11th - 17th July. From Sarreguemines into Germany, on foot, then we sailed to the current end of navigation, before returning up the canal de la Sarre.

Sarreguemines lies on the German border, so we walked over the bridge to buy a German plant for one of our flower pots.

Re-entering France!

The first lock in Germany is currently closed, as they are still fitting new lock gates. It has been closed all year, but was scheduled to open on 7th July, which has since been put back to 15th, and then the 17th of July. We were going to go and have a look at it, but lock 30, the previous lock, was the current end of navigation, so we turned round here.

We have decided not to wait any longer, in case the opening date is even later in the month, and are returning up the canal de la Sarre, stopping above lock 29, which is not far below Sarreguemines.

Shannon has scratched a sore place under her chin, so has to wear her lampshade to keep it protected. She is not impressed!

There are some unusual boats about. Majesty of the Seas is 33.5 metres long, although she looks like a full size liner.

The church at Ketting is a very unusual shape, with a low 12th century nave and a higher chancel, which dates from the 15th century.

Unusually, for a village church, the door was open, so we were pleased to be able to see the stained glass from the 15th century. It is on the left of this picture. This is reputed to be one of the most beautiful examples in Lorraine.

The Roman round tower was a watchtower in the 9th century.

Ketting is a pretty village, with many different coloured shutters.

Moving on to Wittring, we moored beside the Victoria restaurant, which is very popular. When turning into this mooring, we upset a fisherman, which is not a difficult thing to do! He had four fishing rods, which extended half way over the canal, so had to pull them in as we approached the jetty. He felt, very emphatically, that we should have taken a detour around ''his'' part of the canal, before coming in to moor. Life can be tough!

This ''blockhaus'', a part of the Aquatic Maginot line, was built between 1932 and 1935, but was used for defence during the Second World War.

The weather on Friday is threatening us with a mass of clouds, but the rain keeps off. We had a pleasant evening yesterday with Terry and Hilary at Saaralbe.

Saturday finds us moored below lock 16, with hotelboat Johanna. John is the captain of this ship, and does self-catering trips on his boat in this area.

Our last night on the Canal de la Sarre was spent just above lock 1, and so we saw Boathome coming up, filling the lock!

We have seen Boathome several times on this canal. It is a prototype for a houseboat, which can be moved, using electric power created by the many solar panels on its roof. They are currently heading for Strasbourg.