Dateline: Speyer, Germany. This little river town is something of a resort for Germans, the river bank is lined with biergartens (e.g., beer gardens). Like all residents of cold places, Germans like to be outdoors when it is warm and that particularly includes drinking beer outdoors. Speyer is home to a rather grand Romanesque cathedral; it was the seat of the bishops of Speyer who were powers back in the day.
We are spending just over 24 hours here, doing a walking tour of the town followed by home visits with German families. Those who choose can visit a biergarten literally just across the jetty from the ship for their evening’s entertainment. Most will not do so, but it is certainly there. We set sail downriver just after 1 a.m. A lot of our sailing is done at night, perforce, but I sort of resent it as daytime cruising is so pleasant. We did several hours of daytime cruising yesterday, while many of our number were off in the buses seeing Baden Baden. We’d seen the spa before so gave that trip a pass and enjoyed the downriver cruising instead.
For me, just being on the river is what I enjoy. Yes, the towns we visit are interesting but being “on the river” is my goal. Unlike the ocean there is always scenery to look at on shore. I love watching the river traffic, barges of all sorts carrying petroleum products, gravel, grain, containers, you name it. Then there are the passenger boats, essentially floating hotels. All river craft are long and slender to fit in the locks.
Particularly interesting is a type of barge we don’t see in the U.S. This is the “barge as home & workplace.” Imagine a barge with its own engine – no pusher or tug required. The engine and pilothouse are in the rear, along with the family’s living quarters and, usually, their car. If they have hired help working the barge with them the help lives in a forecastle at the bow. Normally this barge operates alone, without other barges attached. They haul cargo all over Europe, literally from Amsterdam to the Black Sea if needed. Husband and wife operate the barge, live aboard with their small children and dog, and the windows often have lace curtains. When they are at a destination they will use a crane to lift their auto ashore, and drive around running errands. Historically, their children have gone to boarding schools ashore and come home to the barge during vacations. The captains of most of the passenger ships are grown-up “river kids” whose parents were barge operators. It is a family business, generation after generation on the rivers.
