Literature Seminar (26/01/2007)

On January 27 in the freezing cold snow, we got the opportunity to study one of the most celebrated German poets, Friedrich Hölderlin with the wonderful Ute Link.

Hölderlin was born and died on the Neckar River and one can see this through his poetry. The river inspired him as it inspires anyone who sees it, it really is wonderful and for those of you going to Tübingen, I hope you get the chance to walk along the island in the snow, an unforgettable experience and one of the best views of typical Tübingen housing and architecture. Now, back to Hölderlin! He was mentally unstable (he had schizophrenia which was highly misunderstood in the 18th century), which is evident by the fact that he once walked from Frankfurt, Germany to Bordeaux, France. Crazy!

However, due to this slight mental instability, Hölderlin led a very interesting life and after much heartache and ALOT of walking around Europe, he spent the last 36 years of his life living as a recluse in a tower bordering the Neckar River in dearest Tübingen.

We went on a guided tour through the tower in which he lived with a German family and we saw the views from his window. It was really gorgeous, especially due to the snow and the ducks swimming along in the river. We then went outside and played in the snow on the banks of the river and I simply must mention Judy who very nearly became the first one of us to fall into the absolutely freezing cold Neckar River! Luckily, she managed to regain her balance and the rest of us learnt to not walk too close to the edge!
That’s one experience none of us wanted to have, especially not in the middle of a European winter!

I would like to thank Ute Link for her highly informative lecture, it was great!

Much love and a very big hug for each of you! I promise to keep in touch ... Marsha van der Schyff