2020 August: Half Way There… Maybe babe!

Sorry for the delay in receiving this month’s newsletter! Wifi and internet connection has not been the best! But I am still here and still cruising.

I left you all in Toul and this month we made our way slowly toward Nancy. What a beautiful city of gold! Seriously! This place was stunning. 

Our favorite thing to do when going to a new city is to take the local city train through the area. Yes, temperatures and masks required.

After our short tour, we head back to several cool spots like museums and walking quaint streets to explore more.

We toured the Art Deco Museum.  

What an amazing find. Both Lutz and I are taken by this era and the museum was defiantly a good choice.

Nancy was noted as the hub of art deco during the early 1900s.  

I was especially taken by the unique light fixtures and ornate designs.

We also spent four hours in the art museum which was filled with so many beautiful works of art. Even a Picasso!

Off to Pont-à-Mousson a small town on our way to Metz. 

Of course, we had to visit the local museum in Pont-à-Mousson. This one was really interesting since it was a Paper Museum!  Amazing work of chairs, tables, pots, and dishes all created from paper mache.   This company had its own employee home complex, banks, hospitals, and more for their employees. It was one of the most productive and prosperous companies along the Mosel at that time until the plastic industry came into being and it closed! 

After three days in Pont-à-Mousson, France it was off to Metz! Time to clean, shop, and wash the boat before our visitor, Terri, arrived by train. 

Lutz took off for a day to retrieve our car from our original harbor in Ophoven, Netherlands, and dropped the car in Kaiserslautern. So Terri and I had a day for the girls. It’s always nice when Terri comes. We talk till midnight and catch up on everything from diet, spirituality, health, and of course food!

We ended our tour in Metz and headed to Schengen which is on the border of Luxembourg and Germany. Of course, we had to visit the Castle of the Duke of Lodringen.

One of the sites we were determined to see was the Schengen Museum. However…this was 4K away from our boat and we only had two bikes. We did a fireman pull to get there! This museum is where the European contract for border control was signed in 1985 which permitted open travel eliminating border control throughout Europe. 

The next day we were off to Konz arriving at 3 pm and rushed directly to the train station to get Terri squared away on her train ride home. We kept her longer than she had planned but so happy she was able to go with the flow! We also made her work for her keep!

We left Konz after two days and headed to Schweich near Trier. Lutz returned home by train to retrieve the car once again while I packed and cleaned the boat. We took a bit of time off to return to our home to do some washing and business in Wolfach regarding our home that is in the process being built. It is moving along! (Top left apartment below picture)

After a week’s reprieve, and a load of clean laundry, we returned to our boat in Schweich! A few days later our dear friends from Wolfach, Freya and Georg, joined us for a 3-day tour to Neumagen on the Mosel!

On our way, we stopped in Leiwen to visit an acquaintance of Freya’s. This was such a treat! It happened to be the Bender & Bender Winery and the owner, Andrew, studied in Sonoma, California for a time. His mother,  Hildegard, our host out-did herself with appetizers and such a warm welcome.

Naturally, we had to buy a couple of cases of wine…LOL

Our stay in Neumagen was so peaceful and no traffic just beautiful scenery and great company. The next day we headed back to Schweich with beautiful weather and good friends. We waved farewell to Freya and Georg and settled in for the night.

The next morning we welcomed Lutz’s brother-in-law, Volker, and his wife, Gretel. A perfect day in the sun for outside lunch and a nice send-off for our “Bon Voyage” to Saarburg. 

Our stay in Saaburg was idyllic. Such a quaint little village with a waterfall in the center of town.

Plus, the cool cafe area is considered Little Venice of Saarburg.

After a few days touring Saarburg, we were off to Merzig for a night to collect staples for the road to Saarbrucken. Leaving Merzig we cruised down (or could be up, I’m just the driver!) the Saar to Saarbrücken. It was so beautiful.

Our only drama this section of the trip happened the first night we landed in Saarbrücken. After several hot days of 34-39C (98-105 F) we had the worst thunderstorm ever. Pouring rain, lightning, thunder, and hail! Our dinner was floating!

Our visit to Saarbrücken was topped off with a great social-distancing couples visit with colleagues and new faces from Kaiserslautern.

So much fun practicing mask coming aboard, hand sanitizer, and social distancing while on tour! Great visit and wonderful to meet new friends. Thanks for the enjoyable day you’ all!

Next month, September will be our final month for this year’s boating season.  We’re aiming for Kehl harbor which is on the German side of the canal directly across from Strasbourg France. This harbor will be our boat’s new home for the winter. It’s a perfect location since it will only be an hour from our new home in Wolfach, the Black Forest.

Hope you are all safe and well and creating something new each day! Until next month please stay safe and wear your mask!