Rick Steves' Germany, Austria and Switzerland Germany, Austria and Switzerland with Prague Rick's Germany, Austria, Switzerland guidebook is available in bookstores, or you can order it through our online catalog . The river is great for barge watching. Since ancient times this has been a highway for trade. Barge workers are almost a sub-culture. Many own their own ships.
Workers live in the bow.
The family car often decorates the bow like a shiny hood ornament. In the Rhine town of Kaub there's even a boarding school for the children of the Rhine merchant marine. A clever captain manages to ship goods in each direction. At this point tugs can push a floating train of up to five barges at once. Upstream it gets steeper and they can push only one at a time.