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The northern Swiss city and canton of Basel sits at a lower average elevation than any other in the country, and as a result, the city can’t rely on the mountain breezes so typical of cities like Davos, Lugano, and Bern.
But Baslers have a unique way of cooling off in the afternoon sun, particularly on the weekend, or as the hours of aperitif come calling. Bisected into roughly northern and southern parts by the Rhein, which flows from east to west, Baslers will simply put their possessions in a drybag, leap into the mighty river, and allow its current to carry them in 10 minutes a distance that roughly takes 45 minutes on foot.
They arrive refreshed, and exit onto one of the many small beaches or stone staircases — or simply wherever their favorite bar is — for a spot of drinking and drying.
Each one carries with them a “fischly” or circular drybag sold in pretty much every store in town. While in the river, the fischly is used as a flotation device, and after arriving at their destination, their phone, wallet, and clothes remain dry.
“It starts at the bridge by the Tinguely Museum, and if you go the whole way, you could go 45 minutes,” some passing swimmers told WaL. “I don’t think anyone goes to work this way, but I suppose it’s possible!”
The activity epitomizes much of what’s on Europe’s mind these days: economic inequality, climate change, low-impact living, walkable cities, quality of life over GDP, and reducing energy consumption.
As cycling-friendly a city as you could hope to find outside of the Netherlands, Basel can reach 38°C (103°F) in summer, and riding through exposed areas of sun-on-pavement can be a scorching experience when not shaded by trees. A dip in the Rhein is the perfect antidote.
It’s not typically accepted socially in Western society to dry off in public — even in beach resort towns it’s possible to see signs reading “shirt and shoes required”.
As is often the case with culture, when a certain pattern of behavior is adopted widely enough, it tends to alter the patterns of behavior around it.
No one could imagine getting away with taking a dip in the Quatri Fiumi, or Trevi fountains in Rome, but in Basel, the marble water fountains so typical of European cities are fair game for family bathers in Basel, and together with drying out on the street, present the city as particularly laid back in a country famous for hard work and precision.
On a Saturday afternoon in June, the stream of people floating down the Rhein has no visible interruption. Bobbing along atop their drybags, not all of them are commuting—some are merely swimming, and will walk eastward until they arrive at a bike they left chained up somewhere, or a tram station.
The Baslers have found a very cutting edge, low-tech solution to reducing traffic congestion, transportation costs, and emissions, and one which any riverine metro area perhaps should consider adopting. WaL
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PICTURED ABOVE: Swimmers walking eastward carrying their “fischly” or drybags. PC: Andrew Corbley ©
