The Lahn River Part I: from source to Rhein

This post is the story of a river.  This river to be exact:

Now, you might be saying to yourself, "that doesn't look like a river, that looks like a trickle."

Anna: "I'm dubious. That doesn't look like a river, that looks like a trickle."

But I assure you, that despite these humble beginnings at 604 m elevation, this IS a river.  A respectable sized one at that.  One you can take boats on.  But that comes later in the story.  You see, this is the source of the Lahn River.  As you travel the Lahn, the Lahn trickle is quickly joined by other trickles, and soon begins to look like something that resembles a river.

The Lahn, near Bad Laasphe ~21 km later and ~300 m lower
(~310 m elevation, July 13, 2013)

By the time you reach Marburg, the Lahn is a respectable river.

Canoeing on the Lahn in Marburg
(67 km from source, 195 m elevation,September 8, 2012)

And it continues to get wider as you go long. 

Anna taking a much needed cool-off swim on our ride along the Lahn (past Weilburg, 140 km from source, ~140 m elevation, June 7, 2014)

By the time you reach Bad Ems, they've even put a fountain in the middle of it!

The Lahn at Bad Ems (230 km from source, 80 m elevation, June 8, 2014)

And finally, 246 km and more than 20 castles later, the Lahn reaches the Rhein.

At the Confluence with the Rhein. It's a little narrower here, but deeper (246 km from source, 62 m elevation, June 8, 2014).