canals France

Luxembourg: So fabulous that the whole city is a World Heritage site

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The capital setting is dramatic, siting as it does on cliffs above a winding gorge and the rivers that snake through. It’s medieval architecture is among the finest. Thus Luxembourg’s is designated as a World Heritage City. The rest of the country is another sort of beauty, rural, heavily forested and otherwise largely agricultural. There are no other cities whatsoever, just many lovely views.

The Fortress of Luxembourg is a big part of the impressive cliff that marks the entrance to the city. The fort was once important for controlling the left bank of the Rhine, the Low Countries and the border between France and Germany. The center of much warfare over the centuries since its inception in the 10th century, it was largely disassembled by treaty in 1867. Over the centuries it had been controlled by the Burgundy, the French, Austrian and Spanish Hapsburgs, and the Prussians.

lux view of fort
View of the Fort. The Alzette and Petrusse rivers flow through the gullies.

The capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is called Luxembourg, not Luxembourg City, just Luxembourg. As a result many do not realize that the capital is just a tiny part of the country of this itsy bitsy country. Of its mere 682,000 residents only 135,000 live in Luxembourg.

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Ducal Palace. The Duke is the titular head of government.

Luxembourgian is the national language. It is in the same family as German and Dutch. French is the official language of government so many speak it as well. The capital is 60%+ foreign, so you can find many other languages in common usage there. Luxembourg is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, with a per capital income of $140k/year, so you might find it frightfully expensive. Fortunately wine production is enormous, so that product at least is reasonably priced, albeit it is mostly white.

Luxembourg is one of the four ‘capitals’ of the EU, together with Brussels, Strasbourg and Frankfurt. Here you find the Court of Justice of the EU, the EU Court of Auditors, the Secretariat of the EU Parliament and the Public Prosecutor, the EU Investment Bank, the Investment Fund and more. The Council of the EU meets here for three months annually.

Luxembourg is a busy place, with foot traffic galore in the pedestrian only center. Both boutique and chain upscale stores occupy the street level of old and newer buildings alike. In this weather (June) people sit outdoors at bars and eateries, although there is plenty of street food. We found one such which provided a light lunch for two for €22, including a shared Quiche Loraine, a popular item.

There is a wide variety in the cuisine, reflecting the diversity of the population. We had lunch in a Portuguese restaurant. Bacalao (cod) is popular in Portugal and several versions were on offer. One was shredded cod, potato sticks (!) and an egg, combined and then baked. Another has shredded cod covered with olive oil and then baked. Mine was a sauteed red and green pepper topping over a thick corn battered filet, with freshly made potato chips (crisps for you English).

All public transport in the country is free as part of the effort to reduce traffic. From our mooring on the Moselle we went to the city by train on one occasion and by bus on another, visited a museum in Wiltz on a third, and Trier, Germany on a fourth- you have to buy a ticket for any travel outside the country. In the city there is tram as well as bus transport. Many of the buses are electric, even in the countryside.

Musee Bataille Des Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) is occupies the castle in Wiltz. WWII is a big deal in the country and especially in Wiltz. The Nazis occupied the country and used brutality to control the population. Luxembourghish was banned and children were indoctrinated. In Wiltz and elsewhere members of the resistance were tortured and killed. Others were sent to concentration camps and into forced labor.

The Museum highlights the American soldiers of the 28th Infantry Division who liberated the town. The 28th still serves as the Pennsylvania National Guard. There are plaques to soldiers who died in battle as the German army approached, including the division dentist and some musicians. On the lighter side, one soldier played Santa Claus for the village children. The Museum committee went to considerable trouble to track down him down many years after the war. They brought Santa aka Frank McClelland for a visit to the village. Also, on his way towards the front, Eisenhower stopped here. The photographed is displayed.

This museum is a bit unusual as together with the WWII displays there is a section about brewing and leather production. The town at one point had several brewers and tanners. The price of admission includes your choice of among several locally made brews!

If you visit by public transport, go by bus as it gets you close to the museum. The train is a steep climb to the museum. Returning by train is easier as it’s all downhill, but still it is quite a bit farther than the bus stop.

Blue or is it Bleu? Samois sur Seine to Fontainebleu

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Samois sur Seine sits behind a small island in the Seine. There was just one spot for visitors, in front of a day tour ship and an 18 meter live aboard barge captained by Blue. Or is it Bleu? She’s a character, as we soon learned as she quaffed the chilled white as we sat chatting on the deck. She told us she has a PhD in astrophysics, five masters degrees and teaches French in Charlotte. Seems like an awful lot of training for that position, but more power to her. She has a captain’s license for the huge ships that barge through the locks on the Seine. I am not sure what is going on there, but she is charming and helpful, a lot of fund, and for us that’s what matters.

Samois sur Seine, water color
Samois-sur-Seine

The town’s center sits atop a cliff so up you must hike steeply some ten minutes, past walls of charming village homes, bought and renovated by well to do Parisians. There’s a very good bakery at the top, and as a plus a trio was playing some jazzy stuff on the main plaza. We at listening at the bar, enjoying some vastly overpriced beer. Our friends had come to find some glucose free items in the town’s only superette. They asked me to find some good wine, which I gladly obliged. Next day they got two more of the same, a St Emillion, a very good one and a Gran Cru even, for a very reasonable price.

Samois sur Seine house
On the way to the center

By then I’d noticed that one of our four huge batteries was failing- if one in a bank fails, they all have to go. Bleu recommended a couple of places. At the second we found Carlos, who is the captain of the small port in Valvin, recommended by the French boater we met in Nogent sur Seine. Carlos has been taking care of his boat for 30 years. Carlos proved to be a gem. He had the batteries ready to install after retrieving them himself, as his supplier failed to deliver a few days before on a Friday and was non-committal on Monday, which is when he promised to be ready. He complained about the decline in the professionalism of his suppliers.

While we waited for the work to be completed, visited nearby Fontainebleau via bus. Fontainebleau is one of the three main royal palaces, offering a stunning display of wealth.

Chateau_Fontainebleau
Fontainebleu

TrinityChapel

Chapel

One of the battery clamps failed. He fixed that after we came by again, although he had offered to come to us. So doing would make him unavailable to others. He let us stay two extra nights without charge, unasked.

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Throne room

The palace was preceded by the medieval castle, both serving as a residence for the kings from Louis VII to Napoleon III. The site was chosen for its spring, from which the palace’s name derives, and the abundance of game.

After a lovely lunch in the town and the trip back to the bus, Carlos completed his work and we resumed our journey. We spent one night at Lock Dommaine sur Lys, six barges snuggled in with us. There is safety in numbers, or so it makes us feel, so we were happy to see them even as they came just a couple of meters of scraping our sides or crushing us against the dock. They are excellent boaters and almost all are friendly. Everyone on the Seine is obliged to monitor channel 10 on the VHF (marine radio). They have almost all answered our calls, asking to pass or for information. You have to check in with the locks before you enter. The chart gives you the VHF channel for the lock. Most of the time our charts have an out of date channel. The barges know the latest.

lock barges
Sharing the mooring with the bargees

Amiens and its Soaring Cathedral

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Amiens is a small city (pop 135,000) in the Picardie region, just 120km/75m north of Paris. It’s main claim to fame is its Cathedral, a large High Gothic structure overlooking the Somme River. There are extensive hortillonnages  (gardens) where people were resting and playing as we walked in the cool May evening. There’s a lovely row of restaurants in the Saint Leu district along the river featuring moules frites (mussels with fries), huitres (oysters), as well as “macrons d’Amiens (almond paste biscuits), tuiles amienoises”, (chocolate and orange biscuits), “pâté de canard d’Amiens” (duck pate in pastry), “la ficelle Picarde”, a baked crêpe with cheese; and flamiche aux poireaus, a puff pastry tart made with leeks and cream. Gone are the Belgian beers, it seems, so readily available elsewhere in the region, so you are mostly getting lighter blond brews.

The first settlement here was called Samarobriva , built by a Gaullic tribe called the Ambiani. The Romans renamed the town Ambianum, which morphed into Amiens. Those marauding Normans wreaked havoc in 859, returning for more in 882. In 1597 during the war with Spain, Spanish soldiers occupied the city for six months. In the 19th century the defensive walls were demolished to allow for larger streets in the center. Rail arrived in 1848.

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The 1918 Battle of Amiens led to the Armistice with Germany that ended the war. The town was fought over during both wars, suffering significant damage, including bombardment by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. The downtown streets were widened. New buildings used brick, concrete and white stone with slate roofs.

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens  was built between 1220 and c. 1270 CE, rapid for this type of structure. It’s style is High Gothic. This is a fine example of the stle, with it soaring ceilings and thin walls.  It also has some Rayonnant features, a movement that came about in the mid-13th to 14th centuries. This brought more spacial unity, refined decoration, more and larger windows.

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Christ Rendering Judgement, high relieve in the Cathedral

While we were waiting for the tour of the choir an English speaking volunteer appeared, so we joined in. The choir was built by highly skilled wood workers from 1809-1819. It portrays stories from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).

Jules Verne was born here, there is a museum in his name and the University carries it as well. The Musee de Picardie has a large collection of monumental paintings circa mid 1800’s, including a Lady Godiva. The large rooms with very tall ceilings make a good space for these. The archaeological section is in the basement. There are excellent examples of glass and pottery from the Roman era. In addition there

Samura Parc Nature is an open air museum exploring pre-historic times. We took the boat there, taking advantage of the mooring at the pedestrian entrance. Discoveries in this area include remnants of skin covered tepee-like structures, some with smoke exits, dating from paleolithic times. More sophisticated shelters appear, with thatched roofs with about 30 square meters ( about 400 square feet). Dwellings from the Gaulic era, 5000- 1st century when the Romans conquered Gaul, could be quite large and advanced. They show one example on the site.

huts
Skin huts

The site provides demonstrations of flint starting with a huge piece so you could see what flint looks like before it is worked, and other tool making, including a forge with basic bellows. They demonstrated spear hunting, showing how using a sling greatly increases velocity. They made bread using nettles, honey and water as a starter. Honey feeds the yeast that naturally occur in the environment. There is a display of human skulls starting with Lucy, including a Neanderthal and a modern human so you can readily compare them.

flint
Making flint tools

The demonstrations are entirely in French, with explanatory plaques also in English . You can buy honey products, including drinks, at the store you find at the usual places, at the exit.

The boat moorings are very convenient to town. However they are close to the English Pub. On a Thursday night we were kept awake until the wee hours.

On the Road Again

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We departed our winter mooring of Valenciennes, near the Belgium border, heading south on the Schelde River, known as the Escarpe in France, then to the Canal du Nord. We are now on the seldom traveled Scarpe River, whose ancient locks are too small for modern barges and thus the lack of that sort of traffic. Even few pleasure boaters seek its pleasures, for in France canal boating is not terriblly popular among the French. It’s mostly us foreigners.

We spent the first night in Bassin Rond, near the town of Paillencourt. There’s room for three boats our size on a well maintained pontoon. We were welcomed by our winter neighbors, whom we’d just met in Valenciennes as they were readying their 15 meter barge for summer’s outing. They told us how pleasant a mooring this is so we followed them a day later.

We walked to town of Paillencourt the next morning, a Sunday. The bakery was open, with fresh bread, pain au chocolate, tartalettes and more wonderful treats awaiting. They even had a corn flour baguette-shaped bread. It’s just past the town’s WWI-WWII memorial. There the deaths were numerous during WWI. Several civilians murdered by the Nazis are listed. Down the road there is a plaque to a pilot who died when his plane crashed in May, 1944.

The locals, or at least some of them, were happy to say hello. One in particular wanted to try out his very limited English and even offered to buy us another coffee as we sat outside in the sun. He’s the one who told us about the plaque down the street. His wife joked with us about her husband’s gift of the gab and that he appeared to know everyone. This is not a surprise, I suppose, given that we are in a small pond after all. There are just some 1000 residents.

He tried to remember our names. Mine was the most difficult for some reason. After three efforts I gave him a hint. That did not work. Then I said, “Macron.” “Nooooo” he said. This is the second time I’ve had this reaction, the first in Valenciennes when I joked with the cashier, saying “Macron” as I signed the credit card receipt. I have read that there is a lot of support in northern France for Le Nazi. My take is that people in some areas are more worried about economic issues than being associated with a person with a racist past. They do not want to support any more immigrants- they have many indeed.

After two nights in the Bassin we continued on the Canal de la Sensee, passing large barges being loaded with grain. After a bit we radioed the next lock. He had told us to enter. He returned a bit later to explain that two barges were coming in behind us. Normally the large craft enter first while the smaller ones wait for the barges to completely stop. The two came in behind us very slowly, and given the size of the lock, there was no problem, even given that the one to our side just had the captain aboard. Behind us a woman with purple hair handled the huge lines, gave a big smile and waved hello. That made me feel warmed all over.

Lock on the Canal de la Sansee, northern France
Lock on the Canal du Nord, northern France
In the lock on the Canal de la Sansee

The friendly lock keeper gave us the remote control for the locks on the Scarpe River. He said there were additional instructions at the first lock. After we entered the Scarpe River, we came upon the lock and no instructions in sight, or we missed them. The lock did not operate. The phone number he gave us led only to a recording. After 30 minutes we were still waiting for a reply so I wrote to our winter neighbor. He gave us a number that worked. Soon we had a proper explanation. We thought we were supposed to touch “Avalant” not “Montant.” Montant means going upstream, that is going towards the source of the river, and that is what we are in fact doing. Our error. After it would not open I did try Montant but apparently once you make this mistake they have toreset the system. Finally we entered the lock to find the two rods that fill the lock and open the gates. I pulled down. Nothing. Another VNF truck had come by so I looked at the driver. He said you push up. We had not been told that. I supposed I would have tried that eventually.

We went through another lock without incident, but the third would not open at first. After about 30 minutes I tried again. The gates opened, it filled slowly and gently. We stopped for the night in Blache-Saint-Vaast.

Lock on the Scarpe River, northern France
Lock on the Scarpe River. It looks fierce but was quite gentle.