Last month Peter and Sabine visited Passau and Munich, this month they’re off to explore the Zugspitze and the Bodensee, or Lake Constance, as it’s called in English.
Zugspitze
Die Berge, der Schnee und die Aussicht, sieh!
Ach Peter, so hoch glaubt’ die Berge ich nie! –
Die Zugspitzbahn bringt nun die Kinder hinauf,
hinab hat das Dreirad freien Lauf.
Sabine hält sich fest an Peters Brust,
die Fahrt wird schnell und schneller, welche Lust!
es geht nach links, nach recht und immerzu
und stets voran die neuen Nagelschuh’.
On their travels they had to visit the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak. The Bavarian Zugspitze Railway (Bayerische Zugspitzbahn) was built from 1928 to 1930, nearly 20 years before Peter and Sabine took it, and it’s still running.
I’m sure they had a great trip up there, although I’m slightly concerned that they went down the Zugspitze on their little tricycle. But I guess anything is possible in a poem ☺
Bodensee
Wir müssen heute eine Pause machen.
Ich wasch’ inzwischen unsre Sachen.
Du, Peter, angelst unterdessen
Forellen für das Mittagessen
in Deutschlands allergrößtem See.
Du weißt, es ist der Bodensee.
Sein Becken muß der Rhein durchfließen,
den wir in Köln dann wieder grüßen.
Lake Constance, der Bodensee in German, is Europe’s third largest freshwater lake and belongs to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. According to Wikipedia “Lake Constance is the only area in Europe where no borders exist, because there is no legally binding agreement as to where the borders lie between Switzerland, Germany and Austria. However, Switzerland holds the view that the border runs through the middle of the lake, Austria is of the opinion that the contentious area belongs to all the states on its banks, which is known as a “condominium”, and Germany holds an ambiguous opinion. Legal questions pertaining to ship transport and fishing are regulated in separate treaties.”
In the poem, Peter is fishing for trout, which was very common then. However, “the Lake Constance trout was almost extinct in the 1980s due to pollution, but thanks to protective measures they have made a significant return.” (Wikipedia)
Have you been there? If not, I found a video with some nice area footage:
Peter and Sabine’s visits next month will be to the Black Forest and Heidelberg.
