The end of the line

We are now (28 July) moored in the port at Kembs, with our friends, Marilyn and Rodney, who we picked up in Mulhouse a couple of days ago. This is as far as we can go on this canal. We are just 14 km from Basel in Switzerland and when we look out the back of the boat, we can clearly see vineyards in Germany on the hills beyond the trees. Between us and them lie the Grand Canal d’Alsace and the Rhine river, which we can’t see from here but which we’ve been to look at… We still feel no need to take our 50 horse-power boat on either of those! They flow far too quickly for our liking and even though people tell us we would be fine, as long as we were traveling with the current, we can’t see that there is a great deal of fun in it if you’re scared witless most of the time. You never know when things might go wrong – and with that current, the results could be nasty!

We are the only “guest boat” in the port at Kembs and have our own dedicated pontoon. There are lots of “resident boats” here, most of which belonging to Swiss people. It is both more practical for access to the waterways network and much less expensive for them to keep their boats in France. Most other boaties by-pass Kembs as it is at the end of a short branch canal after the intersection between the Grand Canal d’Alsace and the Rhone-to-Rhine canal. If anything, they tend to stay down at Niffer, which is a couple of kilometres away and right on the intersection.


We’re really glad to have come here, however. The canal between Mulhouse and Kembs is Rhine-gauge, which meant that we shared the space with some of the huge Rhine barges – most impressive and a first for us! The port in Kembs is both beautifully situated and lovely to stay in. It is safe, attractive and has perhaps the best shower and toilet block that we’ve seen in any port so far (all good things when you have guests on board!). We’re assured that is the Swiss influence taking hold. The surrounding countryside is most attractive and the village is quite large and has a good bakery as well as a few other shops.



It also has a bus connection to Basel, which we took advantage of today. The return bus fare was just 2.20 euros per person – a bargain for the 40-minute-each-way trip!!! We had a lovely day in Basel, although the weather didn’t exactly play its part. We spent the morning wandering the city centre and taking advantage of clothes sales along the way but rain kicked in around lunchtime, forcing us to take shelter (and hot chocolate) in a traditional Swiss café. We may have paid quite a lot for the drink but the essential “Swiss-ness” of the experience, along with the warmth and the view over the main square, were more than worth it!


The other highlights were, unsurprisingly, water-based. The comings and goings of traffic on the Rhine were captivating, especially the vastly different rates of progress of barges traveling up- and downriver; and the ferries across the river, attached by overhead cables and powered, seemingly, by the force of the water in conjunction with the angle at which the cable is attached. We also loved the trams in the city. Unlike many cities in France (and NZ), Basel has never done away with its trams. New and old models of trams share the lines, are plentiful, regular and well-patronised. The people and local government of Basel must feel so smug when they see so many of the cities of France being disrupted with the construction / re-construction of tramways, for which there seems to be a real mania at the moment!


Tomorrow we’ll start the slow trip back towards St-Jean-de-Losne. Our first stop will be Mulhouse, where we’ll drop off Marilyn and Rodney, who are heading west to celebrate the PACS (or civil union) of their son, Chris with Mathilde. We’ll stay a while (again) and try to find some good weather to visit Colmar and perhaps head into Germany for a while. We know the port there is safe enough to leave the boat if we’re not there for a while. That’s the nice thing about going back on our tracks – we know what to expect when coming into a place and we know where we will (and won’t) want to stay along the way.