Kayaking in Deutschland
May 1994
This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
by Axel Weese
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The town of Limburg on the river Lahan, as seen by the author |
My wife and I emigrated from Germany a few years ago to live in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia. Two of the most important belongings we brought with us to Canada were our kayaks.
We enjoy sea kayaking here in the islands, but it is very different than our kayak experiences back in Germany where kayaking is mainly on rivers, such as the Rhine. Germany's only coastline is on the North Sea and is less used for kayaking.
In the past twenty years, the sport of kayaking has become very popular in Germany, leading to the formation of many clubs (river-wanderer groups). These clubs have branched out into whitewater (wildwater) groups, many with youth training programs.
Germans love outdoor/social activities so there are paddling clubs in every town and city. On weekends or holidays these paddlers travel by car or club trailers to their river destinations for touring, sometimes up to 1000 kilometres from home, sometimes to other countries - Austria or Yugoslavia.
Weekend gatherings are also held with clubs from other towns, for building friendships and combined touring. My son and I have taken part in many of these visits with other paddling clubs. During the day we would glide with the current through the countryside and in the evening we would meet at campsites for socializing around the campfire, with good food and drink, songs and lots of discussion about kayaking.
Whenever I undertook solo kayak tours -which I often did- my wife would drive me to the starting point on a river and then rendezvous with me two or three days later, sometimes 150 to 200 kilometres away.
The rivers in Germany have no rapids (except in mountainous areas) so paddling is very easy. Although there are many river locks, most have provision for small boat by-passes or easy portages. Due to the popularity of watersports there is very heavy traffic on weekends on all accessible rivers.
Kayaking on these rivers offers all the wonders of nature - constantly changing landscapes from hilly country to flat land- and many historical sites. Along the Rhine River particularly, you can see castles and cathedrals in the older towns and the renowned grape growing fields.
Every five to ten kilometres you encounter another town or village with inviting markets or specialty restaurants. This is in sharp contrast to the kayaking I now do on the west coast of Canada. Both are wonderful, of course, but I do sometimes miss the gentle river travel and historic sights of my native country.
Axel Weese and his wife can be seen paddling their German- made kayaks, including a Klepper folding kayak, around the Gulf Islands of BC.