Reıchenau

Vater Rhein, the Germans call it, Father Rhine, the river of castles, Lorelei legends and barges sliding past vineyards on the long run to the North Sea. Most visitors meet it somewhere downstream, broad and busy and already famous.

Its birth certificate is signed in Reichenau, a quiet village in Graubünden where the Vorderrhein and the Hinterrhein tumble out of separate Alpine valleys and agree to become one river. Trains on the Rhaetian Railway rattle past on their way somewhere grander, and it’s easy to mistake the meeting point for just another bend in the water.

VoiceMap’s self-guided audio tour lets hydrologists from the University of Zurich show you what’s really happening at the confluence. Cross three historic bridges below Schloss Reichenau, walk out onto sandbanks to see how meanders take shape, and look for traces of beavers, which have returned after disappearing from Switzerland. If the clear water holds your gaze longer than planned, just hit pause. The Rhine has a long way to go, but you don’t.