- A Visit to the Tropfsteinhöhle
Having left the city of Cologne, the English party and its German friends travelled through the pleasant German countryside to a small village where some caves were visited. We were shown through these caves by a guide who of course, could speak no English. Having walked along long, narrow, low roofed passages, we entered the caves where we were told that such features as elephants, rabbits, tigers etc. could be seen, if one had a vivid sense of Imagination! Gradually becoming Wetter and wetter from the drips off of the ceiling, we were shown picturesque waterfalls. different forms of crystals forming Clusters of pineapples, growing on the rock where they could obtain light and a little heat from the lamps. Stalactites and Stalagmites could be seen at various stages, and even some joined ones could be seen. One very interesting sight which was very obvious was the "larder", showing various lengths of "sausage" hanging from the ceiling.
A Visit to the Tropfsteinhöhle / Words
the cave die Höhle
narrow eng
low roofed mit niedrigem Dach
the feature das Merkmal, die Gestaltung
the rabbit das Kaninchen
vivid lebhaft
sense of Imagination die Einbildungskraft
gradually allmählich
wet naß
drip off das Herabtröpfeln
picturesque malerisch
the waterfall der Wasserfall
to form bilden
Cluster die Traube, der Haufen
the pineapple die Ananas
to grow wachsen
to obtain erhalten
stalactite Zapfentropfstein, Stalaktit
Stalagmite Säulentropfstein, Stalagmit
various verschieden
the stage die Strecke, die Station
joined zusammengefügt
the sight die Sehenswürdigkeit
obvious deutlich, offenbar
the larder die Speisekammer
the length die Länge
the sausage die Wurst
A Visit to the Tropfsteinhöhle / Questions
1. Did the English visitors travel alone?
2. What was the Tropfsteinhöhle?
3. Could the guide speak English?
4. What were the passages like?
5. What animals could be seen in the rock?
6. Why did the visitors get wet?
7. What sort of fruit could be seen?
8. What could be seen in the "larder"?
9. What are stalactites and Stalagmites?
10. What is a "vivid sense of Imagination"?
Discussion and essay topics
1. The life of cavemen.
2. To which villages near your home would you take an 2. English visitor?
A Visit to the Tropfsteinhöhle / Notes
Es gibt Stalaktiten und Stalagmiten in den Höhlen von Cheddar und im Peak Cavern in Derbyshire, aber die schönsten gibt es in New South Wales. Stalagmiten werden auf dem Grund der Höhle gefunden, da sie sich von den Tropfen bilden, die herunter fallen.
