Newsletter #42 - April 2 to 8, 1960
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Newsletter #42
April 2 to April 8, 1960
France, Luxembourg & Germany
Hello!
My, how we are enjoying "April in Paris". Even had a chance
to April Fool my husband yesterday.
This morning [April 2] we went by Metro (subway) for
at least ten miles to a place called the Flea Market. This
market is held only on Saturday and Sunday and is similar to
the Sunday market called Petticoat Lane in London. However,
it is much more extravagant and larger. For at least
one-and-a-half miles on both sides of the streets, every
item a person could want to buy is for sale. However, we
were interested only in old wares (antiques) which are as
plentiful as fleas, but very very expensive. We have never
seen such a quantity of fine antiques in our lives and
probably never will in any other place. Remember that in a
letter several weeks ago, I mentioned that I had found a
pair of glass Victorian domes I had been searching for many
years but that they were $75.00. Well, I found another pair
today somewhat cheaper and they are now in an immense box
sitting right by the desk I am now using. (Guess we'll have
to keep our fingers crossed to get them home in good shape
as they really are fragile.) We saw hundreds and hundreds of
things we would have liked to purchase but they were out of
our price range. (Getting our large box home on the crowded
Metro was really a major ordeal since we had to use two
different lines.)
During the afternoon, we walked about the Tuileries again
and enjoyed the tulips, green trees and the Parisians
sitting about chatting since the sun decided to give us all
a break and shine for about two hours. We also visited the
area of the Palais Royal where children were having a
wonderful time in the brilliant sunshine.
Being a Sunday [April 3], we really had extensive
plans for the day since the sightseeing areas are never so
crowded with cars and people from Paris. But, as usual, it
was cloudy all day so we just relaxed in our hotel, took a
short walk and then about three in afternoon, after a good
rain, we got the car out of the garage and visited the Hotel
Des Invalides and the Invalides Church. Both these buildings
serve as a shrine for the fabulous marble tomb of Napoleon,
Foch and several other notables. There is an admission fee
to see the tomb and shrine, but it is well worth the charge
because it contains unusual marble and unique wall carvings.
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We then drove out to the area known as "Pigalle" which was
simply jam-packed with people. So, we parked the car and
walked to another area called "Montmartre" which is
dominated by the impressive Basilica of Sacre-Coeur (Sacred
Heart). This basilica possesses a striking white marble
Byzantine dome and had many visitors walking up and down the
hundreds of steps which you must climb in order to visit the
church.
This morning [April 4] we picked up our shop tickets
which entitle us to sail on the Kungsholm on June 7th and we
leave from Gotenburg, Sweden. We also shipped a heavily
loaded suitcase ahead to the ship since our car is too full
to carry our winter clothes ... which, we hope we won't need
any more. We did our last minute chores for Paris since we
hope to leave early tomorrow morning.
During the afternoon, we got a little sunshine and we
hurried to several sections of Paris to take pictures of
places we've visited. Many of the pictures we took today, we
had taken before this visit in Paris, but the film was all
taken when the gadget bag was stolen from our car. We rushed
around until 5:30 and by then the sun was a little too low
to do anymore picture-taking. In our 5½ days in Paris this
time, we had only about six hours of real sunshine and we
really needed 26 to do all we planned. By the way, the
gardens about the Eiffel Tower were just beautiful and the
trees along the banks of the Seine are just beginning to
show green. This was a very inspiring sight especially in
the area about the Notre Dame Cathedral. If the sun is
shinning tomorrow morning, we plan to stay in Paris another
day. However, the sky tonight doesn't have stars -- so, I
wonder!
Another Tuesday [April 5] and cloudy as ever. So, we
left Paris and its busy city and headed for Compiegne. Here
we saw the Palace de Compiegne, built by Louis XV, which
contained outstanding First Empire furnishings. We also saw
the Forest of Compiegne, one of Europe's largest and most
beautiful with 1,250 miles of road and track and the Hotel
de Ville. This is a very old building, having been built in
1502, and now contains a collection of Greek and Italian
vases and toy soldiers.
We again went through the town of Soissons and once more
enjoyed seeing the exterior of its very old Gothic abbey and
its several gorgeous church towers. We went to the city of
Rheims for the third time. Every time we have been here we
have not had sunshine and it is a great shame because its
famous cathedral as well as the Abbey of St. Remi are such
splendid photographic subjects. After leaving Verdun, we
drove south to St. Mihiel, a town which is known by all
World War I veterans, where nearby we saw the majestic
monument that consists of a large circular colonnade
situated on the isolated hill of Montsec. This was erected
to commemorate the achievements and sacrifices of American
soldiers who fought in this region in 1917 and 1918. From
St. Mihiel we drove twenty-nine miles further to the small
village of Thiaucourt and saw another well kept World War II
American Overseas Cemetery. It contains 4,152 of our
military
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dead. The lovely marble headstones are divided into four
plots by wide avenues with tree bordered walks and the
center has a large sundial surmounted by an American eagle
carved of white marble. Beyond this burial area is a lovely
small chapel which contains a beautiful mosaic portraying an
angel sheathing the sword.
By this time the sun was beginning to be pretty low and we
had a two hour drive to the city of Luxembourg where we were
going to stay for two nights. We plan to drive all about the
Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg tomorrow just as we did in
February.
Oh! what a beautiful day [April 6] we had today with
lovely sunshine practically the entire day. We started the
day by visiting Luxembourg Cemetery for American Overseas
Military and which lies within the city limits. This
cemetery contains 4,076 of our World War II dead, many who
gave their lives in the so-called "Battle of the Bulge" and
in the advance of the Rhine. The cemetery is three miles
east of the center of the city in a beautiful wooded area
and also has a white stone chapel which stands on a wide
circular platform surrounded by woods. Here we saw the
resting place of General Patton whose cross stands alone
between the two tall flagpoles.
We first drove to the town of Mersch which is at the
junction of three river valleys and is surrounded by gentle
hills covered with beech and fir trees. Next we drove to
Colmar-Berg which is located in a very fertile valley with
extensive woods and is dominated by the imposing Grand-Ducal
summer residence. From here we drove on to Ettelbruck, the
entrance city to the Ardennes, which contains an impressive
commemoration monument in honor of General George Patton.
The next town was Diekirch, situated on the banks of the
Sure River in a lovely scenic area and where the river seems
to meander like a snake. We then visited Bourscheid which is
a typical Ardennes village. Here we saw the imposing ruins
of Bourscheid Castle. It is one of the most important
medieval fortresses which rises on a steep hill alone a wild
valley. Next we drove to the small town called
Esch-Sur-Sure, which is enshrined between steep crags and is
almost completely surrounded by the Sure River. The houses
of this village cluster around a rocky promontory and are
dominated by the ruins of a massive castle and forbidding
rocks which drop sharply into the river. Our next stop was
at Wiltz, which is in northwestern Luxembourg and also
contains a picturesque medieval castle. This castle seems to
rule over the city from its hilltop position. We also saw
some old churches and monuments and remnants of the war.
Clervaux, the chief town of Northern Luxembourg, was our
next stop and this charming little town is situated in a
deep, but narrow Ardennes valley. Here we saw the abbey of
St. Maurice and St. Jaur, which was built in 1910 in the
Romanesque-French style. We also were able to see the
medieval castle of the Counts of Clervaux from which
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was descended - through his
mother. We also saw the chapel of Notre Dame and the modern
parish church built in the Rhenish Romanesque style.
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From Clervaux, we drove to Vianden -- perhaps the most
famous spot of beauty in Luxembourg -- where you see old
ramparts with guard towers encircling the town. Here we saw
the formidable castle, cradle of the Orange- Nassau dynasty
and one of the largest feudal fortresses of the continent.
This is a real architectural jewel which is unequalled on
this side of the Rhine. We also saw the Castle of Beaufort
in the area known as Miller's Dale, or Luxembourg's Pocket
Switzerland, and the small town of Berdorf in a region
abounding in impressive and quaint sandstone cliff
formations as well as well-wooded hills, valleys, waterfalls
and caves.
Echternach was our last town of any size which we saw before
returning to Luxembourg. This is a well known holiday center
which is near the German border. The town has a strong
medieval atmosphere with old patrician houses and pointed
gables, narrow streets and alleys and many ancient ramparts.
We also visited the wine-making area and many other quaint
towns in Luxembourg where the orchards of the fertile fruit
growing areas were seen as well as the areas where we saw
the iron and steel production in progress. This is a very
ideal place to visit as each turn of the road has a gorgeous
picture to show you.
Today [April 7] we left Luxembourg and drove back
into France, through Thionville, and on to Metz and then to
St. Avoid where we visited Lorraine Cemetery. This cemetery
contains the largest number of our military dead of World
War II in Europe - a total of 10,489. Here the headstones
are arranged in nine plots in an elliptical design extending
over the beautiful rolling terrain of Lorraine. The memorial
and chapel were very elegant and the landscaping was most
unusual. From here we drove to Saarbrucken and into
Kaiserslautern and on to Bingen on the Rhine. I described
this in a letter about six weeks ago. We are staying in
Bingen tonight as we plan to repeat our trip up the Rhine
once more. We only hope we'll have better weather this time.
The weather was cloudy again today [April 8] so we
decided to stay in Bingen another night. Therefore, we just
shopped today and then drove into Mainz for the third time.
Also shopped there and then drove to Darmstadt, which is
another large city. On our way back to Bingen, we crossed
the Rhine by ferry at about the same place where Meredith
crossed in an amphibious duck during the war. This was at a
town called Oppenheim. We arrived back in Bingen in a
pouring rain. We surely hope it will clear by morning since
we really haven't time to wait longer for a clear day to
drive up the Rhine. Our hotel room is practically on the
Rhine and the trains and noises are quite predominant.
However, the hotel is excellent and serves excellent food.
This is the last day of another newsletter week. However, I
believe I forgot to tell you about my Paris hairdo. Had my
hair cut and the works and It really looks very French and
chic. Meredith and I look so Parisian that some French
people even asked us directions.
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When we try to explain we don't understand French, they
laugh because of mistaking us for being French. I guess that
after three trips to Paris it's beginning to show. We are
now completely finished with France and have spent a total
of thirty-one days here. We visited the Riviera,
Alsace-Lorraine, the Chateau country, Normandy, Brittany,
the Pyrennes and Basque region, the French Alps, Versailles,
Fontainebleau and fabulous Paris. Of course, we think it is
a very versatile and most interesting country. The French
cuisine is to be the best in the world and although we
enjoyed it, we have enjoyed the foods in other countries
just as well and sometimes even better. I've eaten French
onion soup every time it's been on a menu and it has always
been superb. Shopping could be much more fun in France if
you were wealthy, but for ordinary folks like Meredith and
I, it was a thrill to look at the fashionable items and
admire them. We did make a few worthwhile purchases which
included perfume, dolls, antiques and a coat. Would just
love to bring home a French poodle, but since we have
ten-and-a-half more weeks of travel, this desire is
eliminated.
We are both feeling fine and really eager to get into the
Scandinavian countries. We have a few weeks to tour in
Belgium, Netherlands and northern Germany before starting
into Denmark and its neighboring countries of fiords, bays,
beaches and gay people.
Once more I'll close our day-to-day bouts of the hamlets,
towns and cities which we see and visit. I know I don't give
blow-by-blow descriptions, but I'm sure you're getting a
general idea of the many wonderful places we've had the
fortunate pleasure to see. I'm sure we are both gaining a
world of information and knowledge from this magnificent
experience and even though we're both getting anxious to see
the good 'ole U. S. and our friends, we're grateful for our
good health during these many months. We hope all of you are
feeling just as gay and carefree as we are.
Sincerely and with best wishes,
The Neimans
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