Nidderviller to Saverne with Lucy and Miles - The best part of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin

The days are slipping by and we seem to be either cycling, walking or collapsing in a heap.  I especially want to record our lovely three days with Lucy and Miles who were great company.  They threw themselves into the canal boating life with their usual gusto and were also perfect guests.

In fact so perfect that I didn't really do much in the way of cooking, housekeeping or helping on board for the duration.

We chose a route to cruise with them that started and ended with a nearby train station and that included two tunnels (one of them over 2km long) and the Arzviller Inclined Plane. As well as part of the Vosges Mountains.

The Inclined Plane. Not the most attractive structure! It replaced 18 lovely locks.

It was a little bit gloomy as we descended.

Basically we were floating in a large box full of water and we descended down on large metal cables.

When Lucy and Miles arrived we had had torrential rain.  What bad luck we thought apologising as we met Lucy and Miles from the train station.  Not a bit of it, Lucy was looking for puddles and that is just what she got!

In the lock. Miles pushing the rod to start the locking process

Anyhow, that made things a whole lot better and in fact the weather picked up fairly soon, although it could never be described as warm.  On the last day in Saverne, we wanted to cycle together but we only had two electric bikes (which are fantastic), and two fold up bikes, which are not.  Poor Miles suffered the worst of the fold up bikes for most of the journey, on the basis that he was the fittest.  Lucy and I developed a system of alternating one on electric and one on fold up.  I helped pull her up the hills by her hanging on to the back of my rucksack.  She helped me by extending an arm and pushing my back.  It took some refining and we had to work on riding extremely close to each other, but it worked - sort of. Wish I had a photo, but in fact it rained on the way back and by then we were in no mood to stop and take any.

Miles and Lucy securing the ropes whilst in the lock at Lutzelburg