Otfried Preussler's “little Aquarius” comes to life on children's raft trips on the Lech.
That is enchanting and instructive at the same time.
A fairytale story in the middle of a natural gem.
Schongau - there he sits, the little water man made of wool, and looks with a knitted grinning mouth and black button eyes at the expanse of the Lech.
This afternoon it shimmers mysteriously green.
As green as little Aquarius' knitted jacket.
It goes without saying that Kornelia Funke has also thrown herself into a bowl for the children who are sitting excitedly on the Lech raft.
Yellow rubber boots, a green jacket, and even a red pointed cap should not be missing when Funke talks about the little Aquarius on the raft, who lives on the sandy Lechgrund below.
Otfried Preussler's fictional character and his friend, the carp Cyprinus, have known generations.
Here on the Lech raft, mums and dads are also looking forward to seeing a character from their own childhood again.
Aquarius raft trips have been around for four years
But before we can start, all the big ones have to get up again and go back to the raft.
The cargo is too heavy, the engine too weak.
The turbine is finally digging through the water, and off we go.
"Every trip is different, it remains exciting," says Funke with a laugh.
She has been offering a couple of Aquarius raft trips every year for the past four years.
They are always fully booked.
No wonder, since the Schongauerin succeeds in briefly drawing the arc from the classic children's book from 1956 to the Lech.
“The Lech used to be a wild river,” Kornelia Funke tells the children.
She tells of the raftsmen who transported goods over the water here - wood, but also food such as flour, for example.
To go with this, there will be a wholegrain bread roll and small nibble fish lis for all participants in Corona-compliant packaging.
Then the little Aquarius meets the grouchy mussel at the bottom of the Lech.
"He sticks out his tongue and stirs up a cloud of sand." Meanwhile, the air is also swirling tremendously.
It's a windy afternoon when the clouds have at least made some room for the sun.
Kornelia Funke's pointed cap is blowing off her head.
If her granddaughters saw that.
"They said: Grandma, you have to wear this."
When the raft glides under the huge Lech bridge, it sounds loud.
The raftsman sounds the bridge tone.
“That sounds like a car horn,” a young boy exclaims enthusiastically.
He and the other children listen enthusiastically to Funke, get to know some of the little Aquarius' friends under and above the water with the four cheeky little frogs, the beaver and the carp.
Music school director wrote an Aquarius song especially
Funke even has its own Schongau Wassermann song in its luggage.
It was written especially for the raft trips, music school director Marcus Graf.
A melody for the recorder.
Funke, however, hands this out to the parents.
Playing Aquarius, reading, patiently explaining and then also whistling: That would be a bit of a good thing.
The raft turns and glides back towards Schongau Lido.
The Lech meanders past beautiful nature - at some point it flows into the Danube and flows with it into the Black Sea.
"Raftsmen who could drive well came as far as Hungary."
“A stowaway,” calls out a bigger boy.
He saved a fat Roman snail that had secretly crawled onto the raft.
The animal is marveled at how it sticks slippery to a stick.
The children are allowed to explore the boat.
You stand spellbound at the wooden railing, let the wind whistle around your ears and marvel at the mysterious, green, glittering water, the home of the little Aquarius.
“The weather today is great.
The wind gives you a feeling for the river, a feeling of freedom, ”Funke himself is enjoying this special afternoon, which brought a classic of children's literature to life.
Another appointment:
Due to the great demand there will be another raft trip with the "Little Aquarius" on Saturday, August 21st, at 4 pm.
Registration under phone 08861/214181.
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