This German Family Always Goes With the Flow on the Rhine River

Heinz-Peter Distel, leathery hands gripping an iron ship wheel, guides his 1,200-ton, live-in barge downriver in a family tradition nearly as old as the medieval castles looming on both sides of the mighty Rhine River.

“I was born on the water, and I don’t really have any desire to leave it. This is in my blood,” said Distel, part of a breed of fiercely independent West Germans who work and live on family owned transport barges.

Distel and his wife, Helga, are the sole owners, operators and residents of the Stadt Monheim, a workhorse barge that’s nearly the length of a football field and has most of the comforts of a conventional home.

The 52-year-old Distel is a man of few words.

Steers a Steady Course

Ensconced high up in the pilot house next to his multiband radio, he keeps his vision firmly fixed on the fast-running river and steers a steady course through central West Germany.

Twin diesel engines throb powerfully below, propelling the vessel at a good clip past famous old castles such as the picturesque Marksburg near Koblenz.

The Drachenfels, a mountain where the legendary Germanic hero Siegfried slew a dragon, appears in the distance as the Stadt Monheim glides north.

Helga, Distel’s 47-year-old wife and sole crew member, carries a tray with vegetable soup, wurst and pudding up the outside iron staircase to her husband from their living quarters on the rear deck.

She ducks quickly into the pilot house, helped out by a strong Rhine wind blowing across the port side.

‘Have a Little Party’

Another barge comes into view on the starboard side, and Mrs. Distel waves enthusiastically to the people on board.

“We know them and a lot of other people who work on the river,” she said. “Sometimes we’ll put into port with friends and have a little party. But it could be a month or more before we’re ever with them again.”

It’s just another work day for the Distels, who consented to take a reporter on board for the day on the stretch in central West Germany.

The Distels are still enraptured by the Rhine River’s landscape, even though it is a normal part of their daily lives.

But this is clearly not the life for everyone.

“It is not what most people would call an easy life--we’re underway 14 hours a day, sometimes 10 days straight, and we’re never sure when we might be able to take a day off,” Mrs. Distel said.

Pretty Good Living

But the Distels say as long as they’re willing to work long hours, they can make a pretty good living.

And it’s not every family that has the chance to cut across the heart of Europe week after week, visiting historic cities such as Basel, Mainz and Heidelberg, and crossing into France, Belgium and the Netherlands as well.

“I really enjoy doing this, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world,” said Mrs. Distel, who paints Rhine landscape scenes when she’s not busy with chores.

Fewer and fewer families are able to afford running a barge business because of skyrocketing costs and stiff competition from powerful shipping companies and the railroad.

About 2,000 family owned, live-in barges were registered in West Germany in 1980, but the figure has dropped to about 1,300.

Roots Back to 16th Century

Distel is a member of one of the most venerable West German families still operating barges, tracing his forbearers’ river-working roots back to the 16th Century.

Distel was born on a barge, and spent most of his life on river boats owned by his grandfather and father.

“I went to a special boarding school for kids in shipping families until I was 17,” Distel said while on the three-day run from Ludwigshafen in West Germany to Antwerp in Belgium with a load of liquid fertilizer.

The Distels’ 19-year-old daughter, who has chosen a career in marketing and lives on land, also attended such a school.

During his own school years, Distel would join his family on their boat during holidays and vacation time.

“I’ve never felt at home on land. So when I finished school I came to my real home--the Rhine,” Distel said.

Replaced Original Engines

Distel does a lot of the strenuous mechanical work on his 40-year-old Stadt Monheim--named after a Rhine River town near Cologne. And he oversaw the mammoth job a few years ago of replacing the original engines for smaller but more efficient ones.

Like other barge families, the Distels own a thoroughly modernized vessel loaded with domestic conveniences. They even have a car strapped onto the deck for use when they go into port.

Their living quarters consist of a carpeted living room, a complete kitchen, a bathroom with a shower and washing machine, and a large bedroom.

Book cases line the walls of the living room, where there is a sofa and easy chairs, a caged parakeet they call “Peterle” and a color television set.

Most of the Distels’ travels are on the Rhine, but their contracts with various companies take them up and down other rivers as well, such as the Neckar and Mosel. They reach Antwerp and other places via a web of canals leading off the Rhine.

Living on the river also has its dangerous side, and families can face financial ruin from running aground and other accidents.

But Mrs. Distel said they’ve been fortunate and attributes that to her husband’s navigational skill and understanding of the river.