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From The Dubois County Daily Herald
Tuesday, January 18, 1955

HARK THE HERALD

The Rhine Falls, and Reute Again
by A. T. Rumbach

The return trip from Liechtenstein to Reute was made over another route, similar in scenic wonders, skirting the northern boundary of Switzerland past the great lake of Constance (or Bodensee.)

At several places along the way we witnessed the annual autumn parade of cattle, mostly Brown Swiss, being driven down from the mountain tops and slopes where they had fed on the rich meadows since early spring.   They were being transferred to their winter quarters in the villages down in the valleys.   This is a festival occasion for the herders and villages, accompanied by song and dance.

The great German poet, Schiller, immortalized this simple ceremony in the opening scene of his drama “Wilhelm Tell”, in the song of the herdsman coming down the mountain side with his herd:

“ Ihr Matten lebr wohl,
     Ihr Sonnigen Weiden!
Der Senne musz scheiden
     Der Sommer is hin.
Wir gehen vom Berg;
     Wir kommen wieder
Wenn der Kuckuckruft
     Wenn erwachen die Lieder;
Wenn mit blumen die Erde
     Sich kleidet neu;
Wenn die Bruenneiein flieszen
     Im lieblichen mai.”

I have taken the liberty to translate this freely:

“Ye meadows, farewell, ye sunny meadows,
The herdsman must leave you---
Sweet summer is gone!
We leave now the mountains;
We come back again
When the cuckoo calls,
When the song birds awaken.
When the earth garbs herself
With blossoms anew
When the brooklets flow freely,
In the lovely May.”

The sun was riding low near the horizon when we arrived at Schaffhausen on the Swiss side of the Rhine.   Herr Buehler suggested a rest stop, and he knew just where to go.   He halted the buss at an inn with the tables in the open on a large plaza overlooking one of the finest views of the excursion – the great falls of the River Rhine.

We were enchanted by the tumbling waters dashing down over the falls and dashing against the huge boulders below, sending up clouds of fine spray which dissipated itself in the crisp autumn air.   While waiting for service, we took our stand at a strategic spot where the rays of the setting sun were refracted in the fine spray of the falls, creating a beautiful rainbow.   Virgil could not resist taking a movie shot at this natural phenomenon, in spite of the lateness of the hour, and was rewarded with one of the most interesting pictures of our entire trip.

A short distance from Schaffhausen, we were halted by the Swiss customs officials at the bridge over the Rhine, and again by the German officials on the other side.   Passports were checked and we were questioned about tobacco, coffee and chocolate.   One official looked inside the bus to survey our baggage, but seeing only overnight bags, (we were traveling light) he allowed us to proceed without further ado.

We were now back in our familiar Schwarzwald territory; and as darkness drew its curtain over the landscape we abandoned ourselves to the embrace of Morpheus, leaving Herr Buehler at the helm to conduct us safely back to old Reute.   Starting the day early at Einsiedeln and cramming so much Alpine scenery, plus our eventful hours at Liechtenstein, this had been the most strenuous day since we landed at Rotterdam.   But we really relished the “ Abend-essen” which Oma Hettich set on the table soon after we were back “in der Heimat”.