Basel Rhine Swim Fills the River With Wickelfisch and a Current

BASEL - The official Rhine swim put thousands of people into the water on Sunday, orange Wickelfisch bags bobbing toward the next bridge. Rescue services called the afternoon busy and within plan. Water quality readings stayed inside bathing limits.

Cafes on the Kleinbasel bank did the kind of trade they plan the year around. Trams toward the Wiese ran full of wet people, which is a Basel skill.

A river that is also infrastructure

Barges paused for the swim window. Then they started again. The Rhine does not stay a playground after the last swimmer climbs out.