A Letter, Two Girls, and the Honking of the Goethe
Two 11-year-old girls wanted the ship’s horn to return. Hannah and Jule’s efforts did not go unheard by KD . The paddlewheel ship GOETHE is the most extraordinary and popular ship in the KD fleet.
The ship, named after the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is also the oldest in the fleet. The GOETHE was commissioned in 1913. It was the last new vessel built for combined freight and passenger transport by the Prussian-Rhenish Steamship Company, one of the two predecessors of Köln-Düsseldorfer Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt GmbH. A tour on this paddlewheel steamer along the Nostalgia Route through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is always something special. The “old lady” has fans of all ages between Koblenz and Rüdesheim. Among her biggest fans are two 11-year-old girls from Spay. The town of Spay is located at Rhine kilometers 577 to 580 on the Rhine’s largest bend, directly across from Marksburg Castle. Wine lovers appreciate the wines from one of Germany’s finest vineyard sites, the Bopparder Hamm.
Smart Girls Take the Initiative
Hannah and Jule—and surely others in this town of about 2,000 residents—noticed that something very distinctive and familiar was missing from the KD season opener on April 25. The paddlewheel steamboat passed silently by Spay. Strange—the steam whistle always used to sound before. At first, the girls were puzzled, then briefly sad, and finally very proactive. They wrote a handwritten letter addressed directly to the captain of the GOETHE. In it, they described how much they had been looking forward to seeing the ship and how they had rushed to the banks of the Rhine specifically to welcome it. They had even brought flags and played the trumpet.
The letter reads, in part: “We are two children from Spay who live on the Rhine. The old captain of the Goethe always used to sound his horn loudly around Rhine kilometer 579. Many people in the village miss that horn—we do, for example. The horn is somehow part of Spay.”
To emphasize their wish for a GOETHE that honks, the clever girls included two lovingly drawn pictures. The drawings show the “ KD ” ship, complete with a paddlewheel and steam whistle. On the shore, Jule and Hannah are waving at the ship. Of course, the trumpet couldn’t be left out of the picture either.
“One thing’s for sure: we’ll make our voices heard.”
Who could resist such a wonderful letter and such a heartfelt request? Certainly not the GOETHE’s new captain, Niko Braune. “When I heard about the two girls’ wish, it was immediately clear: We have to do this again! If I’d known about it beforehand, there wouldn’t have been a break in the horn-honking at all. It’s great that Hannah and Jule reached out.” Niko Braune took the helm at the start of the season, taking over from Andreas Warz, who has retired. Helmswoman Julia Mierzwa, who has been part of the KD team since 2025, wholeheartedly supports the horn-blowing initiative.
"THANK YOU" banner on the shore
Niko Braune reacted quickly. Just a few days after the letter arrived at the wheelhouse
, the long-awaited signal from the GOETHE sounded again as it passed Spay. As the
mothers of the two girls reported, the 11-year-olds could hardly believe their good fortune.
The very next day, they stood on the shore with a homemade banner reading
“THANK YOU” and waved joyfully at the ship. Captain Niko Braune
responded with a loud blast of the horn. KD Managing Director Nina Luig is also very impressed by
the dedication of the two students. “We know that many people
along the Middle Rhine have very close ties to the GOETHE. I am particularly pleased with Jule and Hannah’s remarkable dedication. You don’t see something like this every day. I would like to express my sincere thanks for it.” She also wrote this to the spirited children in a personal reply letter.
The Challenge of Low Water Levels
As of the time this magazine went to press, low water levels on the Rhine were dictating the daily routine of shipping. A lack of rainfall and exceptionally low water levels led to significant restrictions this summer. Whether a ship can sail depends largely on its draft and the current water levels—sometimes just a few centimeters can make the difference between a voyage being possible or not. That is why the experts at the Rhine Navigation Association ( KD ) monitored the water levels daily and frequently adjusted their schedules on short notice. Safety was always the top priority. Due to its unique paddlewheel design, the GOETHE has been out of service since mid-July. The “ KD ” held out hope until the very end that the situation would improve. Perhaps by the time this magazine is published, the familiar sound of the GOETHE’s horn will once again be heard in Spay—and, of course, elsewhere as well. Many fans of this historic ship would certainly be delighted by that.
“We’re two kids from Spay who live on the Rhine. The old captain—
, the one from Goethe—always … honked loudly. A lot of people in the village miss that honking—us, for example. The honking is just part of what makes Spay, Spay.”