Europe boating – Gary J. Kirkpatrick Art and Travel Blog

Namur was settled by the Celts, who were replaced by the Romans. The Merovigians (550-750 CE) built the citadel, much strengthened and expanded over time by the Spanish and later Napoleon. The Germans attacked early in WWI to use the Meuse River as a path into nearby France. It is now the capitol of the region. Located on a narrow strip along the Meuse, the majority of the town, significantly the old town sits more broadly along and setback from the Sambre River. The old town is full of medieval charm and, of course, lots of bars and restaurants, well populated with beer sipping locals chatting the hours away.

Namur is on an important railway junction as well as being at the junction of two rivers, each of which supports a fair amount of barge traffic. In addition we saw several day trip cruise trips. The University of Namur (1831) and the University of Louvain are here, both well respected institutions.

namur on way up — Namur from the cable car

Dinant is much smaller and its downtown less charming than Namur’s, but there are fabulous views from our mooring, along the main part of the town, and from the citadel. The citadel offers a much more interesting visit compared to Namur’s, aside from the ride up, which is more dramatic in Namur. The Dinant visit takes you deep in the mountain, passing through a tilted corridor with a fun house feel to it- the sloping path makes you a bit dizzy. The main part of the town is only a few streets wide and not as charming as Namur. The Collegiate Church of Notre Dame de Dinant has a Norman facade on the north side, which dates it a 1000 years back, its carvings badly worn by the ravages of Belgian rain, but still it’s a trip back in time. Rocks heavily damaged the Romanesque structure in 1227. It was then rebuilt in the Gothic style.

Dinant shows traces of settlement dating to paleolithic times. Celtic tribes lived there, and of course the Romans. The St Vincent church was built in 870. There was heavy fighting in WWI during which DeGaulle was wounded. We ran across the statue honoring him. I’d forgotten how old he was as President of France in the 60’s.

pulpit — Pulpit at Collegiate Church of Notre Dame, Dinant

sax — On the bridge in Dinant. The inventor Adolphe Sax was born here

Minden dates to the 800’s. It sits about 30 kilometers from Bad Essen through forested areas with the occasional house alongside the canal. There are some small towns along the way too, but none on the canal and most are not visible from the boat. There is a marina in Minden on the river, a drop of many meters in the lock. As we are continuing on the canal, we moored where we saw free moorings on the canal, just after someone left one of the few spaces provided.

The mooring is just 100 meters or so from the aqueduct that takes boat traffic over the Weser River well below. The old town is about a 10 minute bike ride, bike paths most of the way.

minden aqueduct — Weser River seen from the aqueduct

IMG_20200623_124829_BURST002 — Boat entering the aqueduct. We moored on the right, the first boat you can see in full..

IMG_20200623_130120 — The Schacht Pumping Station

The downtown area is a mixture of half-timber structures and various versions of modernity. The central shopping zone is pedestrian only and mostly modern.

IMG_20200622_170217 — These five half timber house holds the Minden Museum, closed when Peg took this photo

IMG_20200622_165850 — The ornate pulpit in Minden Cathedral. It was rather dim and we could not enter so you can not see its intricacy very well.

The old town features the Cathedral of St Gorgonius. Minden was founded in the area surrounding the cathedral.Some structures are built in the later Weser Renaissance style and others from the time Minden was still a fortified town. The town hall dates from the 13th Century, surviving a major bombing in World War II.You can still see the octagonal pattern of the town wall on maps.

We climbed the six flights to the upper terrace of the old-town, our legs aching from having spent so many hours on the boat. These are called the Martinitreppe (St. Martin’s steps). Here you find St. Martini dating from 1300, St. Marien, and St Simeon’s church built circa 1300. You will also find the Alte Münze (old mint), the oldest stone building in the Westphalia region. The Schwedenschänke (Swedish tavern) dates from the Swedish occupation during the 30 Years War.

It was Peggy’s birthday so we headed for the biergarten on the river. Schiffmühlen (mill) Gastronomie has beers on tap and your choice of schnitzel on the menu. Vegetarians stay home or just drink beer. You sit just above the river. Across the river children play in the water, far enough away to form an impressionist painting of white and pinkish dots. Couples, groups and singles sit under the shade of the trees. Our waitress speaks English, and apologetic for bringing Peg a sweet wine, not a dry one she asked for. It was a pleasant ending to the day.

IMG_20200622_183528 — Schnitzels at the biergarten.