It has been 3 years since we last arrived in Europe but it seems like an eternity! And yet, now we are here, everything is so familiar! After a week in Germany and an eight-hour drive, we are back to where it all started for us, at Saint Jean de Losne in France 10 years ago. Here time has stood still. We were there again for Victory Day celebrated by a parade of the war veterans and the emergency services before the rather lengthy speeches of town officials.

And like 10 years ago, standing still on a hot sunny day, one young cadet collapsed without putting a halt to the celebrations. By the time the Marseillais was played, we got a little hot too, and there is not much we like better than cooling off on the Quai Nationale at the Saône River with a cool glass of panaché.

But don’t be fooled, it has not all been leisure and pleasure. 

Sure, we had a wonderful time with my brother and sister-in-law in Westfalen, including walks through the spring beauty of Münsterland and a bus tour of the historic centre of the town Münster. And yes, we did spend a lovely evening with friends in my hometown, being wined and dined by ex-Mexican and recently resettled Josine and Renato! But soon enough the drudgery started! 

There was packing the hired SUV with ½ the contents of our old boat the Freshwater. That is after sorting, discarding and recycling what would have amounted to another carload and was all stored in my brother's cellar for more than a year. Worse was the unloading at H2O Marina in Saint Jean de Losne or SJDL for short, where our new boat, the “Lodi” was waiting for us.

First, of course, salesman extraordinaire, Max Gerard, gave us the royal tour showing us every nook and cranny of the Lodi. We were stoked!!! The Lodi is in near-perfect condition and has been looked after by her former owner. Then, like moving into a new home started unpacking, re-stocking, purchase of new bedding and household items.

Boat manuals had to be studied, ropes, fenders and safety equipment checked etc.

We made good use of our hire car as SJDL taking several trips to Dijon and Dole to find what we needed to live on board for the next few months.

Then yesterday, we dropped off the hire car in Freiburg, Germany. Before our 4 train return trip to SJDL, we just had time for a quick stroll over the daily market, a look at the dome and a shared local “Flammenkuchen", one of our favourite treats.

Today, we took Lodi for a spin along the Saône and practised our rusty mooring skills at the fuel pontoon before filling the 840-litre tank. I have to say, Austin did a lot better remembering the rules of the waterways than the road rules in Germany! Turning across an unbroken line on the road, a lit-up “Bitte folgen” (follow me please) on a police bike soon stopped him in his tracks. The officer was apologetic, but still relieved us of 30 euros.

Tomorrow we are entering the first of 189 narrow, temperamental locks on the Burgundy Canal. We can’t wait and hope we’ll manage this beautiful canal’s locks a little better than 10 years ago!

Ship Ahoy!!!