A river runs through it
I’m sitting in the shade on my boat and the weather is just great. Huge carp are cruising around the harbour as the spawning season begins. Boats of all kinds are beginning to gather on the lake, from small sailing dinghies to monster power boats taking a break from zooming up and down the Maas. Swans glide over to snatch some bread before stomping off after the latest unwanted intruders. It’s wonderful to be on the water.
Maastricht is a city which was born because of the Maas, (or Meuse in French) as it offered an easy crossing point for the Celts and the Romans. The importance of the Maas cannot be understated. With a total length of 925 km it is one of Europe’s major rivers. A great deal of commercial traffic still uses the river, transporting thousands of tons of heavy cargo throughout Europe.
The Maas is also a major route to the Mediterranean and the French canal network. Indeed many Brits cruise through Maastricht on their way south in the early summer. Flying the red ensign they are easy to spot and most are more than happy to chat about their adventures.
As for me, I moved to South Limburg around 10 years ago and fell in love with the place. I bought my boat near Amsterdam and spent many weeks sailing in the north before heading south to my mooring here on the lake just south of Maastricht.
Amsterdam is about four days cruising from here. It’s a long journey, but a fascinating one. The countryside along the Maas is breathtaking. In two days and you are near Nijmegen, and the enormous river Waal, which forms part of the Rhine delta. If you stay on the Maas you will soon reach the waters north of Zeeland and the smell of the sea.
Going south, the short journey to Liège is an adventure all of its own. The mere 24 kms involves going through a huge lock which rises 14 meters bringing you onto the Albert canal at Lanaye. The canal was built to connect heavy industry around Liège to Antwerp with barges of up to 10,000 tons plying the route. These huge ships demand respect, dwarfing my 9 meter, 6 ton Dutch barge as they slip past at twice my speed.
Arriving in Liège is a bit of a shock. Whoever was in charge of the city planning should have been buried in concrete. Hideous tall buildings jostle for position along the water, only to be frustrated by the major roads which hog the water’s edge on both banks. Maastricht is a dream in comparison.
Still the boat slides gracefully past the queues of cars waiting to park and head into the harbour and our mooring for the night. At around EUR 5 for the night it’s a real bargain. It’s Saturday evening so we head into the labyrinth that is Liège and melt into the Wallonian atmosphere. It’s hard to believe we’re only a stone’s throw away from the tidy, organised Netherlands to the north as we listen to idle French chatter over a bottle of French wine.
Our return the next morning is slowed considerably by the huge Liège Sunday market, which dominates the water front. Piles of fruit, vegetables, cheese and ham later we are again on board and cruising home.
Our weekend adventure on the boat has given us plenty to grin about and has cost us practically nothing. Strange that so many people spend their free time stuck in traffic jams.
Text and photographs by Gary Evans
(Hover over each photograph to read the caption)
Gary Evans is a freelance river consultant, environmentalist and boat lover among other things. He is a founding member of the London-based Thamesbank river campaign organisation and boat driver for Greenpeace Germany.
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