Newsletter #43 - April 9 to 15, 1960
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NewsLetter #43
April 9-15, 1960
Germany, Netherlands & Belgium
Mailed Amsterdam 4/21/60
Recd. Philadelphia 4/25/60
Guten Tag, Heute (Hello Today, in German):
Our second trip up the beautiful Rhine was just about like
our first trip in February except the trees were in blossom
in the orchards and many of the German farmers were working
in their vineyards. The day was cloudy and a heavy mist or
smog seemed to lay on the lovely hills on either side of the
Rhine River. Today [April 9] we continued along the
Rhine beyond Coblenz and went on into Bonn, a very beautiful
city, and the capitol of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Bonn is Important as a commercial and Industrial city and
has a very picturesque area along the Rhine plus being the
birthplace of Beethoven. Here we saw many magnificent
buildings including a Romanesque Cathedral, the House of
Parliament, the Old City Hall (Rathaus), the Poppelsdorf
Castle, which today houses the University, as well as the
many other lovely traditional buildings and homes which date
back to Roman times. Bonn as well as almost all German towns
and villages has lovely promenades and parks which are lined
with trees and well-kept shrubbery.
From Bonn we still drove along the Rhine to Cologne, an
ancient cathedral city which was founded by the Romans in 32
B.C. Much of Cologne is rebuilt as it was badly damaged
during the war, but one famous building, the Cologne
Cathedral, which is the largest Gothic edifice in the world,
was kept intact. This colossal building's foundation dates
from 1248 and the interior with its many wonderful wood
carvings is really a cathedral which should not be missed.
Several other churches such as St. Pantaleon, St. Ursula,
St. Gereon and St. Severin, are in this large city and are
all quite immense. (Forgot to mention we drove through the
city of Remagen, at which place the Remagen Bridge was blown
up during World War II, but not until a sufficient number of
men and equipment got across, which speeded up the success
of the Rhine crossing.)
We also drove through another large city called Dusseldorf,
which is another bustling metropolis in the North Rhine
region and from here we found a hotel in a town nearby
called Krefeld, which is very near to the frontier of
Holland. (We had delicious dinners tonight, which included
Holsteiner, Schnitzels, and the trimmings.)
This A.M. [April 10] it was lovely for about an hour
and then it clouded up for the remainder of the day, so
again no photography, We had our first major difficulty with
customs officers today when two Dutch customs men made us
open the trunk and show what we had in several cartons and,
of course, asked what was in many of the boxes we have in
the back seat of the car, since we really are as full as we
can get. The first city of any size in Holland today was
Nijmegan, an old imperial city and a favorite residence of
Charlemagne. The Valkhof, or Falcon's Court, was the spot
chosen by Charlemagne for his palace, but only a 16-sided
chapel is visible today, as a monument of his residence.
We next drove to Eindhoven, an industrial center which is
dominated by the Philips Electric Lamp Works, and from
Eindhoven we drove to Roermond,
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an interesting city whose Norman Cathedral seems to dominate
the entire landscape. The city of Maastricht, the capitol of
Llmburg Province, was our next stop and this southern
Holland city seems to be wedged between Belgium and Germany
so the residents use three languages and seem to have
unique, multiple customs.
Tonight [April 10] we are staying near Maastricht in a very
popular holiday resort area called Valkenburg, which is only
a small town but it sure is jam-packed with charm and
beauty. It is the home of the famous Valkenburg Grotto as
well as the restored castle stronghold of Mylords of
Fanquemont. Prom Valkenburg we drove to Margraten, where the
only American Military Cemetery in Netherlands is situated,
and it was a shame the sun was not shining, as it was a
beautiful place to behold with its many headstones set in
long graceful curves and the wide tree-flanked mall which
led to the flagstaff which crowned the entire area. We next
returned to Valkenburg and wandered about its streets before
returning to our hotel for dinner.
Tonight [April 11] we are in the wonderful
city of Brussels after spending a very wet and rainy day
wandering over beautiful panoramic views of the Belgium
Ardennes. We left Holland this A.M. and first went to the
city of Liege, a leading industrial center on the banks of
the River Meuse. From here we drove toward Aachen to the
Henri Chapelle Cemetery in Belgium, where the lovely white
marble crosses are arranged In gentle arcs sweeping across a
broad green lawn sloping gently downhill. The chapel and
museum with its long colonnades forms a beautiful picture
overlooking the burial area. On the pylons of the colonnades
the state seals of the states are carved and the names of
450 of the Missing who gave their lives, but sleep in
unknown graves. The site of this cemetery is truly unique as
it is high on a hill which seems to afford an excellent view
from any angle and even in the heavy rain the rolling
Belgian countryside Is gorgeous.
We drove on through the rain to Malmedy, a delightful town
in the beautiful Ardennes which has some very attractive old
mansions, churches and picturesque surroundings. At the
junction of the Malmedy-St. Vith road we stopped to view a
monument erected on the site where the Nazis massacred
approximately 87 American prisoners of war on December 17,
1944. This monument contains the names of these soldiers and
a passage from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address, "That
these men shall not have died in vain." (It was another area
Meredith was very familiar with.): We then drove another 12
miles into St. Vith which is almost an entirely new city, as
Meredith remembers when his outfit came through this area
the town was completely destroyed.
Namur, Belgium, was our next city, which is located at the
junction of the rivers Sambre and Meuse and is dominated by
a hill on which a beautiful citadel was built in the 11th
Century. Namur is a city the size of York and has lovely
parks and flower gardens and when you are above the city
looking down the panoramic view of the Meuse Valley is
really magnificent. Not long after leaving Namur it rained
cats and dogs for about an hour until we arrived in
Brussels, which from first impressions tonight seems to be a
very lovely city.
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This A.M. [April 12] we awakened to sunshine so we
hurried breakfast and began a really strenuous day of
sightseeing and picture-taking in Brussels and its suburbs.
Our first visit was to the Palace of Justice, a huge edifice
of stone which covers about five acres and has a terrific
dome and eight internal courtyards. Prom here we went to the
Square of the Petit Sablon, which was laid out in 1350 in a
most pleasant charming fashion. It is surrounded by a
handsome iron railing in which there are 48 columns carrying
bronze statues which represent the Brussels Trade
Corporation. Behind this square we saw the Egmont Palace and
nearby the beautiful church of Notre Dame des Victoires.
We next went to the Royal Square, which is a sort of Court
of Honor, in classical design and which has several houses
which make a framework of the lovely park which seems to
encircle this area. Nearby we saw the Palace of the Nation,
which is the home of both the Senate and the Chamber of
Deputies and almost opposite to this is the Theatre du Parc;
nearby to this theatre are several classical-styled houses,
one of which was inhabited by Lord Byron. Turning the corner
we came to the Palais Royal with its two 18th Century wings
and the central part dating from 1827, all of which were
enlarged and transformed by Leopold II.
The archway of the Cinquantenaire, which links the buildings
of the Royal Museums of Art and History, was our next treat
and this great triumphal arch was built in 1905 and is a
vary spectacular sight. Both of the museums rank among
Europe's greatest.
We next came to Brussels' architectural jewel which is known
as the Grand Palace. It is a huge square with handsome 17th
Century buildings and a 15th Century Hotel de Ville (Town
Hall). Here you see the medieval "House of the King", as
well as the Guild Houses which were very powerful at one
time and the merchants surely built detailed facades and
were generous with their use of gold leafing. The Town Hall
is topped by a superb 370 foot tower with a 16 foot
Archangel Michael, which swings in the wind as a weather
vane. In the center of this fabulous Grand Palace the flower
market was in progress, which added to the beauty of this
unique place. Nearby we visited the well-known little statue
of Manneken Pis, the most popular citizen of Brussels and
the one disappointing feature of Brussels, as far as I was
concerned.
Other places of interest which we saw and visited were the
Atomium and the few remaining buildings of the Brussels
World Fair held in 1958; the Centenary Palace; the Japanese
Tower; The King's House; the Congress Column; the Palace of
the Academies; the Museum of Modern Painting; the Museum of
Natural Sciences; the Anglo-Belgian Memorial; the Basilica
of the Sacred Heart; the Collegiate Church of St. Michael
and St. Gudula; the Church of St. Marie; and the many
monuments and statues throughout different areas of this
medieval city. This city is divided into an upper and lower
town, the upper part houses the Royal Palace, the splendid
museums and handsome residences, while the lower town has
the majority of the ancient buildings and narrow streets. It
is a most interesting city with its fine parks, its
tree-lined boulevards and its wide public squares and one we
will always remember.
Today [April 13] we left Brussels and before
arriving in Holland we went through Malines or Mechelen,
which is located on the River Dyle and was once the famous
lace and tapestry making center, as well as the weaving of
Flemish cloth. Flemish tapestries are world famous. It is
also famous
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for its cathedral of St. Rombold with its superior carillon
in its massive bell tower. A feature of the city is its
unique school for carillon players. Two other cathedrals of
this city have famous Rubens paintings, one the "Adoration
of the Magi" and the other "The Miraculous Draft of Fishes."
Going into Holland we encountered no customs difficulty as
we had previously and our first town of interest was Breda,
which was once an ancient stronghold. Here we saw the lovely
"Groote Kerk", a church of the lath Century which is an
unusual example of Gothic-Brabantine style with a belfry
containing 45 bells.
We then drove through the charming towns of Rosendaal with
its many large aristocratic homes and then Bergen of Zoom,
Goes and Middelburg, where we are staying overnight as we
want to see their famous Thursday Market, when the quaint
charm of this town the size of Red Lion is heightened, as
native costumes are worn by some of the rural inhabitants.
This town is the capitol of the province of Zeeland, located
on the island of Walcheren and it has scarcely changed in
the last 300 years, although it was badly damaged during the
war.
Today [April 14] was sunny, so we went to the market
in Middelburg and saw quite a few women dressed in their
local costumes, which is an outfit very similar to what the
Lancaster County Amish women wear, except their hats are
quite unusual. I tried to purchase one in the town but they
are not sold as the women make their own and we would have
had to pay at least $20 U.S. money. (They really are
unusual.) I figured they would be about $5 but I realized
after looking them over more critically that they are made
of an exquisite cutout work, like Italian outwork or eyelet.
The only type Dutch hat you can purchase is the Volendam
style, but thus far we've seen at least twelve different
types of headdress depending upon the province.
We left this market town about noon and drove through the
city of Goes which is the center of a rich fruit growing
area. In this town we saw some women in their native
costumes and most of them wore the traditional wooden shoes
called Klompen. (All the farmers work in their Klompen and
in front of farm houses you often see several pairs standing
on the doorsteps.) We next drove to Gouda, which is a city
famous for its cheese as well as its candles and pipes. This
city contains some interesting ancient architecture as well
as an abundance of natural beauty. Here we saw the famous
church of St. John, the interesting town hall and the
Weighing House, which is used on Thursday for the cheese
market. From Gouda we drove to Rotterdam where we plan to
stay for a few days as we want to go to the International
Flower Show, which is continuous from March 25 to September
25, 1960.
Rotterdam is certainly a very interesting city which is
practically entirely rebuilt as it was destroyed in 1940. It
is Holland's second largest city and the largest port in
Europe which has at least 150 shipping lines which link
Rotterdam with foreign lands and is the gateway to Germany
along the Rhine. As a result of the bombing in May 1940 only
the City Hall, the Central Post Office and the Exchange
Building escaped complete destruction, while 24,978 homes;
2,393 shops, and stores; 1,483 offices; 1,212 factories; 675
warehouses; 26 hotels,; 21 churches; 12 cinemas and other
buildings were destroyed. (I mention these from an article I
read which sounds almost unbelievable.) The city is still
being
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reconstructed but there are so many lovely boulevards,
stores, office buildings, etc., of the most modern Dutch
architecture and engineering that it hardly seems possible
they could have rebuilt it so soon. It surely is a symbol of
the heart, courage and industriousness of the Dutch people.
We visited all the new, very modern monuments: "The Monument
for a Devastated City"; "The Ship's Bow", a monument to the
men of the Dutch Merchant Marine who died in World War II,
the War Memorial near the City Hall; "Mister John', "The
Woman Athlete" and many others suitably placed in different
sections of this city of 726,200 people. We saw the
Waalhaven Dock, the Wholesalers Building, which is the
largest building in Western Europe, as well as the
"Floriade", the International Flower Show, which was
spectacular. We walked among flowers and lovely gardens for
hours and visited Gardens of different Nations which were
set up and contributed by different countries — U.S. being
one. It is similar to our last New York World's Fair with
cars to take you about the grounds and a "Euromast" as the
central feature, which is a tall tower structure built in
the shape of a ship's mast. The top will accommodate 900
people at a time and from its height you get fantastic views
of the entire "Floriade" as well as of Rotterdam and its
terrific harbor. Besides the many acres of tulip, hyacinths,
daffodils, etc. and the magnificent fountains, lakes and
gardens, there is a huge building display of arrangements
and every type of plant in the world, plus flowers and
plants from the Bible. I cannot begin to mention the many
displays, but I can tell you the entire city has the theme
"Flowers" and it is like a Garden of Eden, with every vacant
spot arranged with color and flowers in an artistic manner.
Today [April 15] was "Good Friday" and we must admit
it's the most beauty we've ever seen on any "Good Friday" in
our entire lives. This also happens to be the end of another
newsletter week with only nine more newsletters to write.
Wish I could elaborate on everything we've been fortunate
enough to view in the past ten months, but it would give me
writer's cramp and more hours of time each night, which I
really need to rest my eyes, as they seem to run from right
to left on the road each day like I was watching a tennis
match. (By the way, we had another flat tire today, which
makes our sixth.)
We are still fine and have as much enthusiasm and pep as
when we started last June, since lately we get at least a
few hours of sunshine each day, which seems to give us more
real incentive. Until we write again tomorrow,
Our regards and best wishes to all,
Meredith and Charlotte
P.S.:
Thanks one and all for
the many lovely Easter Greetings, as well as the batch of
letters we received in Brussels this past week,
M&C
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