Houseboat in the French Ardennes - Day 6 - Charleville-Mézières

14.06.23

This morning, Denis goes to the Boulangerie for a change. The hero not only comes back with baguettes and croissants, but also with Eclairs.

By chance, we leave at the same time as a Dutch boat, with whom we involuntarily have a little race. We lock together twice and laugh at the gentleman at the wheel in front of us who believes that you do not have to tie up in the lock and can maintain the position with the motor (which he obviously can't). The constant company eventually gets a bit annoying, but luckily the Gouda tulips stop for lunch and we can continue on our way.

The rest of the way is much more relaxed, and at times we have so much space and time that we can cruise in neutral and swim in the Maas.

We are lucky, in Charleville we get a mooring with electricity and water right away. From a distance, we can already hear brass music again, and Denis immediately has flashbacks to the bad hunting horn players from last night. But it turns out that the primary school children (!) play much better, and we enjoy the free concert.

We can hardly believe it, but this is the first time we have landed in a city where people are out and restaurants are open. We leisurely stroll around the huge square before ending the evening with happy hour cocktails.