Mettlach, Saar River

In the past 20 years the muddy little Saar River, with trees and grassy banks, was engineered into a canal with concrete retaining walls, so the trees and grassy banks have disappeared. Passenger/tourist boats and barges go through the two locks at the dam a quarter mile up-river from Mettlach’s bridge, and crowds of tourists visit the Villeroy & Boch factory and the six or eight stores where the porcelain dishes, ceramic tile, etc., can be purchased.

Until the canal was built, there were huge trucks either barreling through town on the narrow main street, or blocking traffic as they unloaded their cargo at one of Mettlach’s stores. Most important and almost unbelievable, this new street, built along the river, bypasses downtown Mettlach, and the original main street has been rejuvenated with paving stones. Now, instead of traffic-jams or speeding trucks, there are people-jams at the 100 tables at a half-dozen restaurants and ice cream parlors, in what is now a pedestrian promenade. Who says they can’t teach an old town new tricks. What a contrast. What an improvement. What an accomplishment.