The Washington times., 1932-07-07


falls or the stormest lakes but merely natural compost
tions of water and meadows and few cows. have
been doing just that during the past few days in one
of the advertised and most peasurabe tours in the
world the tour through southern Sweden, by way OF
the Gotta Canal Even the name of this journey seems
deliberately chosen to off tourists, for canal
suggests sluggish trip, muddy waters and straight
lines. The Gotta Canal is system OF waterways In
cluding rivers and vast lakes with locks and few
stretches of canal to connect the mort attractive portions
Not Modern
1t u.s. of course very unmodern to take pleasure in the
sight of black and white standing knee deep IN
the river looking with the perpetual wonder and aim
lessness of all cows, stupidity at you. Yet, combined
with tall river grass and bright green meadows and
warm soil turned by the plow and little white churches
In the distance, the genuinely pleasing. And
where the river and there place for cows
because the trees coming into the windows OF the
compact little steamer and you by old bridges with
inch to spare either sde the vaule of simplicity
becomes pretty high.
Swedes in a Hurry
The Swedes themselves underestimate their virtues
A business man in Gothenberg (the chief port of the
country told me that he would take the canal trip
when he was hundred years DID, Ut takes three days
to get to Stockholm if you by the canal all the way;
by train it is six hours.) Perhaps ne was Trying
to make an ever-hurrying American feel at home but
Ifooed him. because refused to hurry and spent'two
days on the waterways.
The isolation of this trip perfect. You could by
prearrangement get kilograms, suppose, but if you
have done nothing to spoil it for yourself the trip cuts
you off from newspapers, letters, telephones, world
events domestic accidents and everything IN the
modern world except air, wind, sunlight, food and
drink. When you reach Stockholm you resume
contact with all the other things, if you WISH On the
trip, you RELISH you do nowhere else in modernzed
Europe the pleasure of being cut off from the world
in complete comfort.
Sackened Speed
The pleasure is all the greater because it is new.
Most holidays, if you judge by the appearance OF the
people who enjoy them, merely repetition OF
everyday life at higher speed. People go to Europe
to drink (and better) cocktails at places
with people, to stay out longer at night clubs
(because they have appointments the next day., to
rush around with noise and hurry than ever be-
FORE (Im not saying anything against this method;
there's lot of fun in it The other kind of holiday
speeding up Get canal boat and you have moth
ing to do for fortyeght hours; you have to
except your companions and hurry about seeing
them; the view changes but if you miss forward you
can go back and get it there. If the fun of going
through series of locks peases you another series
is coming in hour two.
Food Is Serious
On the boats elsewhere in Sweden, the only
serious business eating On Continental trains they
give you good food and figure that they complete
a service in forty-five minutes; on the Gotta Canal
magnificent and endless hors doeuvres of the Swedes
are reduced for lack of space to miserable fifteen
or twenty varieties. After that side table, are the
small, warm Dishes of the menu card meat balls,
scrambled eggs and creamed sweetbreads If you take
these in abundance, being ignorant of the language
you are in for pretty SURPRISE they are only fore
runners After have eaten all of them the prin-
cpal meat of lunch is served After that it is per-
maps, as we'll to walk two three miles, You have
ample time. The canal steamer makes the distance as
slowly you do and then stops to 90 through seven
locks so you can have tea before you embark again