This day was really bad, and we were afraid that it could bring our cruise to an early end. We struck something underwater, and the engine stopped, when I made an inspection, I found that the impact had caused the engine to be wrenched out of line, smashing the flexible mounts ! So here we were drifting without power......
I hailed a passing Dutch cruiser and asked the skipper if he would please give us a tow,"Yes" he said, "You are lucky, I am a Lifeboatman in the Ijsselmeer!"
So he and his wife kindly towed us all that day, about 35 kms to Port a Bar, the nearest place with a crane big enough to lift us. We payed Mr Jacob for his diesel (he wouldn't take anything else) and waited for next morning to meet the proprietor of the yard Mr Maubac. Mr Maubac (Daniel as he prefers) was wonderful, he first said that he was very busy and could do nothing for a week, but once I offered to do some of the preparation work and he could see that we were practical people who didn't care about getting their hands dirty, he lifted us out straight away. The conclusion was that we had struck a submereged tree trunk. There had been floods in the Meuse that winter, and many trees were carried into the river, we were just unlucky.

New engine mounts had to be ordered, and in the meantime the propeller shaft was taken out and measured on a lathe to check that it wasn't bent, it fortunately wasn't.
The feet duly arrived 3 days later, they were wrong, too small! So a very angry Daniel faxed La Rochelle, the wires got very hot, and we got the right feet next day. Daniel worked like a demon, in temperatures inside the boat up to 40c, and we were back in the water 7 days after the accident. Our Insurers were wonderful, and payed up straight away. We had one more fright though, as we approached the lock out of Port a Bar into the Meuse, the engine temperature alarm sounded! Fortunately it was only an airlock and after a quick top - up, we were off again, sighs of relief all round, our holday could continue after all.

                                                             
                                                                                                   First lock in France                                Jakob takes us in tow                            Like a beached Whale!                      Daniel pulls out the propshaft

We passed Sedan, and stopped in the pretty port at Stenay, where we met some Brits, we hadn't seen many at all so far. then we reached Verdun. This town has an atmosphere which is very sombre, it saw some of the worst fighting between the French and Germans in the First World War. There are memorials everywhere and many reminders or the hundreds of thousands that lost their lives near here. The port however was a well organised place with several very nice riverside restaurants.

                                                               
                                                                                               Well kept lock Ardennes                                       Stenay                                                    Sparkling weirs                                             Verdun Port
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               (Don't get too close!)
 

We were now on the Eastern side of the Ardennes heading into Lorraine, the countryside was becoming more mountainous and we were finding tunnels.
At Toul the canal actually passes under the city wall. We then locked into the upper waters of the Moselle, this was a joy with wide water and virtually no traffic, and then we had reached the capital of Lorraine, Nancy, which is a beautiful city. We stayed a couple of days, and enjoyed the unique experience of dinner in Stanislas Street, where in the evening they close it to traffic and fill the street with tables,and hundreds of people have dinner.....
 

                                                             
                                                                                            Light at the end of the tunnel                   Many locks are automated                           Toul hole in the wall                                      Upper Moselle
 
 

                                                                   
                                                                                                                                        Nancy Stanislas Street                                                                                                Nancy Stanislas Square

Next came Alsace, and another Inclined plane, different, it goes sideways, and lowers vessels to the Zorn river below. It has been made into a tourist attraction with a barge museum. The Zorn was by far the best scenery so far, and the little houses showed German influence. Through history this land has changed hands many times. So we came to the capital of Alsace, Strasbourg.
A big place, dominated by European Union buildings, but the old part "Petit France" was nice, but packed with tourists. The cathedral is very spectacular, and we were told took almost 200 years to build.

                                                                   
                                                                                                         Ship and train tunnel                        Mural of the Incline Arzviller                      Sideways down the hill!                        Beautiful Zorn Valley
 

                                                                     
                                                                                                             Lost in the Jungle                             Ultramodern Tram Strasb'g                                      Petit France                           European Court of Human Rights

                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                Cathedral Strasbourg