Metz (where has all the water gone?)

Back in Metz - a subtle reminder of the mess the UK has got itself into?

It was an early start on Wednesday morning – our alarms went off at 1.30am and, after a hassle-free journey through the tunnel, we were back on the boat in Metz by 11.30 French time.  We were met by the usual labyrinth of spiders’ webs throughout the boat and a layer of dust that build up when we go away for a while.  The flowers were looking a little sad too as, along with much of the UK, there hadn’t been a drop of rain while we were away although our Swiss neighbours had kindly been watering the plants.  To be fair, they had clearly done a good job, but we couldn’t have expected them to feed and deadhead them as well so it’s going to take a while to get them looking healthy again.  Of course, it had also been even hotter in France which, apart from seeing the family, is the other main reason for returning to the UK during August.

We had a couple of relaxing and enjoyable family holidays with a week in the Cotswolds at the start and a camping trip at the end.  There were also some unplanned activities which meant the rest of the time was busier than expected.  My father had died so there were things to arrange with my siblings for his life celebration and being one of the executors meant I had a lot to do arranging probate.  On top of that we’d put our Kent house on the market just before returning as we’d decided not to rent it out any longer.  It sold quickly so that gave us even more tasks such as hiring a van to fetch all the items we’d not put into storage when we started renting it out seven years ago.  This all meant we needed a larger storage unit so, as well as moving all the gear from the house into the new unit we also had to clear out the existing unit and move it to the new one.

I’d hired a Luton tail lift in Reading with the intention of driving it down to Kent that evening.  We needed access to a car while we were down there as we knew we would need a visit to the local dump, so Karen followed me in our car.  It turned out to be fortunate that Karen did follow me as the van broke down on the M25 and it meant I had company while we waited four hours for the RAC to arrive.  It transpired that Lutons and larger vans are covered by their commercial team who have a longer lead time to attend a breakdown.  We ended up getting back to Reading by 1.00am and were lucky that the hire company gave us a replacement van early the next morning, so we didn’t end up losing too much time.

Anyway, back to France.  Before we left, canals were closing due to lack of water and whilst we were away many more closed, especially in the central and northern regions, leaving just the main rivers open.  This meant that private cruising had become quite problematical but at least a lot of the commercial operations could continue as they tend to be concentrated on the rivers.  Metz is on the Moselle so at least we can cruise until the rains come and canals start reopening later in the year.  This map shows the canals of the north eastern region where red indicates full closure and orange and yellow different degrees of constraint such as reduced depth and grouping of boats through locks.

The following map recaps our travels so far this year.  Starting just south of Reims we travelled east via Nancy to Strasbourg, where we retraced our steps part of the way back to Nancy and then headed north up the Sarre into Germany.  We then joined the Moselle, travelling through Luxembourg back into France arriving in Metz where we are currently moored.  So far this year we have travelled 900 km through 316 locks. 

2022 travels in maroon

When my father died, one of my first thoughts was that I wouldn’t write any more blog entries as one of the reasons for creating the blog was to keep him updated on our travels.  I had that thought for a few days and then realised that Karen and I use the blog for reference when researching places to visit, refreshing our memories or even answering queries.  I also know other people read the blog for similar reasons either occasionally or regularly, so I’ve decided to continue updating it.  This entry is a quick one to bring readers up to date before we set off cruising again.

Having been back in Metz for a couple of days we've done some walking to keep us sane while getting on with boat jobs.  Metz is one of those cities that is crossed by multiple waterways which help make it a delight to visit so our walks have been limited to those places rather than the city attractions.  If we tour Metz properly, as we hope to do, then that will be covered in the next update.  The rest of this update contains water based pictures from our walks so far.

The waterways of Metz

Pont St Marcel (left), Pont des Roches (right)

Moselle overspill used for the 2022 French canoe-kayak slalom championships

 

Pont Moyen with cathedral background left

The port we are staying at is on a lake on a backwater of the Moselle so there isn’t any passing commercial traffic meaning it's lovely and quiet during the night.  Mind you it's going to be a lively weekend as it's the annual fête de l'eau which is centred on the lake and also the start of the annual four-day Metz hot air balloon festival on a field opposite the port.  Of course, being in the middle of a tourist town there is passing traffic but as it consists of electric commuter and trip boats, tourist pedalos and rowboats as well as serious rowers and canoeists/kayakers it means we're not disturbed by wash but have plenty of entertainment.  

The southern end of the port

The northern end of the port where we are moored

Large catfish being landed opposite our mooring

Rather nice wooden cruiser – fountain behind

Disused canal de Jouy running under the old town fortifications

Finally, on Friday morning the guys from the port strapped an oar to a flood dolphin alongside our boat and we couldn't work out what they were doing.  That was until a bit later when they put an EU flag on it and we also realised that oars had been erected at the ends of the other four pontoons flying a couple of French flags as well as the flags of Metz and Lorraine.  Was it a coincidence that the EU one was put alongside the only British boat in the port?