The Rhine : following Europe's greatest river from Amsterdam to the Alps / Ben Coates.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coates, Ben, 1982- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Manners and customs.

Travel.

Coates, Ben, 1982---Travel--Rhine River Valley.

Coates, Ben.

Coates, Ben, 1982---Travel--Rhine River.

Coates, Ben, 1982---Travel--Europe.

Coates, Ben, 1982-.

Rhine River Valley--Description and travel.

Rhine River Valley.

Rhine River Valley--History.

Rhine River Valley--Social life and customs.

Rhine River--Description and travel.

Rhine River.

Rhine River--History.

Europe.

Genre:

History

Travel writing.

Physical Description:

291 pages : illustrations, maps ; 20 cm

Edition:

Paperback edition.

Other Title:

Following Europe's greatest river from Amsterdam to the Alps

Place of Publication:

London ; Boston : Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2019.

Summary:

The Rhine is one of the world's greatest rivers. Once forming the outer frontier of the Roman Empire, it flows 800 miles from the social democratic playground of the Netherlands, through the industrial and political powerhouses of Germany and France, to the wealthy mountain fortresses of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. For five years, Ben Coates lived alongside a major channel of the river in Rotterdam, crossing it daily, swimming and sailing in its tributaries. In The Rhine, he sets out by bicycle from the Netherlands where it enters the North Sea, following it through Germany, France and Liechtenstein, to its source in the icy Alps. He explores the impact that the Rhine has had on European culture and history and finds out how influences have flowed along and across the river, shaping the people who live alongside it. Blending travelogue and offbeat history, The Rhine tells the fascinating story of how a great river helped shape a continent.

Contents:

Introduction: Liquid city: Amsterdam and the Delta

Part one: The Netherlands. Turning the corner: Hoek van Holland to Rotterdam

Water wars: Vlaardingen and the Dutch Delta

The final frontier: Utrecht and the Roman Rhine

A bride too far: Arnhem and the Dutch-German border

Part two: Germany. The engine room: Duisburg and Düsseldorf

God, gays, grapes and grain: Cologne

Cold war blues: Bonn and Königswinter

The romantic Rhine: Koblenz to Rüdesheim

Gamblers and creators: Wiesbaden to Mainz and Mannheim

Part three: France. Borderlines: Strasbourg and Alsace

Part four: Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein. Fortress nation: Switzerland and the edge of the Alps

Into thin air: Lake Constance, Austria and Liechtenstein

Epilogue: LSD dreams: the new politics of the Rhine.

Notes:

Originally published: 2018.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-291).

ISBN:

9781473665095

1473665094

OCLC:

1121297294

Publisher Number:

90101345215