Bob and I awoke to a chill pervading the air. Arising, it was to discover a thick fog pervading the air through which a rust orange sun was attempting to break through. The planned stop at Hildesleben didn’t eventuate. Massive works bankside for kilometres meant no mooring areas were available to the traveller. New bridges, […]
A relaxed start to the morning, a food stop just outside of Wolsburg, past the Elbe Seitencanal, more exquisite countryside and the most peaceful of stops at kilometre mark 256. Some distance from the town, all that resides within this tract of countryside is farming land and a small restaurant resting alongside of the canal’s […]
A relaxed day with the first of the Mittelland locks: 14.5 metres thank you very much, and no rising bollards. Other than a rapid surge in the initial stages, it was a pretty tame ride. An unusual windmill, a few canoeists and a dinky Dutch cruising barge added to the flavour of the motor. The […]
Clouds cleared for the first time in three days. Sun and a bit of warmth at last – until the rain arrived, that was! (sorry, but no pics) After the exquisite tiny villages, Hannover with its crowds and modern feel didn’t really appeal to our senses. It was interesting to observe that whereas twenty […]
About 70 clicks done on the waterway in continuous light drizzle saw us arrive on the outskirts of Minden: thankfully there was no freezing the socks off today. We are really sorry, but there are no pics. The image above is from our travels upon the Rhein.
Well, in cold wet conditions we travelled 30 kilometres or so along the Dortmund – Ems to the 108km mark, where a right turn took us onto the Mittelland Kanal. Another 30 saw us arrive at the night’s stop: peaceful calm countryside still raining, of course. The Mittelland Kanal was a miniature highway, as a continual flow of […]
Sorry it’s been a few days since the last update: Between motoring and studying the charts for the Mittelland to Spandau leg, life has been hectic. The past few days have seen our journey along the Rhein and Rhein – Herne Canal come to an end, and we are currently enjoying our sojourn upon the […]
Low rolling hills, between which nestled red bricked homes with their rooves of like colour. The occasional old barns and homes of mixed brick, wood and shingled rooves were interspersed throughout the region. The Germans were still in the process of greening the waterway, with hundreds of young saplings taking a foothold along the banks. […]
6:00am and Bob was awakened by a lady’s group performing their morning exercises to music in the park next door. It was hello to the Dortmund Ems Canal early in the day as Gratis continued on her way to the Mittelland Kanal. Late afternoon and a tiny stick canal led us up a narrow […]
This afternoon Gratis completed her Rhein sojourn as she turned into the Rhein – Herne Canal. The widest we had been onto date, it easily handled two barges of twelve metre width and a small boat or two. It was important to keep toward the back in these locks as the rush of water was […]
120km today. Beautiful country. Moored in a marina at Hitdorf.
Awaking to find a thin fog drifting upon the surface river, Bob and I relaxed with a warming mug of coffee each. A small breeze at last set in, and off we set. Only a few short kilometres took us to the lock that would conclude our Mosel journey and see the commencement of the […]
Situated upon peaks that soar seventy metres above the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers, the city of Luxembourg is linked to the rest of the world by numerous bridges and viaducts. Wandering the town, we were amazed by the intricacy of the town’s layout. Constructed on multiple levels, that range from the mountain peak into the […]
The last two days have seen us out exploring. Wednesday took us along the southern Rhein’s banks to Wiesbaden and back. Next year shall see us returning for a much more in depth exploration, for the area was truly spectacular. Yesterday, it was Trier, the oldest town in Germany. On a plaque in one church was […]
This was the day we drove to Trier, a town with no less than nine UNESCO world heritage sites. Tourist beware, this is a place that requires more than four hours’ duration for exploration. We intend to return. In short, the town was settled by the Celts in 4BC and named Treuorum: it is believed […]
This afternoon, Bob and I drove along the Rhein to the south of Koblenz, first on the eastern bank, then the west to glean an insight into the lay of the land and to determine whether it would be worth a visit in the future. As always, the scenery blew us away. Very different to […]
A non – eventful trip of just over 51km in cold and rain: thankfully no wind!! Sorry, but no pics. We came upon a delightful little yacht mooring on our left just past the Kurt – Schumacher Brücke bridge. It’s street address, An der Fähre 6: just after the bridge there were six pontoons. We […]
We remained moored in Cochem today. The town was far too interesting not to. The town itself: We delighted in the statues. This one showed true use of imagination: A ride in a cable car took us up the steep hillside and a short walk provided a fantastic view of both the Reichsburg Castle and […]
Every day brings something new. Beauty in the craftmanship. Preparations for the annual wine harvest festivals. A new bridge under constructions was of immense proportions! A stop in at a weekly market. A town’s arch at the beginning of a bridge was worth a look. More picturesque countryside. A clock upo a tower built within the cliff […]
