There is a phrase that beguiles me with its unknown source that “a prophet is rarely respected in his own Jerusalem.” This phrase comes to mind when I consider the Rhine towns of Feuerthalen, across from Schaffhausen, and Rheinau, downriver 181 km / 113 miles if discussing walking distance. Feuerthalen, population 3,500, is Schaffhausen’s unremarkable… Continue reading Unloved in Jerusalem
Category: Literature
The Grand Guestbook
They say we are judged by the company we keep. Let’s look at some of the people who have kept company with the Rhine Falls: It never ceases to amaze me how often in history great changes begin with only one individual. Before 1548, the Rhine Falls were relatively unknown. There was (and still is)… Continue reading The Grand Guestbook
The secret sites above the Falls
The biggest problem with being a tourist in Switzerland is the distinct feeling that the Swiss don’t want you to visit and certainly don’t want you to learn anything about the country. Switzerland certainly does not go out of its way to market itself aggressively in comparison with countries like the US or France. The… Continue reading The secret sites above the Falls
Wolves in sheep packaging
“No one could tell me, but I learned something else about Schaffhausen, a tiny curiosity of history. The town was bombed by American aircraft in 1944. (See Oops! Did we do that?) The Americans insisted that it was a mistake – a bombing force had lost its way and, thinking it was still over Germany… Continue reading Wolves in sheep packaging
Problems with Paul
Paul Edward Theroux (born 10 April 1941) is an American travel writer and novelist, whose best known works are The Great Railway Bazaar and The Mosquito Coast. I have never read his novels as travel writing has always held a greater fascination for me, but I have read and own most that he has written… Continue reading Problems with Paul
Fight or flight?
I am an individual who loves and cherishes his moments of solitude and isolation where I immerse myself in knowledge gleaned from books and the Internet and where I attempt to reproduce in my own way equally beneficial knowledge for others, yet it is my encounters with others that are the basis of my true… Continue reading Fight or flight?
The company that couldn’t
Neuhausen am Rheinfall is a municipality in the Canton of Schaffhausen just south of the cantonal capital, Schaffhausen. It has a population of nearly 11,000 people. Despite its location beside the Rhine Falls, Neuhausen is primarily an industrial city. “We came along a filthy street between forges and mills right through to the Falls. What… Continue reading The company that couldn’t
Chasing waterfalls
Day Three of the Four Points Walk, Saturday 4 July 2015 Bernard Levin, widely regarded as one of the greatest journalists of his generation , in his book/Channel 4 series To the end of the Rhine, calls the Rhine “Europe’s noblest river”. The Rhine is not Europe’s longest river. That title belongs to the Volga.… Continue reading Chasing waterfalls
The vicar and the vagabond
The mirror of these trusting, brown eyes Is like a reflection of gold from deep inside; From the bosom’s depths it seems to rise Where such gold on holy grief thrives. In the darkness of thine eyes I bury myself, It is thou who invites me, Unknowing Child— Thou wouldst have me ignite the fires… Continue reading The vicar and the vagabond
Song of the executioner
As I slowly walk across Canton Schaffhausen I come across a number of small hills that bear the name “Galgenbuck”(Gallows Hill). The cantonal capital Schaffhausen itself was a Reichstadt, an imperial free city, meaning it was directly subject to the Holy Roman Emperor and no other government. He granted it the privilege of being allowed… Continue reading Song of the executioner