On a train ride from Munich to the Alp mountains, between places that carry such pedestrian names as Miesbach (transl.: Ugly Creek) or Schliersee (transl.: Slimy Lake), the train radio announces the next stop will be “Agatharied”. The sound of this name resembles a magical spell, maybe of Sumerian or Egyptian origin. But apart from the enchanting me
lody of this name, it also stands far above the prosaic meanings of the names of the neighbouring places. “Agatharied” means “Reed of Divine Love”, and here the reference to the Reed beds, which are very common in the wet low-lands of this area, might indeed reminds one of the reed-lined banks of the Nil or Euphrat rivers.
