Rhine Boats

Heinrich was very curious about all the boats he had seen down on the river. He decided to go down to watch the boats and see what they were all doing.

 

Since the Rhine is such a big river there aren't many bridges. To help cars get from one side to the other there are several cities that have ferries to cross the river. The cars drive on to the boat on one side of the river. The boat carries them to the other side and then the cars drive off the boat onto a bridge and back up to the regular roads.

 

Boats on the Rhine carry things besides cars. Some of the boats are cruise ships. They take tourists up and down the river.

 

Other boats carry materials up and down the river. Sometimes then carry coal, sometimes stones, and sometimes sand.

 

There were also boats that are large tankers that carried all sorts of things down inside the boat.

 

The boats sometimes also carry large containers. These containers can be loaded onto trains or semi trucks when the boats get to the end of the river. Sometimes they are put onto even larger ships and sail across the ocean to places like America.

 

Heinrich noticed that the boats had to follow the river where ever it went. There was one place where the river made a really sharp turn. That made it tricky for the boats to go around. This place is called the Loreley.