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Newsletter #42 - April 2 to 8, 1960 |
| 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 |