Tuesday 13th & Wednesday 14th July 2004 Calvörde to Magdeburg above Rothensee lift.

Tuesday 13th July 2004 Calvörde to Magdeburg above Rothensee lift.

12.7° C Still wet and windy. We were up bright and early to go by car and get some groceries

Bridge with an old telegraph pole nr Haldensleben

from the village N+P supermarket in Calvörde. Bought just the essentials. Set off at 9.40 a.m. Lots of commercial traffic moving and a considerable increase in the number of cruisers - holiday season has started even if we haven’t got any summer weather yet. Dressed in fleeces and coats we looked more like we were out for a winter cruise. Made us a cup of soup for elevenses to try and warm us up. The wind was bitter cold. Haldensleben had changed a lot. New houses had been built, the canal widened and a new marina built in an off line basin (only for small boats though). The commercial haven was very busy with lots of boats loading

A nesting stork

and unloading. I read some more of the book as we travelled the last ten kilometres of the MLK. We arrived at 2.20 p.m. and tied up on a brand new mooring area (with one German cruiser in the middle of it) us at the one end and Rosy the other side of the cruiser, just above the Rothensee ship lift. A trip boat was hovering, he’d just come across the new aqueduct and was headed for the lift, which we were surprised, but pleased to see was still working although the new lock is in use. Two WSP men tied up their police boat and came to have a chat.

A tanker in Rothensee ship lift. 1999

They gave us each leaflets about the new canal and lock at Rothensee. I borrowed Bill’s duct tape to cover up the new holes in the fizzer’s cover, caused by the wind tearing it and the fact that it’s getting very thin now. (We’ve been trying for ages to replace it with no success) Mike went off to collect the car. On his return he went to see Bill to discuss the plans.

Wednesday 14th July 2004 Magdeburg above Rothensee lift.

11.4° C Cold, grey and windy. Heavy showers later. Mike took Bill to get some bio diesel (they’d asked the Polizei yesterday where they could get some from). Bill had 50 litres, Mike had 80 litres and topped up the car’s tank. When he returned he fitted a relay in the 12v circuit for the new 12v cool box in the car, so that it’s turned off when the engine is stopped, which saves us having to remember to turn it off and avoids having a flat battery. I did the chores and made some lunch. Took Bill to have a look around Magdeburg as he said he wanted to have a look at the Dom (cathedral). First we went to the tourist information to locate the library and a cybercafé for the internet. We followed Bill’s map and went through a building site and a park area

Hydraulic lift. Rothensee. 1999

which had been taken over by youths with mean-looking pit bull type dogs. There were lots of statues in the cathedral, many of which required a lot of renovation. The cybercafé was on the way back to the car so we went in to use the internet for e-mails. It was dark, hot and smoky, as it was being used mainly by teenagers playing games. We’d had one e-mail, a short one from our insurer, dated the 10th, still wanting confirmation from a professional that our services, i.e. gas, electricity, fuel and engine were all OK. He was not prepared to accept our word that there had been no significant changes to those systems since the last full survey report. Sent one back to say we were still waiting for a reply from our surveyor. Accessed our ‘phone bill with WWT and did a printout of the account for June, $12,38 - less than £7, very pleased with that as it was a big saving. We both went outside after we’d finished, leaving Bill to finish off his e-mailing. We sat on a shop window ledge and read the leaflets I’d picked up from the tourist office about Magdeburg. We walked back through the town, avoiding the large new shopping centre, back to the car and paused by the aqueduct on the way back to the boat. Bill

Side view of the Rothensee ship lift. 1999

had been before, by bike - he’s not daft - so he said he would stay in the car while Mike and I went for a walk to look at the Elbe. It was a long haul up the steep paved path to canal level, then it was further than I’d guessed to the aqueduct and even further before there was any sign of the river below. It started to rain on the way back. We’d passed lots of people walking and cycling the towpaths, but there were no passing boats on the canal. There were CCTV cameras strategically placed (and extremely well-advertised) to prevent vandalism. It was 6 p.m. when we got back to the boat, just enough time to cook egg and chips for a quick meal for dinner.

For technical details and the building of Rothensee ship lift have a look at Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothensee_boat_lift

although the text says that the lift is now redundant and expected to be closed, it has recently been overhauled and is used frequently by trip boats which do the circuit, down the ship lift, downriver on the Elbe and back up the new Hohenwarthe locks and across the aqueduct over the Elbe.