Make the most of Germany's annual rubber duck race with these tips from Lonely Planet.
Photo © Getty Images/no_limit_pictures
Location
Alleenbrücke, Tübingen, Germany
Dates
Early October.
Description
It’s not exactly Running of the Bulls. Indeed, the ducks involved in this bridge-to-bridge race aren’t even alive: they’re the yellow, rubber species whose usual habitat is the bathtub. Nonetheless, Tübingen’s annual contest is spectacular, if inexplicable. In a random, Germanic version of the ‘Poohsticks’ game enjoyed by Piglet et al in Winnie-the-Pooh, a truck dumps some 7000 duckies into the Neckar River from Alleenbrücke.
The sunflower-colored shower is accompanied by cheers from crowds lining the river banks. Many of the spectators are clutching a ticket with a number corresponding to one of the speeding water demons. The first synthetic contender past the finishing line at Neckarbrücke wins its patron a €1000 holiday voucher, with plenty of other prizes for runners-up.
Although the dazzling idea of the duck race is thought to come from Canada, it’s big business in Germany, where there are corporate duck-racing specialists. The season begins in March, with more than 150 competitions taking place in towns such as Erfurt, Bielefeld
Level of Participation
4 – try your luck in the bobbing derby.
Essentials
Get there before the race starts to buy a ticket.
Other Local Attractions
Come down from the duck-related adrenaline with a stroll around late-medieval Tübingen. A hilltop fortress, cobbled alleys
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