|
Newsletter #31 - January 15-22, 1960 |
| News Letter #31 January 15~22, 1960 Mailed Bern, Switzerland 1/26/60 Recd. Philadelphia 2/l/60 Hello, Everybody: [January 17] Here we era in Venice after a two-day trip from Pescara, Italy, and it was a two day trip of horrible weather and terrible roads of snow and ice. Me had snow for about three hours of our trip today and the flakes were really monmouth and all of this snow was on top of roads which were already a sheet of ice. Enjoyed the last thirty miles of driving only, as then it had stopped snowing and you could enjoy the lonely villas and castles which we passed in the towns of Stra and Mira Just southwest of Venice. We walked about the streets and crossed over the waterways and canals in freezing cold weather today and had cold hands, feet, ears and noses by the time we returned to our hotel, but we already know we will love Venice and its canals and candy-striped mooring poles. Today is Sunday and, of course, the city was a little quiet, but I am sure when the shops are open and the gondolas are mowing about it will be more as we have always pictured Venice to be. Venice is situated on a broad lagoon 2-l/2 miles from the Italian mainland and is built over a sprawling archipelago comprising 118 little islands which are separated from each other by mare than 150 canals. It is a city of universal renown and different from any other city we have visited, as you leave your car and either walk over waterways via bridges or use gondolas, motorboats or vaporettos (sea-going streetcars). It has narrow streets and narrow canals most places and you can get lost as you vender about, but sooner or later you find yourself at the Grand Canal or a familiar piazza or church and can find your way once more. We really had a bit of trouble finding the American Consulate today, which is on a street no more than 3 or 4 feet wide, but once we found it we had a nice stack of letters waiting for us. Thanks for the news as it surely is good to hear from home and to know what is happening in York. [January 18] Ws took a boat to the Island of Murano - famous for making Venetian Blown Glass, which is quite costly. They have only a skeleton crew working during the winter, so we were fortunate td see a few objects made and hope Meredith's flash pictures are good. Visited the Piazza San Marco, which is the heart of Venice, and is an immense, regal square bordered on three sides by palatial arcades and has pigeons by the thousands. Here we saw the Basilica of San Marco, a masterpiece of Byzantine architecture, which was begun as a tomb for St. Mark. The building is rich in rare marbles, mosaics, gold and priceless works of art. Also saw Doges' Palace, an imposing construction in Venetian-Gothic style with a majestic marble facade and the famous Bridge of Sighs, which once connected the Palace of the Doges to the Prisons. We walked over the Rialto Bridge, which crosses the Grand Canal and has rows of shops on either side and was similar to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge at Florence; also crossed the Accademia Bridge near St. Marks Square, which also spans the Grand Canal, while the third bridge known as Scolzi we did not cross. Neglected telling you of the famous Clock Tower at St. Marks Square, which tells not only the hours but the daily position of the sun and moon, and also saw a large bell of metal with two metal men who swing sledge hammers to strike the bell. (We could not find out the name of this unusual bell.) |
|
NewsLetter #31
Today [January 19] we left Venice and drove to the frontier of Tarvisi and saw many attractive old Italian Vilas along this particular highway. We again had snowy roads which were bumpy with ice, and miles of hazardous driving. Tonight we are in the lovely city of Klagenfurt in the Austrian Alps Mountains after passing through the craggy Italian Alps. We had our first meal here in Austria at our hotel and Meredith claims it is the first time he has had enough to eat since we left our ship at Australia. Wet first had celery soup, then a platter over heat (14 inches by 20 inches) which contained veal cutlet, pork steak and beef steak and each piece of meat was the size of a double serving -- this meat was attractively garnished with French fried potatoes, cauliflower, green beans, brussels sprouts, salad with red and green peppers and a mound of rice. We drank the beverage of Austria (beer) and had delicious chocolate cake garnished with lots of whipped cream and a cup of hot tea. Our meals in Italy were good, but we never felt quite satisfied with the portions. Last night in Venice we had minestrone soup and then lasagne, but each of us had to have a second platter of lasagne to feel as if we had had a meal. (Of course, the only dessert in Italy is fruit or cheese.) Our four weeks in Italy were most satisfactory and we really were overwhelmed with Italy's charm, its ruins, its natural beauty, its lakes, its mountains and its treasures and we surely hope to come back again to see all of this loveliness in a spring at some future date. Today we again hit quite a bit of snow, but surely enjoyed our drives thru the many unique and quaint villages here in Southern Austria. Ws saw children skiing to school and many carrying their sleds and took several pictures of their attractive village churches. We climbed the mountain at Semmering, which is a winter resort, and headquarters for all kinds of winter sports, where we saw much skiing and stately tall pines seemed to surround the entire mountain. Tonight [January 20] we are in Vienna, a great metropolis on the banks of the Danube River which suffered much damage during the war and we are sure we will enjoy our stay here. We met Peggy Moul of East Berlin at noon end took her out for dinner after strolling about the very heart of the city around the Ringstrasse. Ws saw and photographed the Parliament Building, the statue of Mozart at the Kaiser's Gardens, the Courthouse, and the double-spired Votif Church near our hotel. Ws also saw the gorgeous National library and the Opera House on the Ring which was bombed during the war but rebuilt by U.S.A. and which is simply gorgeous. Tonight we also took Peggy along for dinner and then went to a tea given us by Hilda Strauss Gutmann, a Beta Sigma Phi of Vienna. We had a lovely evening together and met quite a few very friendly Austrians. Here it is Friday [January 22] and the end of another newsletter week and we surely had a busy day. It is now midnight and we just came home from seeing the operetta called "Die Lustige Witwe", or "The Merry Widow" at the Volksopera and the performance was wonderful. The female lead has sung many times at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and was superb, while the stage settings and so forth were excellent, also. This A.M. we went to the Spanish Riding School where we saw the Arabian-Spanish Lippizaner horses go through their many paces. These horses are born entirely black and after four years turn white and are really beautiful creatures. It is something unique only to Vienna and was started in the l6th Century. The performance is shown in a part of the Hofburg Imperial Palace and it is most interesting. - 2 -
|
|
Newsletter #31
We also drove to the Vienna Woods today and went to the toms of Kahlenberg and Cobenzl, where we had lovely views of Vienna and the Danube from the crest of the Vienna Woods and also saw the famous old "Stifts Church" and Leopoldsberg. Since there is so much more to see here in Vienna, we will stay for two more days [January 23...] as I want to see an opera at the famous opera house and visit a few more churches and palaces before we leave. We were also invited to another tea for tomorrow afternoon at an old palace which has been converted into a swank restaurant, so feel we should see all we can. We were lucky enough to obtain opera tickets at such a short notice. Peggy Moul has been our official guide each day and has been a great help to us, as she speak© perfect German and know her way about Vienna as she has lived here several years. Today we also went with her for her voice lesson and were amazed at the tremendous improvement in her techniques. (Her voice teacher was charming and demands only the best from her students, which you note immediately.) Since I've been in Vienna (3 days so far) I certainly have had my hand kissed many times as it seems to be a male custom here in Austria while the women kiss both cheeks rather than one. I'll continue our review of Vienna in next week's newsletter as we do not plan to leave until about noon on Monday, since we want to wait for mail. Our health still seems to be fine and we are eating quite heartily lately, which may not be too good for my waistline, but if you'd see the luscious desserts and pastries they make you'd be tempted, also; and on top of this you can have (Schlag) thick whipped cream on anything, (is your mouth watering yet, or are you already drooling?) Until later, we send our fondest regards, Meredith and Charlotte
|