Stories from the Rhine.
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The roar of nature
Statistically, the Rhine Falls are impressive. They are the biggest waterfalls in Europe: 150 metres tong 23 metres high, and with an average flow of 425,000 litres of water per second passing over the rocks. As the white foam comes into view, stretching across the landscape, it is an exciting sight. The sheer power of the falls floods the imagination with both danger and adventure; a feeling that intensifies as the torrent pours in curling swirls of icy blue water into the basin below. I descend a tree-lined path. with an irresistible urge to get closer.
It is a wet day in January The place is empty except for a couple of shop assistants standing outside the souvenir shop, as if passing time until the arrival of spring. In the window, toy Swiss cows and St. Bernard puppies await their owners. I stroll along a wide boulevard that I can imagine packed with tourists.
I am quite glad to have the place to myself; to approach the rushing water without the distraction of hundreds of camera-snapping tourists. But my guide, German-born Heidemarlen Landmark--who has long been interlaced with the history of her adopted home--tells me that when you reach the observation deck and get up close to the spray, the roar of the water is so loud that it blocks out everything else, giving you the impression of being alone with this force of nature even on the busiest of summer days.
Water splashes my face, and I'm not sure if it is from the falls or the rain. For now, I can only imagine the scene in summer, when the water is a deep aquamarine, and the sun shines sparkling on the waves. From April onwards, you can take a leisurely cruise around the Rhine Falls basin. You can stop off at the rock that juts up in the middle and climb up steps for an amazing panoramic view. The jagged edges of the rock look precarious to me: "Doesn't the water cause it to erode?" I ask my guide. She reassures me that the rock is carefully studied for stability, and if necessary, filled in with concrete to prevent it from collapsing.
The Rhine Falls area has many other vantage points from which to enjoy the waterfalls' splendour. Towering above us is Schloss Laufen, originally built around 858. At that time, the falls were known as grosses Lauffen. In the 1700s, the castle became the home of the Bleuler painting school, and the view from the castle ramparts inspired painters Such as William Turner. The castle is now a museum about the...
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