Ernst Bromeis has reached the mouth of the Rhine in Hoek van Holland. On Wednesday, the Grisons water ambassador and long-distance swimmer covered the last of the 1247 kilometers of the Rhine. With his “Expedition 2014”, the Grisons water ambassador promoted the human right to clean water.
“The Rhine is a symbol of the unifying effect of water across an entire continent. It is a drinking water reserve, transport route, energy source, local recreation area and a connecting lifeline between peoples, economies and cultures,” Bromeis summed up before the media in Hoek van Holland. “The same water that comes out of the mountain at the source has carried me out into the sea for the last few kilometers.”
Since the start on July 7, Bromeis has covered a total distance of 1247 kilometers of river without means of transport. He consistently avoided sections that he could not or was not allowed to swim on foot.
He struggled with bad weather conditions, low temperatures and floods. After five days at water temperatures below 10 degrees, he reached Lake Constance, where a stiff headwind greeted him.
Before Basel, he was blocked for the first time due to floods; in Iffezheim near Baden-Baden, he was stuck for a whole week before he circumvented a route closed to swimmers with a 65-kilometer walk. Between Arnhem and Krimpen aan de Lek, he swam against a stiff headwind with high waves, and from Rotterdam to Hoek van Holland he had to walk another distance of over 30 kilometers on Tuesday because swimming in the harbor is too dangerous even for a professional swimmer and is therefore prohibited.
In total, he had to walk around 200 kilometers. Being able to swim the last stage on Wednesday therefore meant a lot to him: “Being able to swim out to the open sea after this long expedition is a dream come true for me,” said a visibly moved Ernst Bromeis on his return to shore.
A patrol boat from the Rotterdam port authorities decorated with a Graubünden flag had accompanied him on his last kilometers and then brought him to the port of Hoek van Holland.
With his initiative”The Blue Wonder” Bromeis has worked as a water ambassador since 2007. In 2008, he floated across 200 lakes in his home canton of Grisons and in 2010 the largest lakes in every Swiss canton. In 2012, he tried to swim across the Rhine from source to mouth for the first time.
“My swimming expeditions create the public that I need to be heard as a water ambassador. The sustainable use of water and the human right to clean water, which is still unachieved for many people, have been my central concerns for years.”
infos
The Blue Wonder, Expedition 2014
Christian Gartmann, media service
Complete media documentation available for download from Dropbox
www.dropbox.com/sh/vxo66fchts78qlc/aaa1pmxphmcq5ptvepcvp3wxa