River cruise on the Rhone: drifting south
The water ripples green, the sky shines blue.
The ship goes down for breakfast. The coffee is shaking in my cup. Something deep below us. But I only have croissants and cereal in my head. I'll grab that at the buffet, and then I'll finally see it: Where there was still a green river, everything is now gray. Stone gray on the left and right of the ship. We sink down, it gets darker and darker. I run to the sundeck, where the crew gesticulates. More to the right, not so much, attention. I am happy to observe men parking. The 11.40 meter wide ship has to fumble in the twelve-meter narrow lock. A little shuffling may be. Then it's done, then we dropped 19 meters and continue driving.
Yesterday I went aboard in Lyon. Two hours later, the river boat "A-Rosa Luna" left. The magnificent white buildings of the city on the shore were getting smaller, in the distance I saw bridges with cars and then only green. The prelude to our "Petit Tour de France": on the Rhône to Avignon and Arles, then back to Lyon. Maximum cruising speed: 24 km / h.
No one is on deck except Frédéric Touzelet and me. Monsieur Touzelet has to be here, he's the captain. I want to be here, even though the Mistral is raging through the Rhône Valley. This wind is meanly cold, but it sweeps all the dust from the air and makes the sky bright blue, the river rippled green and the landscape razor sharp. No wonder van Gogh, Cézanne and Matisse painted here in the Midi.
I photograph: a small church, an old bridge and again and again the water. As a "wild, storming from the Alps bull" the Rhone was described earlier. France's second longest river crosses an altitude difference of 1735 meters from its source in the Swiss Rhône Glacier in the canton of Valais to its mouth in the Mediterranean Sea. Numerous channels, dykes and locks have adapted the Rhône to the needs of the industry. The landscape, a traditional fruit and vegetable growing area, is today dominated by white towers. Five nuclear power plants channel their cooling water into the river. I photograph: the sunset, but without towers.
The next day the mistral pauses and the sun overtime. The passengers stand at the railing, over loudspeakers we hear a nursery rhyme. "Sur le pont d 'Avignon, l'on y danse ..." In front of us is a strangely asymmetrical bridge, the Pont Saint Bénézet. A shepherd from the Ardèche is said to have built it on behalf of an angel and with the help of earthen construction workers in the 12th century. In 1660, a tidal wave destroyed the bridge, four of its 22 arches and a Romanesque chapel remained intact. She became world famous because of the nursery rhyme.
To the sun, to the light! Luckily, to life!
One can not miss the most imposing building in Avignon, the Papal Palace. Seven popes resided here and made the city the center of European Christians from 1309 to 1376. Almost all streets (and tourists) are walking towards this largest gothic palace in Europe. He looks stern, lime gray, tall and dismissive. When you stand in front of it, you feel tiny. Inside too. I let myself be led through huge rooms and look at well-preserved frescoes.
The rest of the day we stroll through the old town. At the Place d'Horloges at the town hall musicians play, on an old-fashioned merry-go-round two elderly ladies ride on white horses chuckling. Under plane trees we drink in one of the many sidewalk cafes a Côtes du Rhône. Everywhere on the small squares and in the streets, there is a cheerful liveliness.
River cruises, it is said, are for older people. Yes, but. Who is older than 20, loves the variety. Here today, tomorrow there, lounging on the ship, discovering on land. If you are older, appreciate good food. Today pink roast duck breast, beef fillet with green asparagus and quark foam. Morning sole on potato mousseline. And of course with increasing life experience also the imagination increases: what you can do with chocolate. I put myself in the chocolate-honey box, in the spa area of the "A-Rosa Luna". After that I felt very delicious. If that's too narcissistic, you can go on board fitness, swim on the sundeck in the heated pool, then drink wine at the bar, or talk French to the only Frenchman on board, the captain. Otherwise, the entire staff spoke German. Anyone who is still skeptical whether he has the right age for such a beautiful trip, the only must bring his young friends - 174 passengers can be accommodated on the "A-Rosa Luna" in 86 beautifully appointed cabins.
In Arles, the unthinkable succeeds: a whole bullring just for me. On Sunday morning, the inhabitants and visitors of the old and picturesque city seem to be sleeping for a long time.The huge amphitheater was probably built in the first century, is 136 meters long and 108 meters wide. In this arena, the playful variant, the Course Camarguaise listed, no bull or bullfighter must die. I run high in second place and look for a seat. Below, I see sandy soil, a very blue sky above, the sun is burning, nowhere shadow. I close my eyes.
We see bulls in the afternoon. We go by jeep to the Camargue. It is an unreal landscape, the delta between the two Rhone-arms south of Arles. Flat as Schleswig-Holstein, largely empty as the steppe, now and then rice fields and fruit trees, free-running white horses on the gray beach, staccato flamingos on the shallow lake, Etang de Vaccarès, and (fenced) black bulls, which are bred here. Who wants, can rent a horse. But even riders do not come everywhere. Part of the Camargue is a nature reserve that can only be entered by zoologists and botanists; The 400 species of waterfowl should have their rest.
Snoozing. Lie in the deck chair. Do not read a book. Smell water. We're on the way back, over there is Avignon again, the next lock is coming, left is the Ardèche. There is Tain-l'Hermitage, one of the most expensive wine-growing areas in France. Later, clouds gather, the sky and the Rhône turn gray, and then it starts to rain. And it does not stop anymore.
Lyon in the drizzle, in the cloudburst, in the water vapor. That does not matter. The 2000 year old city is also dripping wet a beauty. We walk through Vieux Lyon, an impressive Renaissance district with about 300 listed houses. On Rue Saint-Jean we enter a house, walk through a courtyard, see staircases, spiral staircases and corridors that are all connected. Traboules (from Latin: trans ambulare, traverse) are called these passages through several houses. Originally they allowed the weavers to transport their precious carpets and wall hangings without being surprised by the rain.
And on we go past small cafes and expensive restaurants. Then we see a house with a straw-colored boy standing on the balcony on the first floor. That's the little prince, of Saint-Exupéry. In addition, the Lumière brothers, who invented modern cinema, "live". And there Rabelais looks at the street, a doctor who published in the 16th century as a poet "Pantagruel" and "Gargantua". On the ground floor is the famous chef Paul Bocuse. These frescoes depicting citizens of Lyon commissioned the city, a fun-filled, illusion-style scene on the corner of Quai St. Vincent and Rue de la Martinière.
There is still so much to see. The basilica on the hill Fourvière, from where you have a wide view of the city. The elegant town houses and shopping streets in the district between the Rhône and the smaller river Saône. The big and beautiful Place Bellecour. But it's time to go back to the ship and pack the bags. I take a last photo and note: Birthday present for F .: a trip to Lyon (with me).
River cruise on the Rhone
On the Rhône, cruises are offered with various ships and on different topics such as "gourmet", "wine" or "lavender". Our author booked the tour "Route Rendezvous" on the river cruise ship "A-Rosa Luna": Lyon-Avignon-Arles-Lyon, six days. Cabin from 449 euros per person from / to Lyon, without arrival. Organizer: A-Rosa river boat, Am Strande 4, 18055 Rostock, Tel. 0381/44 04 00, www.a-rosa.de.
Shore excursions
Avignon. City tour with visit to the Pope's Palace.
Arles. Sightseeing. Excursion to the Pont du Gard, Uzes or the historic village of Le Baux. By jeep or bike in the Camargue.
Viviers. Stop in Viviers for a trip to the southern Ardèche. Tournon. Sightseeing. Lyon. City tour by bus or bike.
Read
"South France". Rich travel guide with information on history, pleasures and customs between Lyon and the Mediterranean - and the rest of southern France (780 p., 24.90 euros, Michael Müller Verlag).
