The river roils

and swirls

as we head upstream,

then down.

Beaches and banks,

retaining walls,

trees and shrubs,

leaden skies,

brilliant sunshine

roll past our window

as we cruise the Rhine

then the Main

and finally the Danube

from Amsterdam to Budapest.

The river:

foggy,

mesmerising,

the ‘strudel’ as it passes

under a bridge

such as at Regensburg.

Dark and viscous.

A bright expanse

laid out before us.

Water highway

for commerce.

Bringer of dreams

and nightmares.

Ageless

and never the same.