As you probably know we stayed in France last week but we had to go home much faster than we originally planned as a consequence of the illness of our cat Pico (who died later that week). The picture shows what we saw at the place where we stayed. The rive you can see here is the Meuse. The Meuse (Dutch & German Maas, Latin Mosa) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea. It has a total length of 925 km (575 miles). The Meuse marked the Western border of the Holy Roman Empire from its creation in the 9th century until the annexation of most of Alsace and Lorraine by France through the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), and to some extent until 1792 when the Prince-Bishopric of Liège was also annexed to France. The Meuse is mentioned nostalgically in the Lied der Deutschen. The Meuse rises in the commune of Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse on the Langres Plateau in France from where it flows northwards past Sedan (the head of navigation) and Charleville-Mézières into Belgium. At Namur it is joined by the River Sambre. Beyond Namur the Meuse winds eastwards, skirting the Ardennes, and passes Liège before turning north. The river then forms part of the Belgian-Dutch border, except that at Maastricht the border lies further to the west. In the Netherlands it continues northwards past Venlo closely along the border to Germany, then turns towards the west, merging with the Rhine into an extensive delta. The river divides near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas on the right and the Bergse Maas on the left. The Bergse Maas continues via the Amer, which is part of the Biesbosch, and merges with the Nieuwe Merwede to the Hollands Diep, before finally flowing into the North Sea via the Haringvliet.

Thank you for your comments on my Pink nose posting, Pink nose