Sometimes you just have to do things you have never done before. Paddling at the Eifel in germany was one of those things for me. So close to home there are plenty of rivers which need huge rain or snowfall to run, but they are worth it to drive there for the weekend. A little report from a rather different but definitely fun weekend for me!

After some tiring days at uni we took off saterday morning way too early, but driving towards the sun we soon arrived at the first river, the ‘Kleiner Kiel’. It started with lots of flatwater but in the end the river narrowed and some rapids appeared. Nevertheless it was a fun day with lots of trees crossing the river, probably the most exciting thing happening on the river! The evening was filled with (or actually my stomach) with Hefe WeiBe and cheap jokes.

The next day started with a blast, paddling a nice drop at the Ender for a couple of times, improving on each run and ending with a ‘clean grab boof’ ! Some of the others ran their first fall which made it a supercool start! Just have a look at the pictures..

Unluckily a storm coming from France crossed the area and lots of trees fell down. Waiting for the car, we noticed the same cars passing by both ways. It appeared a tree had fallen over the road, and a little later no cars at all passed us. Both ways out of the valley trees crossed the road and made it impossible for our friends to reach us..! It took us 5 hours to get in contact, carry to boats up the road and avoid falling trees, what a day!

The weekend was great though, and the falling trees only made it better!
Cheers, Raoul