I Used To Love A River --- Childhood Memories (7)

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The river Weser is one of the four German rivers flowing into the North Sea. The others are (from east to west): Oder, Elbe (Weser), Ems. I moved to a small town on the western bank of the river between the cities Bremen and Bremerhaven when I was 11 years old and lived there until I was 20. I had spent my early childhood far away from water in a pretty town surrounded by a hilly landscape but I took to the river at once. For some years, we even lived right on the river. It wasn't the river Weser proper but a tributary but wonderful nevertheless. The garden behind the house borders the river. There is a huge willow tree from which children jumped into the water, tide permitting. More of that later. I fell in love with big ships then. I knew international flags and most signs of shipping companies from all over the world. I could watch the ocean liners and freight ships going to the harbour of Bremen which is about 70 km inland from the sea from the window of my room. I'm glad that I had already moved away from the area when the traffic on the Weser started dying. Now the harbour in Bremen is dead. Ships only go to Bremerhaven at the mouth of the river. The winner is the water quality, of course. Many fish have come back, salmon for example. Even seals have been seen sunbathing on the banks. The river is now only 'used' by water sports enthusiasts. When I lived there, I had a foldable paddle boat and was a member of a sports club. I didn't sail but my friend and I used to flirt with sailors when we met nice ones. We also had no scruples being towed by a sailing boat or even a motor boat when we were too lazy to paddle. We were on the river from spring to autumn going to and fro according to the direction the water was flowing. Oh, yes! There is ebb and flood and the water changes direction about every six hours. How very convenient. Since then I find rivers flowing in one direction dead boring. I voice this opinion occasionally in front of people who know nothing about tides and enjoy the way they look at me. They think I'm stupid. A river always flows in one direction, doesn't it? When I've explained the phenomenon of the tides, *they* look stupid! We went camping on the banks of the river over weekends. Only the son of the local dentist had a fine tent with upright sides. We called it derisively 'coca-cola villa'. He also had the most expensive boat. He was a nice guy, though. It wasn't his fault that his father bought only the best for him. My friend and I had a tiny tent into which we had to crawl. We could barely sit in it. It was so low, especially in the middle, because it had no ridge pole (if that is the correct term). I had a proper air mattress, but my friend had a self-made construction: bicycle tubes inserted into a linen bag with long seams between them. Remembering these nine years gives me a good feeling. When I look at my photos, I can't but smile. My studies and the ensuing job are responsible that I now live in the south of the country far away from a big river and the joys of paddling and camping. The same happened to my friends. But we'll always have our memories! ----- If you're interested in more childhood memories, click on the green bar 'MALUS CHILDHOOD MEMORIES' above the title.