Tuesday 10th September - Waltenheim to Kehl

OK - back to the Rhine and Germany today!  As we were in the middle of a chain of locks, Henk went back a little way to see if he could trigger the lock mechanism.  There was a boat in the lock so we should be OK but it doesn’t seem to work that way.  The boat locked through but we still had a red light - indeed, the gates closed against us.  So Skip had to go to the control hut and ask a VNF man to set the lock for us.  Usually there is some kind of problem with our first lock of the day but subsequently things go generally well.
We had a problem with our penultimate small lock - the gates wouldn’t open when we had locked down, so Skip tried to call them without success.  The next option is to phone but no answers were forthcoming either.  Just as Crew was thinking that the lock house had a VNF van outside and so, maybe, a VNF person would live there, Henk got off his boat and knocked on the door.  A very nice lady answered and obligingly appeared with a bunch of keys to help out, even though it was her day off!  So away we went again.
We then passed the alternative European Parliament and Court of Justice buildings.
So one more small lock on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin and then
a large one, allowing us to lock onto the mighty Rhine river once more but this time, against the current, so not such good progress for the next few days!
We arrived in Kehl about 2 p.m. and got settled, albeit without any electricity.   The Capitainerie operates from the restaurant, which is closed on Tuesdays, so dues could not be paid, nor power obtained.
After lunch the men went to the supermarket but Crew was prevented from having a siesta as she had to be available to admit Henk back through the security gate.  We were unable to get the code for the gate as nobody was in the restaurant to tell us what it was.  Crew had a bash at a bit of sunbathing instead, although that was short lived.......even though it was sunny, the wind was a bit chilly.  Not that brave!!
Henk went shopping on his electric bike to transport the heavy items, whilst Skip brought the rest.
The supermarket here is large and good, so they came back with steak and lamb chops as well as many other goodies of course!  We decided on lamb for a change - hardly ever see it on menus in Germany and not that much in France either.  Henk offered to barbecue it for us all - we would provide potatoes and vegetables.  Although the timing went a bit awry, we all enjoyed a good dinner.
No TV at all (we are opposite a mast of some sort) so a couple of episodes of The Crown before bed.

23 km. 8 locks 4 hours