Houseboat in the French Ardennes - Day 1 - Pont-à-Bar

08.06.23

After a relaxed day of working from home, we set off in the evening to pick up Denis and Lara. The discussion about whether to go with or without the roof box added some stress to the beginning of the vacation, but in the end, the box stayed in Lara's basement and the four of us headed towards the Eifel region.

The car was packed to the brim, but at least there were no rattling noises on the highway. We arrived at Fischer's Bolognese around 21:30, almost like in the old days, and slept in a room together, listening to Denis' snoring concert.

09.06.23

After a hearty breakfast, we set off towards France. Around 14:30, after passing through Luxembourg and Belgium, we reached the fourth country of the day - France.

Upon arrival in Pont-a-Bar, we first visited the largest supermarket in all of France, it felt. In addition to a new sun hat for Jan, we stocked up on food and drinks.

Afterwards, we took over our Penichette 1107, 'Malmy', and received a brief instruction. Lara (with her boat license) is our first captain and had to make two U-turns to drop off the instructor.

And then we were alone. Alone with herons, storks, and the canal.

We travel several kilometers along the canal until we reach the next lock. They open every day from 9-18. Instead of going back to Pont-a-Bar (where we will receive our first lock instruction tomorrow morning), we decide to anchor in the middle of nowhere and sleep.

We celebrate the first evening on the deck in the sun, enjoying ourselves. We are happy.