thus we had a perfect view of the overhead tram-like wires running from 1 kilometre before to 1 kilometre after the tunnel.

As said before, there being little traffic, we were the first and only tow which was nice as we had no one behind us and the tug runs a steady course.

They roll out a 30 metre tow line and at a snails pace we went through the tunnel. It takes time, almost two hours and it is cold in the tunnel.

Although it was easier going than expected we were relieved to reach the exit; it is extenuating.

waiting for he tug

de overhead wires

we won't fit in there

oh, not to bad

glad to see light at the end of the tunnel

This was one bump we managed successfully but there was another one on its way, the tunnel of Braye-en-Laonnois where we damaged our canopy quite a bit two years ago. Last year we had it repaired and we completely lost the canopy in a whirlwind in September; now we have a supersonic electrically operated new canopy. And again, as already a few times earlier this trip, we discovered the ease and effectiveness of this construction. And we gained experience and learned to trust ourselves and our ship.

So. We managed this 2.3 kilometre tunnel without a hitch, although it was exciting.

Panache is not fond of tunnels and takes shelter to Michel’s leg as he steers the ship, standing in the gangway.

As Michel says: “It is frightfully cold in these tunnels, but my leg stays warm.”

Panache looks after Michel

To our pleasure we found more commercial traffic after Saint Quentin, the French peniches, and certainly more than two years ago when we travelled the same stretch.

We think it a positive sign, indicating a rise in cargo hauling on the waterways, it is “greener” and increases maintenance.

passerende peniche

Now we are moored in Sillery, just South of Reims. We will leave the ship here in the pouring rain whilst going to Amsterdam for a week.

Hopefully the weather will be fine when we return so we can continue our journey with a bit of sunshine and no high water levels.

To be continued!