Houses line the north bank of the Neckar River in Tübingen, Germany. The city is located 24 miles south of Stuttgart and is known for its university and punting along the river. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

When I first floated the idea of meeting my German friend and her family in Tübingen to go punting, she expressed skepticism that her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son could sit still for an hour.

We decided to go with the flow one Sunday in early July when we met in the city, 24 miles south of Stuttgart, where she began her university studies. It turned out we were in for a relaxing day.

When the traditional Tübingen punt, or stocherkahn, began traversing the Neckar River in this city is unclear.

The students at the university — founded in 1477 and boasting alumni like astronomer Johannes Kepler and philosophers Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling — have played a key role in making punting synonymous with Tübingen.

It was a popular mode of transportation before the invention of cars and bikes, and students in the mid-1950s started a famous yearly punt race that now brings out thousands and pits 50 or so boats against each other.

Our punt ride did not involve a race — except to show up on time. After lunch near city hall, we dashed across the Neckar Bridge and to the jetty casino at the point the Steinlach and Neckar rivers meet.

A Tübingen punt leaves a jetty on the Neckar River on July 6 in Tübingen, Germany. The Tübingen punt attracts tourists, students and residents to the river that traverses the city center. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Players jostle for position during a game of kayak polo on the Neckar River in Tübingen, Germany, on July 6, 2025. Spectators watch the action from the river's north bank. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

A Tübingen punt floats along the Neckar River near the Neckar Bridge in Tübingen, Germany, on July 6, 2025. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

I had bought my ticket days before. My friend and her family didn’t. I tried to buy some on the walk over, but the website said they were sold out. Yet my friend’s daughter kept talking excitedly about the boat ride, so we looked like we were heading for the rocks.

Once others stepped onto the boat, I explained our situation to the guide to see if we could squeeze at least the youngster on board. He glanced at her and her mom, checked the space in the boat and allowed the two of them to join. Crisis averted.

My friend’s husband and napping son stayed ashore.

The Tübingen punt ride heads toward the Neckar Bridge in Tübingen, Germany, on July 6. The Neckar Bridge, also called Eberhard’s Bridge after the University of Tübingen’s founder Count Eberhard im Bart, measures nearly 266 feet in length. The original stone bridge, which was constructed from 1482 to 1489, stood for more than 400 years. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

This weeping willow stands near the Hölderlin Tower, the yellow structure to the tree's right, in Tübingen, Germany. The tower is named after poet Friedrich Hölderlin, who lived there from 1806 until his death in 1843. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

A duck dips its beak into the water as seen during a July 6 punting ride on the Neckar River in Tübingen, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Colorful houses line the north bank of the Neckar River in Tübingen, Germany, as seen from near the Neckar Bridge. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

I had thought that by getting on the boat last, we were going to be near the tour guide, but I was wrong. He climbed to the opposite end and pushed us off the dock.

Because I’m hard of hearing, I missed most of the information our guide gave, like Tübingen’s oldest building, the number of flowers on the Neckar Bridge, the Neckar’s source (Schwenninger Moos in the Black Forest) and other fun facts.

That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, though, as it allowed me to take in the surrounding views. And I had plenty to see. Our punt traveled north of Neckar Island and its Plane Tree Alley.

Bright, colorful houses line the river’s north bank. The boat passed the pastel yellow building that features the Hölderlin Tower, which hosted famed poet Friedrich Hölderlin from 1806 until his death in 1843 after he was deemed “incurably mentally ill.”

Before we reached the Neckar Bridge to the west, a game of kayak polo broke out. As a sports guy, I watched with rapt attention as numerous players jostled for position with their boats while fighting for the ball.

My friend’s daughter had a blast following the river’s wildlife. She called out every mama and papa duck she saw, making sure her mother and I saw them, too.

My friend, meanwhile, got the fulfillment of a Tübingen experience that she had missed out on during her time in the city, as well as a respite from typical parental duties.

We lost track of time and didn’t realize until we were docking that an hour had passed. We stepped off the boat calmer and happier than when we boarded.

For those looking for a little more action, plenty of themed rides are available throughout the year, such as a wine tasting on Aug. 2. Other companies also offer grill and pinsa rides for a full summer experience.

Punting on the Neckar River

Address: Wöhrdstrasse 25, Tübingen, Germany

Hours: 1 p.m. every day and 5 p.m. Saturdays from May through September

Prices: 13 euros for adults, 11 euros for children up to 12. Groups of seven or more can book a private ride. “After work” rides that last 90 minutes are available Thursday and Friday evenings for 19.90 euros for adults and 17.90 euros for children up to 12 years old, drink included.

Information: Phone: +49 7071 9136 0; online: tinyurl.com/9599b5eu