Short trip to Alsace

Sometimes the most beautiful place is right next door ... A trip over Strasbourg, the Canal du Rhône to Rhine, and back on the Rhine. Gift vouchers make a great present. Years ago, we gave Tanja's cousin a weekend of motorboating. Before we could redeem it, she became pregnant, and then Corona hit, and our Master Craft has been dry docked for a long time. Now we have our Karõshi, and Andrea, Tanja's cousin, remembered the voucher. OK, no problem, after a short (OK, more of a longer) phone call, the wishes and key points were clear. It was to be an excursion focusing on boating, and if possible, when the weather cooperated, we would also go swimming. Since we all love to cook ourselves, we would take care of the catering on board. Since Tanja and I enjoyed our brief detour to conclude our sauerkraut tour in the RRK North, the destination was quickly found. Whether we would go in and out of Strasbourg like in June or travel the whole stretch and then return on the Rhine via Rhinau was something we wanted to decide together. On Friday evening, we meet in Offendorf, our home port. After checking in the guests and their luggage, I lit the grill, Tanja heated up the pre-cooked ground beef, and we had delicious burritos. With champagne and dry white wine, along with lots of anecdotes, it became a great first evening on board.

Saturday at 7 AM we woke up, as we planned to set off at 9 AM, making a quick stop at the bakery, and indeed, ten minutes past nine, the Karõshi left its mooring, and with the first cup of coffee, we headed out onto the Rhine.

Offendorf is strategically located, only a few kilometers to the Gambsheim lock, which, after a quick radio call, let us through immediately. Cozy with 13 km/h over ground, the Karõshi made its way to Strasbourg. Our youngest guest on board, 10-year-old Luck(i)as, grew several centimeters in that moment when I handed him the rudder. Just before entering the Strasbourg harbor, I radioed the North lock and returned to the rudder. We passed this lock without waiting time. First, our route took us to the European Parliament, and then up the Ill; just before the fountain, there's the first arch bridge, and we didn't want to test whether we could pass under it, so we turned around. While Tanja prepared our snack, delicious cheese, dips, olives, and more ... In short, eating like gods in France! Now it was time for the actual tour; just before the turnoff to the Spital lock, Lucki took over the wheel again, up to Ecluse 86, the first on the RRK and the only one staffed continuously along the route. The friendly lock keeper explained that if we wanted to leave the canal at Rhinau, we would need to call the lock keeper there, as this Ecluse is not staffed continuously. More on that later. Now we entered the canal, and as on our first visit, we were thrilled by the natural beauty of this waterway. Even though the first few kilometers on the right side are lined by a highway, and the industrial area on the left bank certainly won't win any beauty awards, it is precisely that which gives this canal its charm. Gradually, you see more houses emerging behind the plane trees forming a beautiful avenue, and since it was early Saturday afternoon, aroma clouds from delicious grilled meat wafted towards us. Today's goal was a nice spot we had already found in June, on the left bank where there is no public path, allowing us to use the bank strip. After the obligatory 'Anleger' (that's the drinking to celebrate the great maneuver) and a fun round of 'Don't get angry', we cooled off in the crystal clear water. Afterwards, the women prepared delicious salads while Michael and I took care of the grill. Tasty roast beef, marjoram sausages, and the salads rounded off Saturday's culinary delight. A 'Connect Four Tournament' and 'City Country River Grilledition' made the evening hours fly by, and our supplies in the wine cellar dwindled. Just like on Saturday, we departed on Sunday without breakfast and continued upstream in the RRK. Very soon, the plane trees gave way to meadows, fields, and forests, interrupted by isolated houses, locks, and barriers. At 11 AM, we called the number of the Rhinau lock indicated on our maps for the first time; no one picked up... not even after what felt like 100 additional attempts. In the meantime, Andrea and Tanja had prepared another delicious snack using the remaining pink grilled roast beef.

We still couldn't raise anyone at the lock. OK, we continued on, and the last few kilometers from the canal to the lock were spectacular. The trees grow practically into the water. I wouldn't have been surprised if a crocodile had come out of the bushes. The lock was in sight, and there was a rope to request the lock, phew, lucky thought, but then I saw the 2 red lights stacked on top of each other ... Lock out of service. After still not being able to reach anyone via the telephone number from the canal guide, I remembered that during our last visit to the RRK, we had also called the VNF at Ecluse 55, a quick look in the call log on my phone, and then explained our problem to an English-speaking VNF employee. Fortunately, it wasn't a problem; he wanted to inform his colleague immediately so that he could lock us through, and I should call back in 5 minutes. Then the relieving answer came: the colleague would be there in 20 minutes, and that’s how it was. Again, a very friendly VNF employee, who also gave us the current number, which had become a mobile one. Shortly after, the gates opened, or rather the gate to the Rhine. As described in the guide, the entrance level is heavily silted. And buoys define the fairway. Suddenly, there's shouting at the shore. A look back revealed the disaster; not only does the narrow fairway and the commercial ships on the Rhine demand the skipper's attention, but also anglers lay their lines far into the fairway and are unable to clear them. OK, now it seems a fishing line is wrapped around our rudder or the propeller .... On the Rhine, first, I went full throttle back and forth, at least the weed collected in the canal is gone.

The journey continued downstream on the Rhine. Both engines were purring contentedly, showing a cozy 17 km/h on the GPS. Our luck with the locks remained with us. We only had to wait briefly at the dams Gerstheim, Strasbourg, and Gambsheim. Around 7 PM, we docked again in Offendorf. A delicious pasta dinner ended the wonderful weekend appropriately.

For the number enthusiasts ...

In total, there were approximately 110 km

17 locks and about 35 elevation meters

16 hours on tour, including approximately 1 hour of waiting time in front of the locks