Low Bridge, Everybody Down: Barging in Europe: Strasbourg, Saverne and more of Chateau du Lutzelbourg, Alsace France

We continue to enjoy "the good life" in France.

We loved our walks around Strasbourg which is the 9th largest city in France. It's much larger than many of the towns and villages we visit and there was much to see and admire. Along the way we learned about the history, politics and culture of the area.

The beautiful St. Paul's Church which is a major Gothic Revival architecture building and one of the landmarks of Strasbourg, in Alsace, France. It was built between 1892 and 1897.

The Bourse Quarter of Strasbourg

One artist had his work lining the Esplanade that enters Strasbourg.

Another sculpture by the same artist

The view as we are about to enter a lock on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. The tow paths along the canals are always popular with locals as well as visitors. We continually see bicycle riders, runners, fishermen, joggers, walkers, families out for a stroll, and campers. All ages are seen enjoying the beauty created by these waterways.

Bouxwiller is a very old town located within the Saverne arrondissement 21 miles northwest of Strasbourg and has been occupied since Roman times. The Jews have been living in Bouxwille since the early 1300s. This synagogue was built in 1900 with the bulb marking the neo-Gothic orientalist style wanted at the time of its construction. In 1950 it was restored and re-inaugurated after the occupation and devastation by the Germans during WWII.

This is the watering system in Saverne for the beautiful planters along the main street/pedestrian walk.

One of the joys of barging is the community. Gradually we are meeting and making friends. This is a supportive group of people always happy to lend a helping hand and give advice. Having this experience in common creates a bond that would normally take much more time to create.

We were able to catch up and have a drink with Rory and Caroline (owners and operators) of the luxury hotel barge Apres Tout between their charters. We always enjoy seeing them when our paths cross. They have taken hotel barging to a whole new level.

We loved meeting Mark and Deb and spending time with them. Their home port is Strasbourg and we look forward to seeing them again upon our return this fall.

One of our daily walks.

As many of you are aware, France as well as much of Europe has been faced with heat, little to no rain, and a resulting drought. This was on top of an unusually mild winter. Because of the lack of water in many areas of France our cruising grounds have been severely restricted. For us this means we don't move as much or, conversely, we spend more time in the areas we visit. We were in Lutzelbourg for over a week. We loved being able to actually hike (as opposed to walking along the canal) almost every day. We regularly visited the Chateau de Lutzelbourg.