White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1931-09-03
Summer Trip Described
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proprietor of the first hotel we tried,
after telephoning four others with no
success, moved out of his own rooms
when Tom told him that the men OF
the party were old "militaires" come
to revisit the battlefields. He was
very jolly and we had an exceedingly
good meal, so we were happy at the
end Of the first day.
"The next day we headed for Nancy,
right across the once devastated re-
gions. But they are amazingly
changed. A few remains Of trenches;
derelict tank or two; and, Of course,
cemeteries. All the graves are well
kept up, but somehow less impressive
than when we first saw them some
years ago. The rest of the day was
uneventless. After looking at the ca
thedral In Loon, lovely little town
clinging to the side Of hill, we pic
nicked by the wayside on cooked
meats, rolls and tomatoes.
after lunch, we began to have more
hills to look at and the long, straight
roads of France were thing of the
past. Nancy like Amiens, is very in
teresting, but after our 295-mile trip
we were too tired to do much sight
seeing and anyway it poured with rain.
1t has done that, may say, every day
but one.
"The next day was Nancy to Freud
ienstadt. We crossed the border into
Germany with the greatest pleasure.
It is lovely country, friendly, helpful
people. From Nancy, through Alsace,
and in the German country, we met
toiling peasants driving ox-carts, the
women working with the men, with the
traditional headgear. Very good faces.
We met crowds of mixers and bicycle
parties, young university boys and
girls, in shorts and sleeveless vests,
burnt dark brown by the sun and SO
alike that you couldn't tell men from
women We crossed the Vosges noun
tains and at the very top had lunch,
which was little blue, blue trout who
looked at us with miserable dead eyes,
and little pigeons, and lovely peas.
Then we went on, and in the evening
we crossed the famous Black Noun
tains, which are the home of all the
fairy stories that ever were. 1t was
very, very lovely going through the
forests. We could see the funny, at
tractive little houses, with .storks
nests, sometimes, on their roofs, for
a while, but soon we were driving
through thick clouds and could see
nothing except the trees and an oc-
casional peasant going home.
"We stopped at Strasburg, which is
on the French side of the Rhine, and
saw the cathedral. We have been
quite dutiful about going to cathedrals
>and so on, and Strasburg was by far
the best we've seen yet. The glass is
quite remarkable and it is dark and
shadowy inside. We all loved it. There
was wait at the border while we
showed passports and papers, and
then, after buying some maps at
shop where, fifty yards across the bor-
der they spoke not word of French,
we started through and across the
mountains
c'Here, as you see, there has been
a lapse of time. There seems to be no
time whatsoever to write, as we are
always in the car unless sightseeing0
"Jakie is dear car, very fast and
reliable. Our cruising speed is fifty,
so long drives do not bother us, since
he is beautifully sprung. We do about
IS miles to the gallon and so far have
passed everything on the road except
Rolls-Royce and at one time Ford.
The Ford was going all out to race
us, however, two buxom maidens egg
ing on Papa and waving to us whenever
they passed or we did. We weren't
racing at all, but even so, touch on
the accelerator and we walked away |
from them on hills. 1t was all very
merry but too emotional so we stopped
and had coffee at a cafe in side
street and let them hurry by, looking |
fur us everywhere.
"Freudenstadt is a sort of spa-a |
health resort. We went out and listen
ed to concert after supper and prom
enaded round and round the square
with the people. They were always |
pleasant and cheerful and loved to
play guessing games as to what we
meant when we tried to talk the Ian
guage. AS matter of fact it is fair
ly easy to pick up, and, for the English,
to understand. I shall make great
effort to learn it this winter because
do dote on the people so. They are
so clean, SO cheerful, and the flaXen-
braided little girls and the tow-headed
little boys are so nice to look at They
work so hard. The lad in one garage
told us that he was there all night |
and all day for thirty marks week.
which is about $500. And the cham
bermaids at hotels are up and about
by six. The beds are huge and made
OF feathers and they hang out OF the
windows to air all and every day when |