Rhena on the move – Part 9
From Reckingen AG to Koblenz Dorf
Hi new followers, my name’s Rhena and I’m taking you on a little adventure on or along the Rhine. If you’re new here, you might want to go read the introduction. Just so you know what’s going on.
Today was another scorcher! Early start again. This time in Rekingen AG. Now if you look at the map you can see that Swiss Rekingen is spelled with a “k” and German Reckingen with a “ck”. Don’t ask me why, but sometimes it is just to be different. I don’t think it changes the pronunciation in this case, but I can’t be sure. Locals are a bit quiet here. Also, on the map you can see that if you follow the river past Bad Zurzach you’re really on your own, no towns on the Swiss side. Next town and train station is in Koblenz. Where it says “Koblenz” on the map the train station is actually “Koblenz Dorf”, ie Koblenz village. This is where the actual town is though. Bit confusing.
But let’s start at the beginning. In Rekingen the day is just awakening, and I float along still dozing a bit. Too early for me. I also know that it’s going to be hot again today, so I do want to make at least some progress towards Basel.
I can’t decide if it’s day yet. I can’t see the sun, but it’s getting brighter and brighter. Isn’t the sun supposed to be up for that to happen?
Somehow we’re saltier here than upstream. At least we taste saltier. Not sure what’s going on. I mean it could be all the sweaty hikers putting their sweaty hands in the water and rinsing off their faces. Pure salt! At least they usually keep their shoes on in the early morning. I always make sure that I’m away from the shore later on in the day or during school holidays. I don’t like feet. I hear my companion read something on a notice board about a historic salt route. I’m sure we’ll get back to that at some point. But to me that’s proof I’m NOT wrong.
In Bad Zurzach I float under the bridge to Germany. No lines early on a Sunday and I don’t hear any traffic either. There are spot checks only. So, you usually don’t have to stop. Since shops are closed on either side of the Rhine on Sundays, people seem to be staying put. They day is still breaking when I reach the ferry that goes across to Kadelburg. It’s not running yet though. They only open at 2 PM. Too long a wait and also – and disappointingly – no bell?! This is weird.
We’re now entering the little Rhine area (Swiss German: Chli Rhy, Chli Rhi, Chly Rhy – it’s all the same. No spelling rules in Swiss German). I’m so taking the shortcut. It feels nice to be entirely in Switzerland for a short time. This area was originally floodplains. During the 20th century it was farmed extensively. This was no longer sustainable and also not that many farmers were left in the 21st century. So, by 2015 it had been rewilded and a new nature reserve was opened. The area went from floodplain to farmland back to floodplain. It has an amazing feel to it. I love it here. I’ve taken the shortcut, so I have to wait a little while. Have a look at some pictures from today’s stage while we wait.
In this nature reserve they have created a cliff or dune of sorts that can house Sand Martins. They are endangered in Switzerland. I don’t think I’d ever seen any. The sign says that due to built-up river banks, they can no longer live in them and they had all but disappeared. Even floating along the little Rhine I can see them up above and hear them too. Quite a spectacle! But they better not poop on my head. I just washed my hair. Also in this area – not just the nature reserve – are cormorants and loads of them. I used to get excited when I saw one. Now they are all over the place. I love them. They are such elegant birds.
Something else I noticed and that Evelyne got kind of excited about where viewing platforms on top of WWII bunkers. She of course also cursed a lot having to climb all those stairs, but that’s a different story. It seems that the canton of Aargau has repurposed its bunker as good places to view the river from. I guess that’s what they were initially used for: keeping an eye on the river. So, this makes perfect sense. These ones were in operation from 1939 to 1945.
It was pretty much plain sailing into Koblenz after the little Rhine area, but then my travel companion got much slower and very distracted at around 10 AM. She was stopping to text – apparently walking and texting is not possible at her age, at least not safely - and taking weird pictures. Not sure what was going on, but I was glad to get a bit of a break. She’d been talking to me a lot today. Once we reached Koblenz, we had to part ways close to the bridge into Germany. The train station is about 10 minutes up a hill. Don’t miss the video!
The next stage is super exciting. I get to meet thousands of new friends. There is this river that will join us called River Aare. I hear it’s gorgeous. Sooooo looking forward to this. Could be a while though.
Notes:
Uferschwalbe (German): https://www.vogelwarte.ch/de/voegel/voegel-der-schweiz/uferschwalbe
Sand martin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_martin
Nature reserve «Aue Chly Rhy” (German): https://www.pronatura.ch/de/aue-chly-rhy
I too enjoyed reading about the protected Sand Martin's & loved their built up dunes/cliffs. These swallows have a wide migratory path with a name meaning "of the riverbank." How very fitting. Nice article.
Good day to you Rhena. Thank you for the fascinating tour. And please thank Evelyne for providing links to pertinent information. I enjoyed reading about the sand swallows. I look forward to one day dipping my feet in your refreshing waters. I know. Sorry.