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Slides into the river Aare? Now there’s an idea...

The Local
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Slides into the river Aare? Now there’s an idea...
Photo: Per Kasch/Swiss Tourism

Bern residents know there’s nothing better than a swim in the river Aare on a hot summer’s day.

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Jumping in upriver and floating down the fast-flowing water into Bern is a popular pastime in the city.
 
Some even use the turquoise river as a means of commuting to work, drifting around the Swiss capital with a change of clothes in a dry bag. 
 
The Aare flows in a loop around the base of the city, with the town sitting up above, so residents have to walk down from the roads and bridges above to access the riverside.
 
Now one Bern-based organization wants to make it even easier to go for a dip – and increase the fun factor at the same time. 
 
Grassroots organization Alternative Linke (AL) has proposed to the Bern city authorities that slides be installed at various places in the city to offer a fast and fun way to access the river below, reported 20 Minuten on Thursday.
 
The public chutes could be installed in the Lorraine and Bundesrain districts, said Markus Flück, who came up with the idea.
 
The slides “combine usefulness with pleasure,” he told the paper. 
 
“We are aware that this is a very imaginative idea but also one that is very realizable,” he added.
 
AI submitted the idea to the authorities in early summer, said the paper.
 
The organization’s plan also suggests installing lifts on several bridges in the city to allow people to get back up to the city centre again. 
 
 
 
 
Swimming in the Aare is a popular pastime in the Swiss capital. Video: Anna Schuler/YouTube

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