117.2 kilometres, 52 locks, 11 days,
Wednesday 24 August: Dianne-Capelle to Mittersheim - 18 kilometres, 13 locks.
Although we have very pleasant neighbours we were well pleased to have left the relatively expensive Port Aquavac Plaisance which was very full (lots of deserted long-stayers),
had no rubbish bins, and the main quay was littered junk from a barge which was being fitted out there.
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| Untidy quay. |
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| The captainerie. |
and, apart from a slight delay at the first lock and being boarded by the Waterway Police for a document and safety gear inspection (very keen to make sure that our lifejackets carried the CE mark), we were in the delightful port of Mittersheim in no time at all.
The afternoon was spent relaxing aboard watching the mooring antics of the hire boats, enjoying a sundowner at the quaint little Cafe du Port: Canal-Evasion
and then an early night.
Thursday 25 August: Mittersheim to Sarralbe (old Halte) - 19.7 kilometres, 6 locks.
Thursday is another stunning day and we depart Mittersheim with a promise to stay longer on our return - five hours of very relaxed cruising later we tie up at the Halte Fluviale,
a short 1.5 kilometre ride into the center of Sarralbe. The mooring is pretty being next to a park but the nearby bench attracted a small group of tattooed youngsters. However having slugged down a couple of beers, they soon were on their way. Bikes unloaded we pedalled into town for a quick look, discovering the lovely Gothic church, pretty statuary and, best of all, the huge, brand new Port de Plaisance
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| The town center from near the new Port |
which is just a short walk from the town center. Our return ride was via the local Lidl for provisions and then it was back to Elle for engine checks, some sanding and varnishing and a lovely sunset.
With our turnabout destination of Sarreguemines calling we were off again at 09h10 soon after the the lock lights had come on. Past the new port which we will definitely be stopping at again on our return, under bridges, past pretty lockkeepers houses and grim blockhouses,
through some very shallow sections where, even at a fairly slow speed, one creates quite a bank-eroding wake,
until the countryside and small villages slowly give way to industry and all of a sudden one is in the port above the city of Sarreguemines
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| The well known 'mini liner'. |
with the last lock before the one on the French-German border in front of us. Through we go after having made arrangements to fill up with diesel on our return and a short while later we are tied up under leafy trees on a secure pontoon
and, having done the necessary at the capitainerie located on a barge a short walk away, we settle in for the weekend.
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| Sarreguemines: Old city bottom, Sarre (Saar) with the Port de Plaisance on the opposite bank - we are moored between the two bridges with the French-German border top left. |
Sarreguemines is a most captivating small city with a fairly strong German influence (obviously, as we can see the border from our stern - we even rode across the river to the German town of Kleinbittersdorf which, apart from a couple of coffee shops and a disproportionate number of supermarkets, has little to offer) and is a center for Faience. The Casino restaurant a few steps from the Sarreguemines port is very good with sparkling service
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| Yummy! |
and the city itself on the other side of the river is well worth a cycle tour.
With steaming weather we were very thankful for our misting system - Unfortunately I'm not allowed to post a pic of Lynn in her bikini under the mister (not under me - under the mister spray!)...
Monday 29 August: Sarreguemines to Sarralbe (new Port) - 23.5 kilometres, 7 locks.
With just over two and a half weeks of cruising left for us this season and with Strasbourg in our sights as the final city on this year's tour, Monday morning bright and early we are on our way again, stopping only for provisions at the small quay almost directly outside the huge Intermarche which is conveniently situated just before the first lock, and a couple of hours later we tie up to spend a couple of nights in the new Sarralbe port
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| One of my favourite pictures! |
(lovely, but a bit of a magnet for very noisy teenagers who partied the night through) - the town itself is a bit of a dichotomy with its cafes, statues and old church while not seeming to have much of a soul or buzz but still a good place to visit. While here we also rode to Herbitzheim, a small village with quaint 18th and early 19th Century houses and a massive Lutheran style church.
Wednesday 31 August: Sarralbe to Haarskirchen - 8 kilometres, 3 locks.
Next stop and a night at the Nichols base at Harskirchen
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| Looking north from the base proper. |
(nothing much in the town) where we take a 5 kilometre ride into the joined town of Sarre-Union to do some provisioning at the E-leclerq, and what a pretty, pretty town it is! Cafes and boutiques and smothered in flowers, friendly people and abuzz with locals going about their day. More's the pity that we did not bring a camera and were not planning on staying in Harskirchen any longer as we would have loved to have explored Sarre-Union a little more - but the evening's Cuisses Carter were excellent!
Thursday 1 September: Haarskirchen to Mittersheim - 13 kilometres, 4 locks.
Next day while Lynn paints away in yet more glorious weather,
we cruise to a two night stop at Mittersheim where we snack on a shared pizza at the 'beach',
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| La plage... |
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| ...le pizza. |
finally celebrate Lynn's 30 August birthday with a serving of the smallest escargots we have ever seen followed by mediocre steak (moi) and a very good Coquille St Jacques (madame) at the highly rated restaurant l'Escale
Saturday 3 September: Mittersheim to Bassin d'Albeschaux - 9.5 kilometres, 12 locks.
before setting off again for the 'wild' mooring at Bassin d'Albeschaux. This is not far from the 'Aquavac Plaisance' where we had started down the canal but far nicer albeit devoid of facilities. By that evening there were four other boats moored up (oddly, all ex-hire boats) and a friendlier bunch would be hard to find - a perfect end to our visit to this entertaining canal.
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| Lovely stopover - the structure at our stern is the now-stripped 'vessel' we saw in Lagarde |
Twelve days left 😢
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