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Sabbath sailing along the Rhine

Sabbath sailing along the Rhine

Last updated on: June 7, 2015 at 4:22 pm by Dan Peterson

Sabbath sailing along the Rhine 2015-06-07T16:22:49-06:00 Dan Peterson

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An 1840 image of the Lorelei
(Click to enlarge. Click again to enlarge further.)

We attended services today at the Darmstadt Ward, which claims to be the largest single German-speaking unit in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I can believe the claim. It was as a congregation as large as any ward that I’ve seen in Utah.

The Mittelrhein (or Middle Rhine)

Click to enlarge. Click again to enlarge further.

Afterwards, not wanting simply to return to our little hotel rooms and sit there, those of us who were still around headed off to Bingen — think of St. Hildegard of Bingen — where we caught a boat and sailed for about four hours on the Rhine, from Bingen past Bacharach and Kaub to Sankt Goarshausen and back.

A fairly typical castle along the Rhine
(Click to enlarge.)

There were lots of small castles along the cliffs.

And we passed by the legendary Lorelei or Loreley, where a beautiful siren sent many sailors to their deaths.

Die Loreley
(Click to enlarge. Click again to enlarge further.)

This statue of the Lorelei sits on an island in the river, near the cliffs.
Click to enlarge. Click again to enlarge further.

Here’s Heinrich Heine’s famous 1822 poem:

1. Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten,
Daß ich so traurig bin,
Ein Märchen aus uralten Zeiten,
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.
Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt,
Und ruhig fließt der Rhein;
Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt,
Im Abendsonnenschein.

2. Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet
Dort oben wunderbar,
Ihr gold’nes Geschmeide blitzet,
Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar,
Sie kämmt es mit goldenem Kamme,
Und singt ein Lied dabei;
Das hat eine wundersame,
Gewalt’ge Melodei.

3. Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe,
Ergreift es mit wildem Weh;
Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh’.
Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn,
Und das hat mit ihrem Singen,
Die Loreley getan.

And here’s a passable translation:

1. I cannot determine the meaning
Of sorrow that fills my breast:
A fable of old, through it streaming,
Allows my mind no rest.
The air is cool in the gloaming
And gently flows the Rhine.
The crest of the mountain is gleaming
In fading rays of sunshine.

2. The loveliest maiden is sitting
Up there, so wondrously fair;
Her golden jewelry is glist’ning;
She combs her golden hair.
She combs with a gilded comb, preening,
And sings a song, passing time.
It has a most wondrous, appealing
And pow’rful melodic rhyme.

3. The boatman aboard his small skiff, –
Enraptured with a wild ache,
Has no eye for the jagged cliff, –
His thoughts on the heights fear forsake.
I think that the waves will devour
Both boat and man, by and by,
And that, with her dulcet-voiced power
Was done by the Loreley.

There should be a version of the well-known song based on Heine’s poem here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DS6OA1NT3g

Unfortunately, I can’t verify that at the moment, for internet reasons that are opaque to me. But may you enjoy what I could not just now.

The cruise was an outstandingly peaceful and beautiful way to spend a Sabbath afternoon and early evening during a vacation. (We would have flown home this weekend, but staying until Monday is saving us a very great deal of money. Airline ticket prices are like that.)

Posted from Darmstadt, Germany

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