I was born with fresh water running through my veins in the land of 10,000 lakes, which actually contains 11,842 officially counted lakes, or if you take the meaning of lake a little more liberally there are 15,291 lakes that are 10 acres or more. Each morning in Duluth, Minnesota I would wake up to Lake Superior and the sound of gulls in search of food. For a few years, later in my life I lived in St. Louis, Missouri with the great Mississippi river coursing by my side. And when I ended up in Cincinnati I would spend many hours looking into the murky depths of the Ohio River. Each of these bodies of water captured my imagination from stories of sunken ships to floating murder victims to the elusive evil mermaids and made me wonder why I had always lived so close to them; why so many people lived so close to them. The same trend happens all over Europe as well. In both Cincinnati and Berlin people gather around this border, overcome it as a stopping point and utilize it for growth and expansion. Although, before this can happen the rivers in question define the cities.
In Berlin there are more waterways throughout the city than Amsterdam and Venice combined. That being said waterways are incredibly important to Berlin. These waterways allowed Berlin to be built from barges, meaning that all of the supplies for the city were brought in by barge. In the 1600’s the city was completely surrounded by the Spree, one of the main rivers that run through Berlin, creating a border that protected the soon to be capital of Prussia. As Prussia grew, so did Berlin and the city surpassed its safe borders. But, hundreds of years later after the Berlin Wall was built many East Berliners tried to use the Spree as an escape to West Berlin only to be swallowed up, but every once in a while it would allow one to escape and lead a new life. Rivers in Berlin have been borders that protect the city and hold back dreams and in some cases helped them come true.
Cincinnati lacks the waterways that are prevalent in Berlin, yet this border plays a pivotal role. In 1788 Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance thereby opening up more western territory and leading John Symmes down the Great Miami River where he settled and founded Cincinnati. The Great Miami River, a tributary to the Ohio River had been a boundary up to that point, no one could pass or grow but as soon as it was allowed people found a way to overcome it and grow. Cincinnati eventually grew to reach the above mentioned Ohio River which is the border between Ohio and Kentucky. As you drive downtown the skylines from my Ohioan city and Covington, Kentucky become blurred and it is hard to tell which building belongs to which city. As you near the riverfront the boundary does its job; sitting on the river it seems impossible to cross but if you are truly on the riverfront you cannot be too far from the walking bridge that allows pedestrians to cross state lines freely. So again a boundary proves itself to be more than just a boundary even a jumping off point.
Cincinnati and the Ohio River
Berlin and Its Many Waterways
(www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. “Berlin, a City of Rivers and Lakes | DW Travel | DW.COM | 08.07.2013.” DW.COM. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016. <http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-a-city-of-rivers-and-lakes/a-16935226>.
“Cincinnati Museum Center.” Cincinnati FAQs. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016. <http://library.cincymuseum.org/cincifaq.htm>.
“History of Berlin.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Berlin>.
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