Montbeliard to the Rhine

Halfway down the Valdieu flight into Alsace

 After leaving Isle sur le Doubs we were once again and at last, on new waters. The canal from here on was a pleasant surprise.We somehow had expected it to be industrial but for the most part it was rural and pretty. We had a welcome rest day in Montbeliard which has the Peugeot museum attached to the factory for those interested in cars, a very nice 'scientific' park for anyone interested in being mesmerised by Foucault's pendulum or twirling a huge, floating granite sphere with the flick of an index finger, not to mention  an excellent Indian restaurant (yes one of us is still on that quest). From Montbelliard we had to arrange with  lock keepers for our onward journey because, according to the girl in the tourist office, we were about to cross into a different country. We were, in fact, about to enter a different region of France, Alsace,  but it might as well be considered a different country. German is as likely to be spoken as French, suddenly the buildings are no longer stone but half timbered and brightly coloured and most people seem to be drinking beer rather than wine.
The telecommander was returned and in its place we acquired a succession of itinerant lock keepers - students on holiday jobs. Some were on pushbikes, others mobilettes and all could text whilst on the move and also as they were operating the various locks and swing bridges.

 All the locks were now downhill which was much easier, particularly as it was a scorching hot day. After an overnight stop at Dannemarie there is a flight of 13 locks from the top of which there's a spectacular view. We shared locks for the day with a very jolly couple of men on a smaller boat which was no problem at all but was unexpected as we've barely seen any other boats over the past week.

Lockeeper's gone for lunch

We decided to have a day off in Mulhouse. The port is right in town and so very convenient for the Automobile Festival weekend which attracts enthusiasts and their weird, wonderful and rare vehicles from all over France. The city is famous for its huge car museum containing a large collection of Bugattis as well as Charlie Chaplin's Rolls Royce.

Charlie and Marilyn - but not a Rolls

We didn't visit but there were plenty of cars to see in and around the main sqaure. There are a few other museums we didn't visit either including a fine train one which I felt a little guilty at ignoring (sorry Malcolm). There were musicians of all types strolling around the town and we spent a pleasant Saturday afternoon watching the world go by from a cafe in the main square.

The entertainment continued into the evening. On the Friday we were treated to Pierce Brosnan and Judi Dench speaking perfect French (who'd have thought?) at a showing of a Bond movie on a giant screen and then on Saturday night there was a concert featuring a French group (who sang quite a lot in English). I don't know who they were but they were very popular with the  huge crowd who seemed to know most of the songs.
The weather broke at midnight and it has been pouring ever since. We moved down to Kembs at the end of the canal yesterday. The marina here is in a side canal. This little canal once ran all the way to Basle in Switzerland but has unfortunately been closed for years. The only way to Basle now is along the Rhine which we walked down to have a look at having been told that, due to the rain,  it was rising at 12 cm an hour..... I rather wish I hadn't gone. So, we'll head off to the lock shortly and see what the story is. I'd much prefer to wait for things to calm down. The German hills on the other side of the river were shrouded in mist this morning. At least we can now see them but I don't feel particularly encouraged.
Next update will be from either Colmar or Strasbourg - I hope.....