Tuesday 24th August 2004 Spandau to Berlin N° 4 mooring at Mitte.

14° C Hazy cloud, breezy, rain later. Mike was up early (6 a.m.) in case the delivery of

New lock at Charlottenburg - Wikimedia photo by Biberbaer

heating oil came first thing, I didn’t get up until 7.30 a.m. The fuel man arrived at 7.45a.m. We had 409 litres at 46,90c (+VAT) = 54,4c per litre. Mike collected our empty gas bottle from the car and we set off, downstream to collect some gas. We each had a bottle to refill. Refilled the water tank too. Bill went in to pay and came out having paid 15,60€ for the two bottles. We think he was only charged for one bottle. Bill also bought two Camping Gaz miniature blow lamps - he gave one to Mike. Winded the boats, went back up the Havel and turned right on to the Spree. A loaded boat called Saale

Old lock at Charlottenburg - Wikimedia photo by Biberbaer

overtook us as we went past a Polish Bizon tug and pan moored at the entrance to the docks on the Ruhlebener Altarm. By the arm to the power station there was an old, part-converted Luxemotor mouldering away. Shame. Another Bizon tug was moving a pan of coal from the right bank to the left to be unloaded at the power station. A small yacht overtook us as a trip boat went past heading downstream. The arm into the huge Siemens works had been cut off and the canal had been straightened leading to a brand new lock at Charlottenburg, which was for commercials only from 8am to

Reichstag dome from the river.
Wikimedia photo by Alex Wacker

8pm. All pleasure craft have to turn right and use the old locks. A Crown Blue Line cruiser was coming down in the right hand chamber. The yacht, which had overtaken us earlier, was tied on the waiting place, so we hovered in the middle of the lock cut. We followed the yacht into the chamber and Rosy came alongside us while we rose 1.1m. Rosy lead the way through Charlottenburg. The Dutch barge Reserve V was moored by the Schloss at N° 2 mooring. Trip boat Luna was loading passengers and another, called Sansouci, was coming downstream. We followed Rosy on to the winding section of the Spree, with Berlin suburbs Moabit to the north and Tiergarten to the south. Two small cruisers overtook us as we passed mooring N° 3 which was completely occupied by two large cruisers. Two more large cruisers went past heading downstream. A tripper called Elfe

Front of the Reichstag
Wikimedia photo by Norbert Aepli

overtook us at Lessingbrücke and Luna overtook us before the low arched Moabitbrücke. He went very slowly through the bridge as the boat squeezed through with inches to spare. Under the railway bridge with trains coming and going from the main line station at Bellevue, which was on our right. Under another brick arched bridge, Lutherbrücke and found Rosy drifting on a wide sweeping bend while Bill had nipped inside to get his lunch. A large cruiser, called Blue Chip, went past heading uphill and a tripper called Pankow came towards us downhill, he did one long and three short hoots, then winded directly in front of us causing Mike to put the boat engine into reverse. Bill said over the radio “What a prat!” – there was no real need for that! A tripper, called Brasil with a wide flattened bow, overtook us as another one came past heading downhill. Suddenly there were trippers wall to wall. The prat Pankow was at the mooring outside the House of World Culture and set off as we were passing, so Mike stopped to let him out - then speeded up to get out of the way of three more which were coming up behind us. The building site at the canal junction by the Reichstag was

Pergamon museum - Wikimedia photo byNikanos

getting smaller and a new station complex was being born on the left bank, new buildings and a futuristic footbridge crossed the canal. We went under the Marschallbrücke and entered former East Berlin. Trippers were everywhere! A tug pushing an empty pan came through the railway bridge by Friedrichstraße station with a tripper overtaking it. There were four cruisers on mooring N° 5 - it was full! Waah, we were going to stay there! The largest cruiser, called Kleopatra, at the downhill end of the mooring, decided to leave as we hovered by the mooring. The ropes came off and he went into reverse, crashing hard into the dolphin behind him. He’d got a big dent in his swimming platform and some white paint missing - it was on the old piling dolphin! The space he left wasn’t big enough for us or Rosy, so we went to the upstream end, beyond the mooring signs, and Rosy tied to the bank and we went alongside. It was 1.30 p.m. We’d gathered quite a cro

Nefertiti - Wikimedia photo by Nina
currently in the Neues museum Berlin

wd on the walkway at the top of the quay, watching us knitting ropes to tie up. Shortly afterwards Reserve V came past us and went up the lock. He came back a little later, mooring N° 6 in the weirstream of Mühlendamm lock was full, so he tied on the wall beyond us. Mike and I both voiced the opinion that the WSP would be along shortly and tell us to move after the Dutchman had further extended the impromptu moorings. At 3.45 p.m. as predicted police boat N° 24 arrived. Its two man crew, plus lady steerer, first shifted the Dutchman, he winded and went back up the lock. Then they came and told us we couldn’t stay there as the trippers turn round there. Which was true, but we weren’t causing them any problems. Nevertheless, they said we could moor at the former N° 4 mooring by Marschallbrücke, but only overnight. We said we’d have to wait for Bill to come back - he’d gone to the Pergamon museum looking for Nefertiti. Another cruiser had left, so we were waiting on the crew of a large hireboat moored in the other half of the gap to return so we could get them to shift, then we’d have the space between two dolphins for the two of us to moor side by side. No such luck. They didn’t return and a small yacht came and occupied the half space. When Bill returned he said the queue outside the museum was a long one, so he had a walk

Brandenburg gate - Wikimedia photo by James F

down to the Brandenburg gate and back, then went straight into the museum. But there was no Nefertiti! We moved the boats down to the old N° 4 mooring (the signs had been turned around) where there was bags of space, at least four times the length of N° 5 - no idea why they weren’t using it as a mooring any more. We singled out and staked the boats down. It started to rain. It was 5.50 p.m. We’d got a view of the dome of the Reichstag behind us and Friedrichstraße station in front. The trippers continued up and down like yo-yos until late into the evening. Thunder rolled around twice and then the rain really poured down. Did a few chores. I was too hot and tired to cook. Later I made sandwiches.