2mo ago

A Spree change: from Berlin to Oslo, Europe’s urban swimmers take the plunge

5 comments

I mean... German rivers certainly aren't the toxic waste dumps they used to be in the 70s... but actively seeking to take a dip still seems strange. Then again who am I to judge if the local expert end up signing off on the requests 🤷
- It's totally possible to swim in many german rivers and lakes. It's awesome! Most dangerous thing about it is not the pollution, but the river itself or peoples inability to swim. But if you have the chance to jump into a river and you can swim, do it. It's great
- It was really strange for me seeing how dirty and polluted British waters were when I lived there. In Switzerland floating down rivers is actually somewhat of a national sport. Many young (and old) people do it when it gets hot.
  
  obligatory These workers in Switzerland commute to work by floating down a river
Hopefully this gives more leverage in keeping the river clean. "Well Mr. Company you can't dump shit into the river, there are people swimming there". As the article mentions in Denmark they hoisted red flags during incidents, but it puts at least some more public eyes on the issue.