The Köln-Alaaf Duck Fleet (1990–1999)

By the early 1990s, Duck Tours had become a recognizable curiosity in major coastal cities around the world. From Boston to Dublin, brightly painted amphibious craft—usually aging WWII DUKWs rebuilt for tourism, rumbled through streets before plunging theatrically into harbors. Their loudspeaking, eccentric guides became minor celebrities in their own right.

Germany, however, remained a notable blank spot on the Duck-Tour world map. A combination of strict watercraft permissions, inland environmental laws, and local bureaucratic labyrinths made any such enterprise seem hopeless. Tourism planners often joked that it was “easier to get a permit to sail a U-boat down the Rhine than to launch a DUKW anywhere in Germany.”

The Opportunity of 1992

After the reunification boom and the expanding Rhine-Harbor redevelopment projects, Cologne’s tourism council began quietly exploring unique attractions that could distinguish the city from competitors like Düsseldorf and Bonn.

A confidential municipal report from 1992 (now declassified) proposed a radical idea:

“If Dublin can let WWII amphibious trucks into the Liffey, surely Cologne can tolerate a few in the Rhine.”

The biggest challenge was that Germany possessed no preserved DUKWs in suitable operational condition. That changed when, in early 1993, a cache of six ex-US Army DUKWs was discovered in a forgotten depot once used by Allied forces near Bad Godesberg. Three hulls were restorable.

Birth of the “Kölner Amphibien-Flotte” (1994)

In 1994, the newly formed Kölner Amphibien-Flotte GmbH began restoring the vehicles. Large flotation chambers, similar to those required in Dublin, were added to satisfy German stability regulations. Passenger benches were installed, four seats per row, with safety belts and a reinforced canvas roof to meet stricter German norms.

The first prototype was painted in bright red and white city colors. On its side, in large cheerful letters, stood the unofficial slogan of Cologne: “Kölle Alaaf!”

When the vehicle made its inaugural test splash in the Rheinauhafen in September 1995, thousands of curious spectators gathered. Local tabloid headlines that weekend declared:

“Köln erfährt ein Wunder - Ein Bus fährt in den Rhein!”

The Regular Tours: 1996–1999

By mid-1996, the “Kölner Duck Tour” became a fixture of Rhine-side tourism. The 90-minute route became legendary:

1. Land section:
   Starting near the Dom, the DUKW rumbled through the Altstadt, passing Heumarkt, Gürzenich and the historic breweries.

2. Amphibious entry:
   A custom-built slipway near the Severinsbrücke allowed the DUKW to slide dramatically into the Rhine—tourists often applauded or screamed in delight.

3. River section:
   The slow cruise downriver offered rare views of the cathedral, Hohenzollern Bridge, the old harbor cranes, and the WDR buildings.

During Carnival season, guides performed in costume—pirates, princes, medieval clerics, and occasionally a “mobile Köbes”, turning the tour into a floating comedy stage.

The Cultural Oddity of the ’90s

The Kölner Duck Tour quickly gained cult status. Backpacker guidebooks in 1998 described it as:

“Half sightseeing, half carnival - 100% Cologne.”

Local folklore grew as well: drivers competing to have the loudest horn, engineers decorating engine bays with tiny Dom figurines for luck, and the famous 1997 incident when a DUKW unexpectedly surfaced in the background of a WDR evening news broadcast, confusing viewers who thought it was a ghost ship.

Legacy

Although stricter EU regulations in 2001 eventually grounded the last operational DUKW in Cologne, the 1990s remain the city’s uniquely amphibious decade. The “Kölle Alaaf Duck Fleet” is still remembered fondly as one of Cologne’s strangest and most charming experiments in tourism, a fleeting moment when WWII relics, local humor, and Rhineland engineering came together to create something unmistakably, wonderfully kölsch.