Tuesday 8 September 2020

A Saturday To Remember

Of course, there is something to remember about every day. But the last Saturday of August, the 29th, was definitely special. 

We met around lunch time at the house of friends who own several canoes. There were six of us, and we started out sitting in their courtyard, sharing a round of savoury snacks that had just come out of the oven, washed down with a glass of sparkling wine.

The men made sure the canoes were firmly strapped to the trailer. O.K. drove his car to the end point of our planned route, then joined us in the van so that we could all arrive at the start point together.

All six of us had been on canoes before, but we aren't experts - it was all just for fun, and to enjoy a few hours on the river. The river was the Rhine - of course we were not on the main waterway, but on what is called the Old Rhine, a system of naturally meandering streams running more or less parallel with the big river, a beautiful, overgrown, almost jungle-like area and very special habitat for a number of plants and animals.

Like most of Germany, that area has also been affected by several dry summers in a row, but thankfully, there is still enough water there to ensure the animals and plants are not in immediate danger. There are several points designated for canoes and other small water vessels to get on and off the water; motor boats are, as far as I know, not allowed.

The first part of our route was so overgrown in places that it was not easy to get through. At one time, a recently fallen tree blocked nearly the whole width of the stream, and we just about managed to squeeze past, one by one. The water is never very deep, you can almost always see the ground, and so many plants grow in the river bed that sometimes the boat was sliding across the tops of the plants as if we were on a meadow. 

All our belongings were in water-proof containers in each boat, and I did not want to risk anything by fumbling about with the container to get my mobile phone out for photos. That is why I can only show you a few pictures, taken at the point where we had to get out of the canoes, carry them across land for a few steps and then get back on the water. We used this as our stopping point for snacks and drinks, and a good photo opportunity.





The last two pictures were taken at the end point. From there, it was about a 15 minute walk to O.K.'s car; we drove the owner of the canoes to where he had parked his van at the start point, so that he could drive back to where the others were waiting by the river, load the canoes on the trailer and drive home.

O.K. and I had just about enough time at home to have coffee, freshen up a bit and get changed. Then we were off to an outdoor restaurant in the fields between O.K.'s village and the next, where we were booked for dinner with his parents, his sister and her husband, to celebrate his mother's 80th birthday.

The food was nice, and although it was not exactly a hot day, it was warm enough to eat outside and sit there until after dark. Even the wasps took pity and did not bother us too much! O.K. and I walked both ways (the restaurant is about 3.5 km away from the village), and I also enjoyed that nightly walk back under the stars.

A Saturday to remember - I am sure you'll agree!

20 comments:

  1. Sounds a delightful day. Thanks for showing us a bit of it in your photoos.

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    1. It was delightful from start to finish! I regret not having more pictures, as some parts of the river were like an enchanted forest, but it was not possible.

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  2. I always enjoy boats. Even those awful pedaloes I wrote about recently are better than nothing, bit canoes and rowing boats - brilliant.

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    1. I am not very good at anything where one needs good, strong arms, but I enjoy being on the water and trundling about on the river at such a leisurely pace as ours was that day.

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  3. What a busy, but marvelously pleasant day for you. So glad you had such an enjoyable day.

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  4. What a wonderful experience that must have been. When my dd Alice was a baby my husband and I had a similar day of canoeing on the Cuyahoga near us to much closer to Cleveland. It took nearly the entire day and so many part of it were completely different from others. It was magic and I have never forgotten it. We had named our new canoe The Papoose for obvious reasons. I don't have any photos of that but so many images are in my mind! And congratulations to O.K.'s mother!

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    1. Thank you, Kristi! Your canoe trip sounds wonderful, too. I can very well understand that you have never forgotten that day. I am not sure I could manage an entire day of it, I would need many breaks!

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  5. A proper adventure. And one I'd never have embarked on, even back in my youth! ;) (I never liked being on the water - I much prefer just watching it from land...)

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    1. It was fun and we had agreed beforehand that nobody would try to splash the others or rock their boats, as some are prone to such pranks when they go canoeing in a group. Everyone was well behaved throughout :-)

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  6. It all sounds a delight. I canoed down the Wye Valley when our children were small, many years ago now. I remember thinking how easy it would be, apart from the rapids, just being taken gently downstream. I was wrong - by the last few miles I was exhausted! But, like yours, it was a memorable day.

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    1. Anything where I need to use my arms I get exhausted real quick, even something like cleaning my windows - I can feel it the next day!
      Canoeing down the Wye Valley sounds beautiful, too.

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  7. What a wonderful day and evening! The canoe trip takes me back to my childhood when we used to take float trips down small rivers. That was a perfect way to celebrate the end of summer! It sounds like O.K.'s Mother had a very good birthday too. I know it meant a lot to her that you were both able to be there. Your pictures of the river are lovely! Thanks for sharing with us!

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    1. Thank YOU for reading and commenting, Bonnie! Nice to know you enjoyed similar activities on rivers, too.
      The actual birthday was on Wednesday, impossible for me to attend, with plenty of neighbours and other people from the village popping in and out all day. She wanted to have a family-only celebration, too, and we had that on the Saturday evening, very nice.

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  8. That post made me quite emotional in a number of ways: a canoe trip in New Zealand and outdoor meals (in New Zealand, Italy and France) on warm evenings with friends.

    I'm glad that you had such a memorable day and were able to enjoy time with friends and with O.K.'s family in celebrations.

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    1. Interesting how my posts affect others in different ways. As for outdoor meals, almost all my meals with others have been outdoors this year - fortunately, the weather has been warm enough most of the time. I still do not feel particularly keen on sitting inside a restaurant, but now with the nights drawing in and becoming cooler, outdoor meals will be less of an option.

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  9. You must know how much I would have LOVED to have done this with you! How interesting it is to learn that there is an "Old Rhine" that is very overgrown and one can just about glide over the water in a canoe. That is fascinating to me! I wanted to do a post about Danny Thomas and it reminded me that I once saw him...on my one and only trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1982. And I remembered going on a river in canoes with a group of people and I thought, I need to do a post about that...and then, I read this post from you! So, if I ever get my head together, I will try to write it and I will tell them to read this post from you! :-)
    So glad you had such a wonderful day!

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    1. What an interesting coincidence - you thinking of a canoe trip and me writing about one :-) O.K. and I went canoeing last year on the river Enz during a weekend spent at my place; I posted about that, too.
      The Old Rhine is really beautiful, and so important; the actual Rhine is just a really broad river, straightened out and made passable for large freight ships and not offering much in terms of nature.
      Now I am looking forward to your post about Danny Thomas (who is he?) and your canoe trip!

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  10. Oops I lost my comment - trying again!

    What a fabulous day that was - and your details made it so interesting to read. I've been on the Rhine River but of course only on river boat cruises. I did kayak on a northern California lake and really enjoyed that, but my biggest mistake was passing up the chance to kayak when in Antarctica! They were bigger sea kayaks, two people in each - but I recall the extra charge was very expensive so I didn't participate! Of course I went on many zodiac boats there - and in other places - so must say I've had some fantastic water craft experiences!

    I hope O.K.'s mum had a lovely birthday and I wish her many, many more.
    Hugs - Mary

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    1. Thank you, Mary!
      Kayaking in Antarctica - now, that is something I am not sure I would have dared doing, it just sounds so very, very cold...! I don't know what zodiac boats are, but I know you have travelled LOADS and it does not surprise me that you had great and varied water craft experiences.

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