Autumn Round Trip Part Three: France

River Moselle

We left Remich and dropped into the next Port de Plaisance to stock up with diesel at a mere 86.1 cents per litre, the cheapest we have seen in Europe so far, and on the canal side at that! But cheap fuel is one of the well-known claims to fame of Luxembourg. In due course we arrived at the outskirts of Metz and as often happens the hoped-for free moorings, which we had earmarked on our map all turned out to be non-existent, so we headed off into the Port de Plaisance right in the centre. As luck would have it there was plenty of space for us, but we had an interesting time manoeuvring Riccall between the mooring posts to get onto the quay. The 5 mooring posts were set out from the quay by about 8 metres and were intended to be used like finger moorings, in that boats are expected to back up to the quay and tie their bow to one of these posts. We couldn’t do that of course, being way too large, but we did wriggle our way behind all 5 posts and moor up along the quay, taking up all the spaces! The mooring charge at €12 per night didn’t alter thankfully, so we felt we had done quite well out of it.

In the morning, we set off into Metz 'sur les bicyclettes' and what a lovely surprise. We mentioned that we had read that Metz is an astonishing city and it is true – it is absolutely brilliant. Deeply coloured sandstone buildings fill the main square in the centre with a unity we have seldom seen in the towns and cities we have explored so far.

The central Notre Dame cathedral may be higher than all others and magnificent in its way, but still does not surpass Reims cathedral for sheer WOW factor. However, its position within the surrounding buildings make the centre outstanding.

The rest of the city, which has changed hands between Germany and France on a number of occasions, and exhibits influences from both, is fascinating. There are many examples of differences between the architectural preferences of the two cultures: the old station for instance was completely rebuilt on a new site by the Germans in heavy Germanic style during their occupation from 1887 to 1918 to allow for troop movements in the event of war. At the same time the French insisted on building a new government building close by with typical French influences – filigree balconies, charming decoration and so on in their own inimitable style.

In 1918 Metz reverted to French rule and with it the language reverted to French. Then of course in 1940 it was back to German until 1945 when it again reverted to French and Francais. But in fact, much of the older parts of the city date back to the Romans and some remains are left over from that era.

We loved it; the open market, the covered market, the vibrant squares, the open parks, the cathedral, the trompe l’oeil in the main square – a really lovely city. We must go back, if only by car, if we have time.

When we got to Pont-a-Mousson, the first mooring place in our moorings guide, on a pontoon below the town bridge, was non-existent. The pontoon had clearly been removed since the entry in 2007 but perhaps just for the winter as the Moselle can be a very lively river. The Port de Plaisance opposite was impossible for us, so we headed for the third and last option – the wide entrance channel to an old lock onto an unused canal. Here we could see a possibility, so we stopped and waited for several rowing 4s to get out of the way (much to their horror/surprise when they noticed over their shoulders Riccall creeping up towards them) and nosed our way in. The signs recently erected said mooring was limited to 2 hours, and that there was a Port de Plaisance opposite. This we knew we couldn’t use so we decided to play it à la Francais and ignore everything, and made ourselves comfortable! We did a short reconnôitre of the town visiting the obligatory boulangerie for bread and subsequently one of the two massive churches taking our large baguette in with us. As we emerged from the church we were met by a French couple about to enter, who expressed surprise and then tried to explain why - unfortunately the joke was somewhat lost in the translation but eventually we got it - that the church is into selling bread now!!

The next morning the fog on the river was dense and very slow to clear so it wasn’t until 11.30 that it was clear enough for us to contemplate sailing on. Having passed through the only lock where we have understood the reply from the lock keeper (a lady for once) to the announcement of our arrival, Alex, emboldened by this success, asked if we could stop on the lock moorings for lunch. “Mais oui”.

Eventually we got back to Liverdun, which had been our first overnight stop at the beginning of our round trip, at about 4 o’clock. The weather was again fine and sunny so, despite Liverdun being described as an ugly village with an ugly name in an article we had read, we decided to investigate the village for ourselves,.

The lower village perhaps deserved that moniker, but we persevered to the ancient village on the top of the hill, which was well worth the hike up narrow and very steep cobbled streets. The original fortified village was built on the very top of a steep promontory (rather like Luxembourg but on a much smaller scale) and we were delighted by its ancient and very French charm. Liverdun is also the home of the little famous ‘Madeleine’ cakes available throughout France and beyond, though we very much doubt if they all originate there. We did buy some locally produced examples and very good they were too (Alex). Pretty much the same as all the others (Louise)!!

By mid afternoon we were back in our winter moorings in Toul but still with a few missions to achieve by car before autumn truly turns into winter.

The first one had to wait for a day or two, as the day after our return we were welcomed back by other over-winterers and had a barbecue on shore in the warm (later chilly) afternoon air. It was a good idea and we all had a great time, but when the rain started at about 5pm the boules game had to be curtailed and we all shot back to our various boats!

The following day dawned warm and sunny so we took the opportunity to return to Liverdun to investigate the remains of a canal which had been built in the mid 1800s, including a tunnel under the ‘haute ville’ on its promontory. Much of the canal is either still in water, or still evident in a broad swathe of grass alongside the road and the River Moselle. The old canal was still in use until the 1970s and then was disbanded, including the tunnel and the aqueduct which carried it over the Moselle, when the huge locks were built which now control the river.

All of this historical detective work is great fun and gets us into some strange places!