Rhena on the move – Introduction

Following the River Rhine with a twist

Bit of background info

Those of you who know me also know that rivers, streams and water in general have always played an important role in my life. I think it properly started when I tried to dig a tunnel in our backyard (without permission). When I got to about half a meter of depth, I found a spring. There was suddenly water pouring out of the “tunnel” wall. My dad eventually turned it into a pond, and we ended up with fascinating wildlife. I must have been about six at the time.

My hometown had a steam flow through it and the bike route follows it to a bigger stream and then to the River Aare – and on to the River Rhine. A lot of our national bike routes follow rivers. It’s what we do. Until December 2020 I was riding my bike quite a lot and mostly along rivers or streams. Then I got a diagnosis that made me stop cycling and that’s also when I started walking. A bit later in early 2022 I started long-distance hiking properly. I followed the Rhine from Kreuzlingen to Basel.

I also wrote about the abundance of water in my canton and walked along the four main rivers for the World Water Run in March 2023. With four rivers we’re probably the canton with the most water flowing through it - or in the case of the Rhine along its border.

I’ve had this idea of following a water droplet from the source of the Aare to the Rhine - with it zipping through all the turbines of the hydro-electric powerplants, having a great time and publishing it as a children’s book - for a long time. I new idea developed during my hike up to the Gotthard Pass. Four rivers originate up in that region (Rhine, Rhone, Ticino and Reuss). I had followed the valley that the Reuss has carved out of the mountain for many miles (all uphill) and I felt connected. We don’t have ocean access, so rivers and lakes are all we have.

Introduction to Rhena on the move

I’m gonna make it to the source of the Rhine at some point. For now, I’m starting back in Kreuzlingen and telling you the story from the point of view of the river itself. For the story I want to tell having the entire river tell the story, won’t work, but a part of the river called Rhena will take you along on her journey.

How did she get her name? Well, the hiking route I’m walking is called Via Rhenana. I found that too long. I can never remember it. And it gives me Latin class flashbacks trying to figure out the grammar behind the name. In Latin the Rhine is called Rhenus. It is grammatically masculine and that wasn’t gonna happen. Not in my story. I made it feminine, and Rhena was born. Side note: I’m working on a separate newsletter on language and grammatical gender.

Back to Rhena. I would you like you to think of Rhena as one of many parts that make up the river – sort of like we are all part of humanity. Given the entire length of the river, we’re picking up Rhena’s story around age 18. Yes, I did some basic math and yes, I assumed that the entire length of the river was 100 %, i.e. 100 years, as not to overcomplicated things.

What you can expect

I’ve always been interested in history, geography, traveling, language(s) and nature – so, you can expect a mix of those. There might be some silliness in there as well. We all need more silliness in our lives, we really do! Rhena might rant a bit about people sticking their smelly feet in her face when she’s trying to rest or about the motor boats that are disturbing everyone’s peace. She will also feel the tension that’s still lurking between Switzerland and Germany and talk about the WWII bunkers that line the Rhine all the way to Basel. She is very proud to be part of this wonderful river that has had a positive impact on so many people’s lives and will tell us stories she heard from her ancestors. And who knows, there might even be some love in the air at some point. I have a feeling the Aare will play a role in that. And the Romans as well … Stay tuned, take a seat and enjoy the ride.

Seerheinbad Zellersguet, Tägerwilen

I have created a separate section for this, and I might just keep those newsletters in there and not have them appear on the main page. I’ll need to think about that.