Attigny, Asfeld and Reims
Attigny is a small town steeped in history. It was formerly the residence of the kings of France, during the Carolingian era (5th to 10th Century. An interesting small tower is called the "Dome of Charlemagne" and several Councils of France took place here. A tiny plaque on the wall of the tower lists some of these important events.
Our eldest daughter Liz, joined us in Attigny and we were able to celebrate her birthday there. She lives in Guernsey and travelled across the Channel by car ferry, with partner Abby and dogs Harvey and Bailey. They slept each night in a tent next to the barge, rather than have the dogs on board inside. We were all very pleased that their arrival coincided with a return to summer weather, fine and increasingly warm. We thoroughly enjoyed their company for the few days they could spend with us. The logistics of relocating the car each day, and of finding a mooring suitable to pitch a tent were all taken care of without fuss. Harvey and Bailey behaved inpeccably and soon became used to sitting up at the bow watching the world go by. They particularly liked the chance to go for walks along the tow path.
At Nanteuil we met a man from the Netherlands who is a third generation commercial barge skipper. He had to decide to give up the life on a barge so that his children did not have to go to boarding school but he could not give up the life entirely so bought an historic Dutch barge as his holiday boat. His wife's name is Anja and she too comes from a barging family. They showed us their boat and told us of its history. His own life has been recorded in an impressive volume, full of photos of his own and his family's history in barging. This whole conversation was conducted in English- he could as well have spoken to us in French or German if that was where we came from. He showed us photos of his grandfather's barge (which was blown up by the Germans because it was unsuitable for their purposes) and his own. We also saw photos of his parents' barge on which he was born and photos of him learning to ride a bike in the hold of his father's barge. We could have spent days talking with him. He took some details of Anja and might be able to find out more of the history.
Without any fanfare, at Avaux, the Canal des Ardennes became the Canal lateral to the Aisne. Then 18 kilometres later, at Berry au Bac, we turned off that canal into the Canal from the Aisne to the Marne. The countryside is now becoming flatter in the extensive plains of the Champagne region. This canal is only 58 kilometres long.
As any readers will have noted, we have seen and admired a large number of Churches. When we read in our cruising guide that, in the town of Asfeld, there was an exceptional church "laid out in the shape of a viol", we just had to make a special stop to see it. We were pleased we had. This Church was built in 1683 in Baroque style. The main body of it is perfectly round with a narrow neck leading into it. It is absolutely different from the many churches we have previously explored.
All too soon we had arrived at Reims, and it was time to farewell our guests.
Pictures show:
Church at Asfeld
Mairie at Asfeld
Attractive lock
Us going along- with dogs on the boa
Liz and her birthday cake
Abby and Liz
Best Regards,
Penny and Dave
