We left in beautiful sunshine at 10 a.m. We had a long wait for our first lock of almost an hour as two commercial barges were locking up but once we were in the lock it only took about 15 minutes to descend the 18.5 metres. We shared our next lock with a commercial barge for the first time this year which also took a while.
A couple of kilometres from our destination, a big heavy barge approached us at speed with a very large bow wave, followed closely by a large hotel boat - promising much turbulence! Well folks.....we have been in calmer seas!! We bounced around almost until the port and Crew had forgotten to secure the crockery in the galley, so a few unladylike lurches down below followed!
The current was running pretty fast now which is why the barge had to give it some wellie of course and with it behind us we whooshed into the port a bit too quickly. We really should have gone past the entrance and then turned to enter against the current - mistake!
Nevertheless we made it OK and proceeded to find a good space for ourselves. The marina is very long with plenty of spaces. We each found a suitable spot and went up to the clubhouse to report our presence. The port is protected from the river by a high bank and has a very nice bar and restaurant, where quite a few people were still lunching. We ordered three beers and were given forms to fill in to register ourselves and enjoyed our beer. Bouncing on the water makes you very thirsty, so we ordered three more! Then the very friendly waitress came to settle the finances.....none of these ports are very cheap to moor but normally the facilities are pretty good, including WiFi.
We decided to stay for two nights and as the restaurant was closed on Tuesdays, we booked a table for tonights’ dinner.
Then back to Aphrodite to settle in properly and a spot of lunch, followed by the usual siesta (it’s getting to be a habit!).
We had an aperitif on the back deck at 7 p.m. and went to the restaurant at 7.30 p.m. The food was very good and we tried a few local wines. We don’t know too much about German wines, so felt it necessary to investigate of course! As it was a balmy evening we dined on the large terrace....lovely.
25 km 2 locks 3 1/2 hours
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