The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-01-22
LETTER FROM GERMANY.
BERLIN, October 25, 1SS:

|
! To the hateNigencer Having recently
enjoyed visit to Switzerland, have
!, concluded to write something of my ex-
I perience in thai. interesting country, hop
ing that what say may not prove devoid
of interest to the reader. On the fifth
day of August, last, at the close of the
Summer Semester Of the University of
Leipzig, iu company with three other
American students, 1 took the train for
4 Switzerland, via Nuremberg and Munich.
t These cities are extremely interesting.
! The lloyer of art finds very much to
i, interest him in Munich, which is beau
!tiful city !; but at present, L will speak
lirather of our excursions among the Alps
than Of the attractions of the cities which
i, / visited. AS it.would be impossible for
me to,relate in detail the many interest
ing features of our tout, have concluded
Ito give . more detailed account of our
ascent upon the >Breithorn; oDe of the
high snow.mountainsgof the ALPS, after
/ mentioning some Sf the most interesting
points of our excursion. '.t.,,.ic.
From Munich we went to Lindau, at
the head Of lake; Constance, and took the
boat. to Constance. The scenery upon
this lake isnlovely, but not grand, and
bit for a view Of the snow. clad sentis in
the distance, one; could hardly imagine
himself to be so near the giant mountains
of the,Alps. s: -. ,li. s1i7e
The Falls of the Rhine near Schaf:
hausen are wild and grand. The volume
Of water is very considerable, and though
1.-The height of the three falls, which are
not perpendicular, is but about fifty or
sixty feet, yet, the wild dashing of the
Fgreen water, the rain:bows and the
picturesque surroundings form q very
superior picture. asa:,.,
!. From the Falls we went by rail to
Zurich. We ascended the Uetliberg, a
mountain near Zurich, about 1854 feet
high (the heights of the mountains are
always given above sea-level). From
this small mountain the view is very
lovely, embracing, on the one side, the
city and part of the lake of Zurich, which
| lie about 1900 feet below the spectator.
Towards the South rise the Rigi and Mt.
Pilatus in the foreground and the great
chain of the Alps in the background.
The Jura and the Vosges MIS-, and even
the Black Forest may be seen.
There is a railroad running to the top
of this mountain from Zurich.
The boat excursion from Zug to Arth
is very charming. The Rigi, which rises
abruptly from the lake, is constantly be-
fore US during the voyage, and as we ap.
proach Arth, the reddish, rocky pima
t.cies of the Mythen add their magni6cence
to the scenery Of this charming little
lake. ve5g
The Rigi (5,so6 it, is justly considered
one of the finest points of Switzerland.
Situated between the lakes Of Zug and
Lucerne, above which its summit towers
4,472 feet, it commands magnificent
view ofthe great snow peaks of the Ber-
uese Oberlaud and affords panorama,
which, in point of loveliness, can hardly
be e1celled.
A railroad runs to the Rigi Kuhn (the
name of the highest peak Of the noun.
tain).
We were upon the Rigi on the llth
and 18th of August, and found it very
cold, as the wind came to us from the
great snow fields of the Bernese Alps,
which are not very distant.
1t is the variety as we'll as the grandeur
of the surrounding scenery which makes
the view from the Rigi so fine. We are
not high enough to-. look down upon the
snow-6elds of the Alps, but the snow
capped peaks of the highest and most
interesting Of the Bernese Oberland are
visible, and tower SO high as to exclude
the more distant view.in their direction.
The lake of Lucerne with the city of
Lucerne and the little village of Kuess.
nacht (made famous by Schiller's evil,
helm Tell") upon its shores, is one of the
principal attractions Of the view; but the
several other lakes which are to be seen,
among them the lovely lake of Zug,
together with the Swiss villages, present
likewise many charms to the bel ,lder.
Far in the distance may be seen the
Black Forest, the Jura and the Vosges.
The sunset on the evening of the llth
was very grand, and even when darkness
had veiled the distant view, and the charms
of the lakes and towns below were gone,
there was still much to interest. As the
intervening objects faded from view the
dark forms of the Bernese Obsrland.
with their mantles of snow, seemed to
draw much nearer 10 US and presented
very dismal, yet grand appearance. The
lights, too, of the little villages below
aud of the beautifully situated city of
Lucerne added much charm and variety
to the picture.
Upon the following morning we rose
early to witness the sunrise. The guests
in the hotels were walked and s. company
of about fifty were upon the summit to
see the imposing spectacle. Some time
before the rising of the sun one of the
Swiss blew horn and sung the peculiar
melody of the "Kuhreihen," or cow herds
melody, which seems to be peculiar to
| the Swiss The "Kuhreihen" does not