So we traveled slowly 4 kn to our next dock in Oudenaarde. When we arrived everyone was very helpful, and supplied a ladder that might come in handy. The next day Hans was able to go in the water with our little ladder, as he always had, and remove the culprit with his long arms and long sharp knife. This time it was a ball of stringy tough vegetation that was the culprit.
It was good to be in a port that had bathroom, showers and garbage and recycling. The bigger boats we had been traveling with have showers and more plumbing, so appreciate free tie ups. We pay by the meter, so it never costs much to tie up Edna who is 7. It was cool when we were here. Everyone is complaining about the lack of summer, but when we think of the heat and fires back home, and the heat waves we have had the past 2 years in Europe, we appreciate the cool weather.
That meant we might run out of our French propane before we reached France again. When we first tackled the job of switching propane systems in France in it seemed quite daunting. Oudenaarde is an amazing little city. The population is just over 30, Their museum is full of tapestries from the 15 th and 16 th centuries when Oudenaarde was, apparently, the world centre of tapestry making. There were at that time as many as 20, people working around Oudenaarde in the making of those tapestries.
Most of the tapestries were made for wealthy castles where they served a number of purposes. They provided some insulation both for sound and heat but were primarily decoration and story telling that could amuse people for hours.
They often told the story of the owner king or lord and would be used in processions and ceremonies. It is interesting how many of the tapestries now on display in the museum were originally gifts from the city of Oudenaarde to various other cities, kings and organizations as a sort of marketing promotion of the tapestry industry of Oudenaarde.
