We left the marina in Niderviller early in the morning and took the very short ride to the LeBoat base in Hesse. We saw the area but decided to move on to the next town just because it was so early. The guide book said Xouaxang had an old church and described the town as “charming”. When we arrived, there was already a boat docked in the area and a young lady helped us tie up. It was a quiet and pretty spot. We headed into town, but there was no town to see! A closed restaurant was all there was. We did find the church which was surrounded by a cemetery with some unusual headstones, but there was nothing but private homes. So, we got back on the boat and headed to the base in Hesse.
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| Leaving the marina in Niderviller |
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| Passing by the small village of Schneckenbush |
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| I took a turn as captain |
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| The canal passed over a road |
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| Narrow waterway! |
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| Church and cemetery in Xouaxang |
At the base, we were backing into a narrow space, the boat next to us decided to pull out and almost hit us. We tied up and spoke to the people at the base briefly. Then we got a taxi and went into Sarrebourg. There, we went into a museum with beautiful tapestries. This artist made tapestries out of famous paintings, many of Chagall's and a few Picassos. The tapestries were stunning.
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| Tapestries (this and next three pictures) |
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| Archaeological exhibits in the museum |
Next we went to see the Chagall windows in a former church.
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| The outside of the museum where the Chagall windows are |
After that we wandered around but most of the stores were closed for lunch, so we found a nice restaurant and ate. Then we walked around a bit more, stopping in the Tourist office and a wine shop.
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| A Synagogue in Sarrebourg |
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| The main drag in Sarrebourg |
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| Deena and I had this lovely salad as appetizers |
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| Lunch entree |
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| A sculpture in Sarrebourg |
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| Any idea what this means? |
Finally we went to the train station and waited for a cab to show up. Oddly, the same driver we'd had before picked us up! Back at that base, Deena and I hung out while David wandered around. Then we all started chatting with the German people on the next boat. They'd been in the lift with us and we'd passed them several times along the way. We shared wine and they shared chocolate and bread and cheese.
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| Enjoying the first really warm day |
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| Hanging out with our friends from Germany |
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| Across from the base |
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| Still smiling on the last day. |
Then we all got ready for dinner. The restaurant was the only one around so everyone from the marina was there, including the family we were next to in Strasbourg, and the Swiss man we'd met in Saverne, along with our new German friends. I was so sick of beef so I ordered fish, but forgot to ask if it was filleted. It was not. So I had to play with fish bones – Yuck! To make up for it, I ordered dessert, which was delicious! Then we walked back to the boat in complete darkness to pack.
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| David's veal entree |
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| My fish |
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| Peach melba that made up for the fish! |
