cast off! We place the. The body of the boat rocking in happy anticipation. A three point turn in the port basin is needed, then the house takes a boat ride and stands out in a wide curve in the green, glittering river. The boat trip starts in St-Jean-de-Losne/St-Usage, and will lead us in five days over 102 miles and through nine locks in the area of Soing. And then all the water back. The weather is fine, the breeze fresh. From the first Moment we felt relief.

On the boat the Crew is set up quite well. We are progressing properly. Everything we see as if for the first Time, a tree, a bird, the green water and the inescapable Green that surrounds us. Over the river a bright sky, the Contrails of the plane, such as chalk lines on a blue panel. The life is easy. We climb all over the boat. Everything must be considered.

The Saône is still in front of us, smooth as glass, a green belt, as if it had never touched a man before us. From the galley smell of fried eggs with bacon. The coffee pot whistles. All are doing well, and at dinner, we are convinced, to be completely seafarers have become so cozy, what it feels like on Board.

The ladders are narrow, wet and often slippery!

Suddenly, a sharp call from the bridge: "lock!" Suddenly, the comfort is, we're climbing on the bridge and look in disbelief. In fact, a sinister monster from the water looms close, and before the river ends. The first floodgate. The only way to get through: Over the river, a rope is stretched, this is a hose, which we are now approaching slowly hangs. Who is going to get him to grasp, and turn with determination. In The Counter-Clockwise Direction!

Sleek, but not quickly: With the self-drive boats can be moored in many Places.

in a Moment a light flashes in the lock. The Behemoth creaks, and then it moves, the door goes on, and the dark, stone-walled canyon, which takes in our boat, is visible. The light on the traffic light jumps from Red to Green. Get ready! Stairs and ladders are all crawling on their previously discussed Items. We now need to prove that we are mutated from landlubbers to seafarers! Since the ship will rise in the lock, you must climb a passenger high up on the wall to lay the cables to the bollards. The ladders are narrow, in wall niches recessed, wet and often slippery.

Bravely the captain holds on to the first rung, and climb the few meters high, the ropes around the bollards, then he pressed a lever. The gate closes to mute. Shortly thereafter, the water is set in motion, and lifts the ship. The people on Board, keep the ropes in Position. The captain waits at the top of the wall and jump at the right Moment, then back to the boat. Et voilà, as the faces of the Crew at the top of the wall to dive, and you look around curious as to what there is to discover there.

The little walks in the places are enchanting

The Scenery is Often a dreamy, a brick-built sluice waiting for Keeper's cottage, surrounded by a garden full of vegetables and flowers. A slightly dusty, grey Peugeot in front of the garden gate, a hubcap is missing. Flowers on the ledges, ivy on the wall, a round window, a Fliegentür. There is a smell in the house is always determined after the steaming broth; a bottle of country wine, here is certainly a Dole, or Beaune, is on the table, Laundry is flapping in the Wind like a Flag.

Formerly a lock Keeper, today, someone lived here. Previously, they operated the locks by Hand, today it works automatically. The upper sluice gate is as if by magic, and the free flow lies in front of us. This adventure will be repeated every few hours. From Time to Time, we are easier to take on the challenge until it's even a pleasure in the well-established Team to solve this is always a tricky task.

The trip has assumed a comfortable rhythm. We cross the path of a boat, waving to us. Boat driver combines more than just the river. The landscape passes by. It feels fluid and malleable, it hugs the boat. You can hardly get enough of art full of shades of green in this total. The time passes slowly. A row of poplar trees on the horizon, in front of fields, or forests. Then stay on the ship, which appears as an illuminated capsule. The moon sat in the night as a pale, in spite of head in the sky, melts in the delicate Pink of the up coming Morning, without leaving a trace. From the shore here tree shadows lie on the flat water.

We drive back, softly, the engine humming. A silvery fish jumps. Where to put also, in Auxonne, or wild the reed on a bridge: The small walks in the places are magical and rewarding to shop by terrines of all kinds, cheese, Baguettes and Croissants, wine, fruit. Free we get is a reminder, nothing Big. A France, as it is so the newspaper can hardly be described. The Rosé half, the thoughts go their way, or maybe you like to think not, enjoys drinking just yet. There is resounding it from the bridge: "lock!"

Created: 17.02.2020, 14:28 PM