Auf großer Fahrt

Saturday, April 22nd, 2006

11:00 am
Arrival at the monastery of Citeaux, birthplace of the Cistercian Order.
Our first order of business is to make sure we aren’t intruding on a prayer-hour. Then we wait.

1:30 am
On the monastery grounds we meet up with a Jesuit novice from Switzerland by the name of Gael. He wants to introduce to the monk responsible for public relations, Brother Bertrand-Marie.

12:15 pm
Meeting with Brother Bertrand-Marie. Discussion of the project, with some sensitive questions concerning our artistic intentions.
Gael the Novice acts as interpreter.

Asked what the content of the project has to do with the Monastery of Citeaux, I refer to the work of colonisation and cultivation done by the Cistercian Order as it spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, especially in the dissemination of texts. I also mention the Order’s historic rules of communication, which dictate that once a year, a representative of the monastic community at Gravenhorst must travel to the motherhouse at Citeaux in order to maintain the connection between the Order’s center and its offshoots. My idea is to renew this bond of communication between the birthplace of the Order and its daughter house, now the Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst (Gravenhorst Monastery Art Centre). I declare my readiness to take a message from Citeaux to Gravenhorst and in this way open a dialogue between the two.

When Brother Bertrand-Marie asks why I chose the Cistercians, I cite the austere requirements of the Order, especially when comes to the architectural design of monastic buildings; here I see parallels with the formal austerity of the boat we are going to fold. The naves of Cistercian monastic churches, I explain, are built to proportions of length and breadth that roughly correspond to the dimensions of the material we will use to make our paper boat. (Moreover, the founding concept of the Cistercians –– the monk’s complete rejection of worldly wealth, in contrast to the practice of most other medieval Christian orders –– clearly has aspects in common with my work as an artist.) At the end of the meeting, Brother Bertrand-Marie lays out our intentions to the Abbot of the monastery.

5:15 pm
Another meeting with Brother Bertrand-Marie.
He communicates the Abbot’s agreement with our plans: the boat may be built on the monastery grounds, in front of the church.—-

–
Sunday, April 23rd, 2006

9:00 am
We are greeted by Brother Henry: “Vous êtes les pêcheurs. Oui?” – “You are the Fishers of Men, yes?”

9:30 am
Preparation of a large expanse of Tetra-Pak, length and width in proportions 2:1, corresponding to the proportions of the monastery church.

10:30 am
Construction of the giant paper boat.
In front of the monastery Church of Our Lady, the sections of Tetra-Pak material are “welded” together and then folded.
Novices help to fold the 80-square-meter “page”. It is folded precisely according to origami instructions for the creation of a classic paper boat.

There are also a few novices from other Orders present, who are vacationing in Citeaux. While we work, we talk and argue with them about the project. The novices speak of a connection between art and religion.

6:00 pm
The boat is finished.
We are given permission to stay in the monastery’s guesthouse.

Film Stills

–
Monday, April 24, 2006

The boat has been damaged and kicked about during the night.
Brother Bertrand-Marie believes he saw the person responsible and knows who he is; this person is crazy, “c’est un fou.” He recommends we involve the police.
I ask if it would be possible to ask this man to help do the necessary repair work on the boat. Brother Bertrand-Marie again refers to the state of his mental health.
Brother Alberique transports the boat to the monastery workshop to repair it there.

–
Tuesday, April 25th, 2006

10:00 am
Repairs are completed and the is boat put on display for a day in the monastery courtyard. At 3:00 pm, three police officers from St.-Georges-de-la-Nuits show up and ask whether we want to press charges. If we want to file an insurance claim to cover the damage, they will have to put together a report on the incident.

In the afternoon we have a photo-op scheduled with the monks. Brother Michel is preparing a piece about “En route de Citeaux à Gravenhorst” for the local press.

Brother Bertrand-Marie Brother Alberique

Brother Michel, Frank Bölter, Brother Arnaud

As word gets around that we will be setting out shortly, more and more monks arrive wanting to get one last quick look at the boat and to wish us a good trip, and to ask us to send word of how it’s going along the way. I mention the website and promise to send a collection of photographs to Citeaux once the trip is over.

Brother Bertrand-Marie asks us to wait a moment longer. He comes back after a few seconds with a homemade cheese and explains to us that over 100 000 such cheeses are made in Citeaux each year. We thank everyone for the extraordinary hospitality we have received in Citeaux. Since it’s already getting late, Bertrand-Marie asks if we wouldn’t like to be their guests for one more night. Having made sure that it’s really no trouble, we agree, and happily give ourselves over to the monastery’s hospitality once
again.
Brother Michel and Brother Arnaud in front of the monastery church

–
Wednesday, April 26th, 2006

10:00 am
Brother Bertrand-Marie presents us with a message to give to the Brotherhood at the Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst, in the name of the Brotherhood of Citeaux.
Farewells.
Departure for the banks of the Saône, 8 km away. That’s where we plan to launch.

12:00 pm
Launch at Charrey-Sur-Saône. Air temperature 12 degrees, water temperature 18 degrees Celcius. Rain; wind velocity 2.
We are seen off by James and Nénes the dog, who live there.

Start of the expedition.
We wait for the ship which is supposed to take our paper boat in tow.
After four hours of waiting, James appears again and tells us there is a flood warning on the Saône and that the river has been closed to boat traffic.
Now we’ll have to pull the paper boat upstream ourselves, working from the shore. I climb out onto land again, discouraged. Our trip through the Saône valley begins under steady rain. We pull the paper boat as far as St. Jean de Losne. It’s a rough march over stumps and stones, around innumerable shrubs and bushes, on and on as the darkness comes down.

–
Thursday, April 27th, 2006

8:00 pm
We arrive in St. Jean de Losne. Air temperature 15 degrees, water temperature 18 degrees Celcius. Rain; wind velocity 3.
The constant rain and the Saône’s swift current (due to the flood conditions) have left the paper boat in bad shape. We hope for a dry night and better weather.
Our hands hurt.

On express written order of the Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion (Water and Shipping Authority), the paper boat must be removed from the water for the night.

–
Friday, April 28th, 2006

9:00 am
Departure for Auxonne.
Air temperature 14 degrees, water temperature 18 degrees Celcius. Variable skies; wind velocity 3.
Once again we have to pull the paper boat upstream from the shore. Shrubs make the riverbank practically impassable. The boat frequently has to be pulled out of the water, portaged around some barrier and then set back into the water. I’ve got blisters on my hands.

2:30 pm
Close call near St.-Seine: A strange sound like something hitting the boat’s side gets our attention; the boat starts to fill with water, but it’s still possible to pull it onshore before it capsizes. Once on land, we discover a leak.
A short time later we are are hailed loudly by one of the locals. He has a severe limp and wants to know what the hell we think we’re doing there.

We give him a brief explanation of our intentions and he invites us for coffee.
Sitting on the sofa in his living room, we have a moment of panic as we catch sight of the two shotguns hanging on the wall over our heads. But Pascal Billet is friendly, offers us beer and coffee, puts on a record with German music: Kraftwerk.
It soon becomes clear that he thinks our expedition ill-considered: “Where do you want to go? Germany? Do they do this kind of stuff a lot there?” The question of whether the Tetra-Pak material can withstand such a voyage is discussed and debated at length. Billet informs his neighbour of what’s going on, tells him about the surprise visit from two Germans who want to get back to Germany. We explain the purpose of the expedition once again. The neighbour advises us to attach a couple of boards to the paper boat, to counter the strong winds.

In the end I ask Pascal Billet if he would like to help me build a new boat. At this he brings up his motorcycle accident and points out that he needs help in walking. But if possible he would like to be allowed to keep the old paper boat –– as decoration for his garden.
I invite him to the opening of the exhibition at the Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst, planned for May 28th. We repair the paper boat and Pascal Billet inscribes it with his autograph.

Pascal Billet christens the boat as we depart.–
Saturday, April 29th, 2006

9:30 am
The paper boat is gone. Has somebody put it back into the water, or did the garbage men take it away? We inquire at the town hall as to whether anyone knows of its whereabouts. We are sent from there to the Water and Shipping Authority.
They don’t know anything either.
But they explain to us that at the moment, the Saône is closed to all shipping due to flood conditions. Further inquiries about the boat come up with nothing.

Visit to the “Mairie”, the Office of the Mayor of Auxonne.

“A paper boat, you say, that was moored here yesterday. Yesterday evening there were a few youths around, they may have cut it loose. I go to bed at 10:00 pm. The boat wasn’t there this morning.”

Start at Charrey-sur-Saône on April 26, 2006

Arrival in St.-Jean-de-Losne on April 27, 2006

Close call near St.-Seine on April 28, 2006

Construction of a new boat in Auxonne on April 30, 2006

12:00 pm
We ask at the École française de Voile –– the Sailing and Surfing School of Auxonne –– whether a new boat could be built there.
They agree. On the following day at 2:00 pm, a new boat can be built there.

–
Sunday, April 30th, 2006

At the Sailing School, the attempt to “weld” the sheets of Tetra-Pak together fails due to strong winds (wind velocity 3, gusty).

–
Monday, May 1st, 2006

A new ship is completed at the l’Aquabure campground.
The campground’s owner kindly makes one lot available for our use. He would like his young son to have a ride in the boat later.
With the help of some French campers and the campground’s owner, the paper boat is carried to the bank of the Saône…

…and launched.

Film stills

–
Dienstag, 02.05.2006

After putting in a request to the supervisors of the Sailing School, it is agreed that the paper boat will be towed along the four-hour leg from Auxonne to Lamarche. Eleven-year-old sailing student Marcel gladly accepts the invitation to ride along with us in the boat. Other students will tow us behind a catamaran. At the halfway point Marcel trades places with Pascal, who has been with the crew aboard the catamaran. In the meantime the boys have appealed to their parents to let them keep sailing on into the evening. Their parents will pick them up in Lamarche.

On arrival in Lamarche, I moor the paper boat to a sportboat which is lying at anchor. It is supposed to tow us from there to Gray on the following day.

The next morning, the passengers aboard the French luxury sportboat “Connoisseur” are a little taken aback by the project they are being made an unwilling party to; they are skeptical but in the end they agree.
Stopover in Pontailler, continuation via Talmay…

Film stills–

–
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006

I ask a group of four Swiss who are traveling by houseboat if they would tow the paper boat and its crew further north. Though they seem standoffish at first, they soon prove approachable and friendly. They agree to help.
We arrange to meet on the following day.

–
Thursday, May 4th, 2006

Meet up at 8:30 am, prepare, depart.
The Swiss seem highly pleased to be taking part in the project. “We have the time, after all. Unlike most Swiss.”

At one point during the trip, the tow line rips out of the fabric of the boat. The four gentlemen waste little time asking what is to be done, but rather heave the boat gamely aboard their ship and set it on the roof. The voyage continues.
Arrival in Epinal at 9:30 pm.

The four Swiss thank us for involving them in our little adventure. Now it’s about time they started thinking about their journey home, so they wish us all the best and take their leave.
–
Friday, May 5th, 2006

In Port de Plaisence, the recreational harbour of Epinal, we look for volunteers to help us move the paper boat further in the direction of Germany. Either by towing or by piggyback.
Now the boat is on the Moselle, the French section of the Mosel river.
A sportsfisherman, Gérard, tells us about an Australian who is supposed to put in here tomorrow and then sail on to Holland.
We hope that he will take the paper boat along.
The boat itself is unstable after its stint atop the roof of the houseboat and after so many kilometers fighting upstream against the current, and it looks terrible.
We revere it anyway.

Port de Plaisence, with Gérard the sportsfisherman

–
Saturday, May 6th, 2006

I get up at 8:00 am and go looking around in Port de Plaisence for the “Rovi”, as the ship with the Australian crew is apparently called, but I can’t find it anywhere. I run into Gérard again and he tells me the “Rovi” already set sail an hour ago. We waste no time but set out in immediate pursuit, with our own boat in tow. Thankfully the riverbank is clear and easy to negotiate on foot. Gérard thinks that what with all the locks in the river, the Australians can’t have gotten far, and we should still be able to catch them.

Film stills

We have to pass through a lock. Thankfully there is a lockkeeper on duty who lets us through the lock, so we don’t have to take the paper boat out of the water and portage it around. That saves us valuable time and energy. (Normally, the ships that pass through these locks are equipped with remote controls. An exception was made for our paper boat.)

We push on. They are at the next lock…

“Why are you filming all the time? Is it really necessary?”, they ask.
We tell them, “It’s important to have some kind of documentation for the exhibition, which will be realised after the journey in Gravenhorst.”
But we decide not to film anymore, so as not to bother the Australians.
Barbra, Heather and their travel companions Stuart and Andrew, having looked the paper boat over at the next lock, decide to take us on. I have already explained the project briefly and indicated how important their participation is to us. Even so, they refuse to transport our boat on the deck of their ship, since it doesn’t exactly “flatter” their beloved “Rovi”. They feel it is already too badly damaged. With heavy hearts, we carry it down below. We agree to meet them in Mainz on Tuesday at 2:00 pm to pick it up again, then we take our leave. My suggestion that we meet in Koblenz meets with little enthusiasm. Still, we are pretty happy to have found someone to carry our boat further along its way. Now we can relax for a couple of days and lick the wounds we’ve suffered during the past few days of toil.

Film stillsMy travel companion, Ihno Beutler, announces suddenly that he’s going off on a “long weekend”. Exactly how long it will be, he tells me, is uncertain. I guess we both underestimated the strain of the journey.

–
Sunday, May 7th, 2006

I consider calling off the trip. The stresses of the last few days, plus the troubles that undoubtedly still lie ahead, just seem too great. Having to react to a new, unpredictable situation every single day, having to arrange “somehow” to keep moving forward –– not to mention the calluses on our hands and the sores on our legs from the endless rounds of pull-the-boat-out, portage-it-around-the-lock –– have taken their toll.

–
Monday, May 8th, 2006

A phone call from Ihno Beutler. He insists on continuing the voyage immediately; he’s coming back right away. Left alone again with my thoughts, I revisit my earlier decision to break off the journey.

Canal de l’est–
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006

We wait in vain for the Australians to arrive.
Should we give up on the paper boat? As evening comes on and there’s still no word, we start to consider how we might continue the voyage. With yet another new boat? Or do we set off in search of the old one?

–
Wednesday, May 10th, 2006

At 9:30 am I get a call from Barbra saying that the progress of the “Rovi” was a little slower than expected. The bad weather in France was to blame. They won’t be sailing as far as Mainz after all; she asks whether we can pick up the paper boat in Cochem. They are moored in the harbour there and could set the boat out onto the quay. We could come find it there. (She gives the impression of being not exactly thrilled about the whole business.) When I ask if they could wait until we get there, she says no. I thank her for the Australians’ participation. The voyage seems to have found a way to continue.

12:15 pm
After having made the paper boat a little more presentable, we ask Mr. Tibus of Tibus Boat Rentals to ferry it over to the opposite bank so that we can sign onboard the riverboat “Jeverland” there on Friday; she will take us as far as Koblenz. Tibus is of the opinion that we won’t be able to count on much help from here on in unless we build a new paper boat (”Nobody’s going to want to look at that thing.”)
At 2:00 pm a Coastguard Police car drives past on the riverbank and turns around. Coast Guard Officer Oster makes some inquiries about our vessel and gives some valuable tips on how we might improve its stability. (”Why didn’t you build a frame first and then cover it with Tetra-Pak?”)

Film stills–
Thursday, May 11th, 2006

10:10 Uhr Anruf bei der Marketingabteilung der KD (KölnDüsseldorfer). Dort will man abwarten, wie voll das Schiff am Freitag ist. Wenn noch Platz an Deck sein sollte, will man das Schiff mitnehmen. Wir hoffen auf die Kooperation des Kapitäns der Jeverland am Freitag. Die anschließende Anfrage bei der Touristeninformation in Cochem, ein neues Schiff in Cochem zu bauen, wird von Frau Fitzner begrüßt. Wir verabreden uns für morgen Vormittag.

–
Freitag, 12.05.2006

At 10:30 am we meet with Ms. Fitzner of the Cochem Business Bureau. She grants us permission to build a new paper boat, as advised by Mr. Tibus, on the Endertplatz in the heart of Cochem.

Tourist Information Centre, Cochem

We take Mr. Tibus’ advice to heart and with the aid of Peter Fischer, Kathrin Arens, Alena Stoll and Corola Pauly (the 11th-grade class at Cochem High School), as well as a tour group from Dortmund and many other helpers, we fold a new paper boat. (It no longer comes as a surprise to us to find that our boat is popular everywhere as a decorative background for tourist photos).

2:45 pm
Mr. Tibus gives our boat a once-over. Now, he believes, we won’t have any trouble with the KD. “You need to use wood for your boat; then you could go all the way around the world.”

3:10 pm
At my request, the resident winos of Endertplatz, Emil and co., carry the new boat to the KD ship “Jeverland”; there, after a few moments of irritation on the part of the KD crew and a short discussion with Captain Allert, it is deposited on the forward deck. The “Jeverland” will sail via Treis-Karden to Koblenz. On board, the crew asks questions about the project and contibutes a round of drinks.

Film stills

The paper boat is parked overnight in the sculpture garden of the Ludwig Museum (the Deutschherrenhaus on the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz. Children in the museum garden ask their parents if they can go for a ride on the Rhine. Their parents smilingly deny permission.) We inform the museum administration of our wish to temporarily expand their sculpture garden and ask for their understanding.

–
Saturday, May 13th, 2006

The paper boat is transferred to the deck of the KD ferry “Drachenfels” and is carried as far as Cologne. A few of the passengers inquire about the project and say they would like to see the boat floating in the water on its own. I tell them about the exhibition in Gravenhorst and about the trip up to this point, and about our plan to reach the “Nasses Dreieck” (”Wet Triangle”) in Gravenhorst on May 28th, where we will deliver the monks’ message. They understand and content themselves with a look at some photos.

Film still

–
Sunday, May 14th, 2006

We continue down the Rhine to the ferry landing owned by Heiko Dietrich, a craftsman and boat-builder. Does he think we could cross the Rhine in our paper boat? (Various discussions have already been held with ferry operators in Cologne.)

Landing in Cologne (Poll Meadows).

Heiko Dietrich agrees to tow us behind his Krokolino as far as Mühlheim, provided we make certain changes to our boat. Not wanting to endanger our goal of bringing the monks’ message to Gravenhorst on time, we are prepared to make compromises; we go away again deep in thought. After some more inquiries at other ferry operators, we return to Mr. Dietrich and say that we will be in touch as soon as we have made the paper boat Rhine-worthy. We aim for Tuesday afternoon. Around 4:00 pm we get a call from the Trier Water and Shipping Authority, asking where we are. They are eagerly awaiting the paper boat. I explain that thanks to some Australian tourists, we have already made surprisingly good progress. “Good, then we have one less thing to worry about,” says the man from Trier.

Heiko Dietrich, Krokolino

–
Monday, May 15th, 2006

We glue another layer of Tetra-Pak onto the sides of the boat. It takes a whole day. The hope that Heiko Dietrich will agree to give us a tow tomorrow keeps our spirits up while we work.

–
Tuesday, May 16th, 2006

A visit to Heiko Dietrich. He inspects the paper boat, then emphasises once again that his good reputation is on the line. He doesn’t want to risk it with something like this. “Go to Thies (a hardware store for boatbuilders); they have some cheap 5-layer plywood there. Glue it into the sides of the boat. Then I can take you.” My objection that I can’t do such a thing, that the whole point is that it’s a folded paper boat and that this limits the kinds of materials and construction methods we can use, falls on deaf ears. “You do what I say, I’ll take you…Somebody wants to be stupid, they can forget it.”
Discouraged, we leave the ferry. My traveling companion Ihno Beutler remarks, “Some of these heathen are really tough to convert.”

–
Wednesday, May 17th, 2006

After a sleepless night, our mood in the morning is black –– and so is the weather. It’s pouring rain. Several hours of racking our brains later, reason (or is it desperation?) brings us to a decision: we will glue yet another layer of Tetra-Pak to the sides of the boat.

–
Thursday, May 18th, 2006

The paper boat is transported to Heiko Dietrich’s Zündorf ferry landing. We get some help from the Enderts, who happen to be out for a stroll along the Rhine. When I tell them about my intention to sail the boat across the river, Mr. Endert declares with confidence, “That’ll work!”

Without further ado we boost Mr. Endert into the boat and let it out on a short line. Mr. Endert is fairly small and light, so the boat doesn’t suffer at all from his presence. Plus he makes it look a lot bigger.
Heiko Dietrich, however, is not pleased. He orders us to pull the boat ashore immediately and remove Mr. Endert.
“Not on my landing, I can’t be held responsible”, he says. “The current out in the middle is deadly. It just won’t do. It’s enough if the boat itself gets across in one piece.”

Heiko Dietrich makes further demands regarding the preparation and stabilization of the paper boat. “You’re going to need a guy line between the bow and stern, as well as stiffer sides. Come with me.” He supplies us with the appropriate materials, which we spend the next 3 hours installing. Later we add floats as well.

Dietrich agrees to tow our boat at around 7:00 pm, after he finishes work. He forbids us, however, to ride along in it. Mr. Endert tries to change his mind. “I would love to take a ride, I’m a good swimmer.” Mr. Endert helps us with our preparations and proves to be and excellent craftsman. When I ask him what he does for a living, he replies that he was a riverboat pilot before he retired. He wants us to hurry so that he can get his boat ride in before it gets dark.

A few passersby show interest in the project and want to see the “launch”. We ask them to come back later. Some get impatient, most wish us success and bon voyage. Heiko Dietrich keeps coming back between ferry crossings to monitor our progress. He seems to be slowly starting to enjoy himself and promises us, “We can be off pretty soon.” Around 7:15 pm we relaunch the boat and tie it to the Krokolino.

There is applause from those watching on shore and even Heiko Dietrich is pleasantly surprised at the buoyancy of our little craft. I tell him in turn how impressed I am by his ferry, which, as he has been quick to explain, he built himself. The voyage can begin. We cross the Rhine, and in so doing strain the paper boat almost to the breaking point. A river barge is bearing down on us. We have to accelerate, which forces the bow of the paper boat down into the water. We are afraid for it.

On the other side the water is calmer, the current not too strong. The water level is fairly high, which makes the speed of the current even faster, as Heiko Dietrich informs us. He is surprised that the boat has survived the crossing. I tell him I knew all along that it would. He still won’t allow himself to be talked into letting one of us ride in the boat.
Mr. Endert’s pleading eventually brings him around though, and after making a few adjustments on shore, it takes just a moment to get him into the boat once again.

After its evening sail, the vessel is somewhat the worse for wear.
We’re in Poll opposite Cologne once again.

–
Friday, May 19th, 2006

It’s very windy. We don’t see how it’s going to be possible to push on and expose the paper boat to this kind of weather.

A phone call to Mr. Lehmacher from the Cologne Water and Shipping Authority. I ask about the possibility of hitching a ride on a freight or passenger vessel as far as Düsseldorf or Duisburg. Mr. Lehmacher points out that contrary to popular opinion, the Cologne-Düsseldorf Riverboat Line does not run between Cologne and Düsseldorf. On this coming Saturday, however, a big Rhein festival will be taking place, and the riverboat “Drachenfels” will be making a special run from Cologne to Düsseldorf between 6 and 9:00 pm. The KD Line might be willing to take the paper boat along. I call the Line’s offices immediately (Mr. Schwarz, tel. 0160-707-1540). Mr. Schwarz explains that the “Drachenfels” has been chartered by a private club which he is not at liberty to name. “If I tell you it’s not possible, you can just take my word for it,” he says firmly. He is kind enough to refer me to the DampfColonia Line, which as far as he knows is also involved in the evening’s festivities. There, a Mr. Weber informs me that DampfColonia is in fact not participating, but I may book a ship for this Saturday if I wish. The bill for the 2.5-hour trip, including the 5-hour return trip back upstream from Düsseldorf to Cologne, would be approximately €1,600. A quick call to Gerd Andersen at the Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst confirms that there is no budget for this. I use the opportunity to let her know that we’re stuck in Cologne, and that there’s a danger we won’t make it to Gravenhorst on schedule.

I decide to try the industrial harbour at Cologne-Niehl for any possibility of getting a lift aboard a freighter.

First off I pay a visit to the Customs Office to ask if they know of anything. They send me on to the shipping firms Schenker Stinnes and DHL. Everyone is clearly very amused by what I have in mind. Ms. Cichow of Stinnes advises me to go stand on the quay and ask the ship captains directly; it should be possible get at least as far as Duisburg. I could also drop by CTS. There I am directed to Mr. Stracken, who is supposed to be an art lover. Mr. Stracken says he’d be happy to help me if only he could. “Now, the people at Dachser and Emons in Cologne-Vingst, they go everywhere. You should ask them.” Admittedly, they have probably already gone home for the weekend. He volunteers to call them for me, but no-one is picking up.

Still, I feel I mustn’t neglect Ms. Cichow’s advice, so I set the paper boat out in full view on the quay and wait. No ships come in. Too bad. Maybe I’ll have better luck tomorrow.

–
Saturday, May 20th, 2006

The trip continues to Cologne-Niehl.
The DRLG sends a small motorboat that can tow me.

Passerby Julia Scholz volunteers to help shove off from the riverbank. The people from DRLG are happy to help and set to work with a will. However, they would have liked to have been told about all this in advance. Then they could have prepared themselves for a possible emergency situation.

A child on the riverbank asks if the paper boat can carry people. In reply, I ask whether she would like to ride along with me. She says no way and asks her parents, “Can we please go get something to eat now? I’m hungry!” I climb into the boat and ride alone this time.

–
Sunday, May 21st, 2006

Rain, storm. I renew my search for a transport ship going in the direction of Ibbenbüren that might be willing to take the paper boat aboard. In the harbour at Cologne-Niehl we set the boat out on display again, hoping to attract some attention to our cause. Ms. Behl recommended this spot to us; she believes it’s where ships traveling north via Duisburg usually dock. We wait there until the next cloudburst.

When another squall threatens to sweep the paper boat away, we almost reach our breaking point. We don’t want to lose yet another one.
We remain stuck in Cologne, of all places. It’s the last thing we expected.

After another full day of waiting and still more trouble from the stormy weather, we give up. Maybe the journey should continue to the south after all. Then again, there’s the message from the Brothers at Citeaux to consider.

While we’re wondering what to do, a Dutch captain approaches who is docked downstream from us and who has a load of coal to take to Thionville. He offers to take the paper boat along as well. I explain to him that we’ve just come from there. “Yes, but you can be a missionary anywhere,” he says in response to my description of the project. I ask when he plans to depart. “I cast off on Monday at 7:00 am,” he answers.

–
Monday, May 22nd, 2006

We remind ourselves of our commitment to delivering the monks’ message and decide to inquire in person at Dachser and Emons about transportation. The Dachser company informs us that they only ship overland. Emons directs us to their head office in Hamburg, where I am told that they only do trans-oceanic shipping. “If you want to take your boat to China, no problem,” is their answer. For shipping via inland waterways, I should try the Imperial company out of Duisburg. There I am put in touch with a Mr. Boegner; he proves extremely willing to help and offers to see about getting us from Cologne to Düsseldorf as well. I am somewhat reassured, but I still don’t like our chances of getting to Gravenhorst with Paper Boat Mark III on time. The possibility that we might have to build a new boat near Gravenhorst seems more and more likely. I inform Ms. Andersen, who goes into action right away and starts looking for a site suited to our needs (near the water, no wind, possibly a hall or an outdoor space with a roof).

Around 4:30 pm, sobered by our series of organisational failures to this point, I begin to phone around again to the various Water- and Shipping Authorities in Cologne, Duisburg, Essen and so on, hoping to discover some overlooked opportunity. Mr. Boegner of Imperial Shipping in Hamburg promises to have something for me by Tuesday noon at the latest. Our patience is wearing very thin, but there is still a little time remaining before our deadline for leaving Cologne.

–
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006

Tuesday midday comes and goes with no word from Mr. Boegner, and I give up all hope of assistance from him. Out of desperation I up call the Water- and Shipping Authority of Duisburg once again. Surely it must be possible in Europe’s largest freight harbour to find a lift for a paper boat. One person explains to me that the freight lines are under such pressure to compete with other modes of transport that they simply have no time to divert to projects like mine. Still, it seems to occur to him suddenly, there is a ship departing for Magdeburg on Wednesday which will stop in at Ibbenbüren. The pilot could do it. I get the phone number and thank him for the glimmer of hope. Volker Wehstedt is the pilot of the MS “Luv” and he is immediately willing to help me. He promises to call me as soon as knows what time he expects to arrive in Cologne.

–
Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

A call from Mr. Wehstedt at 4:30 pm. We make an appointment to meet in the Cologne-Niehl harbour, Bay III, on Thursday at 7:00 am to load the paper boat.

–
Thursday, May 25th, 2006

Pilot Wehstedt and his crew turn out to be very friendly and helpful. We talk about what it’s like to be “on the road”, and about the romantic illusions people have about life on the water. I tell him how lucky I feel to have found the MS “Luv” and mention the shortage of time remaining before we are due to present our project at the Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst. We agree to meet up in Dörenthe, at the 80-km point of the Dortmund-Ems Canal, on Friday evening to receive the paper boat again. We say our farewells. Despite the time pressures we’re overjoyed at our good luck.

–
Friday, May 26th, 2006

Arrival in Dörenthe at 4:30 pm followed by “disembarkation” of the paper boat. Gerd Andersen from the Kunsthaus gives a hearty welcome to the “Luv”, to Pilot Wehstedt and to all on board. We thank everyone for their support of the project and say goodbye.

Unloading the “old paper boat’

Then it’s on to the Kulturspeicher (a converted warehouse) to prepare the sheets of Tetra-Pak for our fourth paper boat. In the meantime I call around to various skippers employed by Mr. Klaus Nowacki, harbourmaster of the “Alte Fahrt Fuestrup” (Dortmund-Ems Canal, km 80), who have offered to tow the paper boat along the last stage of its journey.–
Saturday, May 27th 2006

The meeting with the volunteer helpers from Dörenthe and the leadership of the Kulturspeicher, headed by Dr. Overmann, is scheduled for 3:00 pm. After a short greeting we begin folding the boat. (A call for volunteers was published in Ibbenbüren’s local newspaper and indeed, many helpers turned up.) A break in the rain gives us the chance to continue our work on the plaza in front of the Kulturspeicher.

Smoothing the dents out of the “hull”

A bridal couple asks about taking a honeymoon cruise.–
Sunday, May 28th, 2006
The boats captained by Ralph Siems (the “Dinus”), Harald Holland (the “Daggi”), Ronald Seier and Klaus Nowacki pull in to Dörenthe at around 11:00 am. The new paper boat is immediately lashed to the deck of the “Dinus”. Unfortunately, it looks like strong and gusty winds from the north-northwest might prevent us from towing the boat to the “Nasses Dreieck” as we had planned.

Klaus Nowacki calls a short meeting to discuss to discuss the situation. He suggests we keep the paper boat lashed to the deck until just before we reach the “Nasses Dreieck”. If the winds there are less strong, we can chance setting it into the water. It’s a decision that can only be made once we arrive. “If you really want to get into that thing,” says Klaus Siems, and shows me an extra neoprene wetsuit that he’s brought along. “Then it won’t be too cold.” I thank him and refuse, saying that “We’re going ahead on the assumption that I’m not going to need it.” At around 11:30 am we depart Dörenthe; next stop, the harbour “Am Nassen Dreieck” in Hörstel.

At the dock of a construction company, we stop and transfer the paper boat from the “Dinus” to the surface of the water.

Arrival at “Am Nassen Dreieck” at 1:00 pm. In addition to the students of classes 4a and 4d of St. Ludgerus Elementary School, who helped us fold the prototype boats in Gravenhorst, a crowd of onlookers has gathered to witness our arrival. The musicians of Münster’s “Silent Brass” play, and Gerd Andersen acts as the master of ceremonies.

The paper boat is transported to Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst. The path of its journey meets and joins with the exhibition “Auf großer Fahrt von Citeaux nach Gravenhorst”. The project is complete.