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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1963-12-12, Page 3• • R�caIi/Europ.ean Tour Highiights Mr. and Mrs. R. R. McKindsey, who recently returned from a tour of England and Europe, have received a copy of a diary which the party maintained dur- ing the trip. The tour, arranged by the Canadian Pharmaceutical Asso- ciation, left Melton by air on August 30, Excerpts from the diary fol- lows: "The ride from the Airport provided our first introduction to London suburbia—beautiful front yards with clusters of flowers, walled in by low brick walls along the sidewalk. Eng- lishmen are reputed to be ex, cellent gardeners and evidences of this appeared in the con- tinuously changing patterns as .we drove from block to block. Driving on the left side of the street—to Canadians the "wrong" side, was not only a novel but an unnerving experi- ence. We found it somewhat difficult to relax with streams of traffic heading towards us on our right. This, however, was our first adjustment and intro- duction to English customs. Evi- dently this habit stems from early times when robbers crept up on travellers. By walking or riding on the left side of the toad, a traveller could reach for his sword more easily in de- fence. London is full of historical sites, far too numerous to men- tion here. However, the tours arranged for us covered the most important points of inter- est for the length of time we had. I would rank them in their order of importance as follows: (a) The- Tower: This is the oldest monument in London. Here we saW Roman masonry built in A.D. 56-100. The Tower is a Norman fortress of many towers and grim memories. One could spend hours here visiting countless historical attractions dating back to the eleventh cen- tury. (b) Westminster Abbey: Here all English monarchs, except Edward V and Edward VIII, have been crowned since Wil- liam the Conqueror (1066) and many are buried here. It is much the same today as it was in the thirteenth century. In the nave are the tombs of Ten- nyson, Dickens, Chaucer and other illustrious servants of the state. One could spend hours reading the inscriptions on tombs, memorials and monu- ments while exploring this Ab- bey, the beautiful stone relic of medieval life in England. (c) St. Paul's Cathedral: Built by Sir Christopher Wren, this Cathedral replaces the edifice destroyed in the great fire of 1666. St. Paul's was finished in 1710. Among its many memor- ials are the tombs of Welling- ton and Nelson. (d) Hampton Court: Here Henry VIII lived with all his wives. Once again, beautiful gardens, priceless tapestries really impressed with a daylight tour of the city. We saw again and furniture and more his- tory. Other points of interest around London included Buck- ingham Palace, a boat trip down the Thames to Greenwich, up the Thames Valley by• bus to Runnymede, Windsor Castle, Eton College. Oxford, Stratford - on -Avon and Ann Hathaway's cottage presented another tour. London is not just any large, historical and charming city, but a symbol, a symbol of cour- age and determination. As Big Ben chimed out the hour, we were reminded of evenings some 20 years ago when these same chimes came across the ocean followed by a familiar, ominous message: "This is Lon- don calling! The Nazi bombers came over in wave after wave tonight. As I speak to you the sky is bright with the fires—but the people of London are de- termined to defend the city with their lives." In Yorkmin- ster Cathedral a proud and use- ful memorial stands to commem- orate the heroism of the Air Force with this inscription: "They went through the air and space without fear and the shining stars mark their shin- ing deeds." Yes, London, all of England, is full of history and it is im- possible to write about its beau- ty without referring to its glory. On the Continent The Continent! What excite- ment, fun and laughter, mixed with breathtaking scenery, his- tory, and all the glamour we'd dreamed of. As our bus passed out of Boulogne, we saw evidence of the heavy bombing of the past war. Lunch at Pierrot gave us our first experience with French francs and delectable French .pastries. As we continued to Paris we passed through beauti- ful fertile country, "quaint French towns, many orchards, and finally reached our Hotel Lux. The screams of laughter echoing up and down the stair well proclaimed the discovery of the Bidet in each room. "A bus tour by night," eagerly looked forward to, turned out to be a tour of Paris to look at the important buildings cleaned and floodlit by the or- ders of DeGaulle. Four of our party had arranged for tickets ahead and did get to a real Paris night club. The rest of us.real- ly felt. our trip was worthwhile when we saw the beautiful light- ing of Notre Dame Cathedral, and the fountains by the Eiffel Tower—the trademark of Paris —which were truly a fantasy of beauty. We finished up with a visit to the colorful village of Montmarte, its little streets lin- ed with cafes, artists' pictures for sale, and Sacre-Coeur, the oriental -looking church of white stone, dominating Paris. Paris in Daylight The next morning we were the Place d'Bastille, the site of the old prison built by Charles the First, 1370-1382, and de- stroyed by the revolutionary mob in 1789. In the centre of the square is the column of Juillet with its symbol of Lib- erty, erected by Louis Phillipe in 1840, to commemorate the Revolution. We passed the Ho- tel d'Ville and stopped at the Place de la Concorde, the sight of the bloody guillotine during the revolution. The Obelisk of Luxor, a gift from Mohammed Ali, rises 90 feet high between the fountains in the centre of the square, and the statues all around represent the main towns of France. The Louvre was pointed out, the world's most famous art museum. Built originally as a fortress by Phil- lipe Auguste, it was converted to a -palace by Charles the Fifth, rebuilt and added to by succeed- ing monarchs. This is the home of Mona Lisa and major collec- tions of every school of paint- ing and sculpture. After pass- ing the Jardin de Tuileries, the most beautiful gardens in Paris, we continued down the Avenue de I'Opera with the magnificent Opera House at the end, the largest theatre in the world. We saw Rue de la Paix of dress- making and jewel shop fame. A drive down the Champs Elysee two and a half miles long brought up to the Arc d'Tri omphe. Built by Napoleon as a monument honoring the Frenc Army, it stands at the junctio of twelve avenues, and the scul pturing on it commemorate Napoleon's victories. Under the Arc is the tom of the French Unknown Soldier marked by an eternal flame The Hotel des Invalides, fount ed by Louis the Fourteenth a an old soldiers' home, contain the tomb of Napoleon and Loui the Sixteenth. We bought souv enirs and took pictures in the centre of the long tree -line avenue from l'Ecole Militaire where Napoleon received hi commission, to the Eiffel Towe built in 1887 for a world ex position. We reluctantly left Paris fo a drive to Fountainebleau, great palace 25 miles southeast, dating from the twelfth cen- tury, and full of memories of the court. It was a favorite resi- dence of Napoleon. We had lunch in the square in front, of the gates. On the way to Dijon we saw picturesque vil- lages nestled in deep valleys, thick forests, and many vine- yards since we were passing through the wine - producing country of Champagne and Bur- rgundy. In Sens we saw the old- est Cathedral in France, built in 1130. We followed the river Yvonne, saw many clumps of mistletoe on tree branches, drove by the Burgunday Canal, and twelve miles from Dijon saw the monument to the battle of Strasbourg. Our stop at Dion was the Terminus Hotel, and here after dinner we had the unforgettable incident of the husband who got lost in somebody's bathtub. A friend trying to help his wife locate him, found all rooms on the tour listed under "LeRoy", so they had to visit LeRoy after LeRoy until by elimination he was found. The next morning someone bought a cow bell to hang around his neck, and the bus rocked with jibes and laugh- ter. h n s b s s s d s r r a top of Mount Kerengberg, ovdr 7,000 feet above sea level, oy. erlooking deep green Lake Wfl ei see in the valley below. Our coffee break was at the St. Anton ski resort. Ott the way down we noted the religious paintings on so many of the Austrian houses, and were again impressed with the multitude of flowers in boxes on the bal- conies. We passed the unique Trisanna bridge over which trains from Italy, Austria and Germany all have to pass, and the rivers Rosanna and Tris- anna meet underneath. At Lan- dec we were only 50 miles from Italy and all longed for several extra days to visit Italy too. We arrived at Innsbruck, founded in 1118, a Gothic city set on the Inn River, at the foot of the majestic Nordkette Range. See Oldest Clock Away again at 7:30 a.m., on a warm sunny day, we drove past numerous vineyards and the wine producing town of Dole. Here we sa a house where Louis Pasteu ived and produced many of his experi- ments. After Pontarlier we en- tered Switzerland, the winter sports capital of the world, the country that means mountains, watches, and chocolates to most of us, a country too, of match- less scenery, centuries old towns and traditions. We saw Neuchatel, a wine -producing town on Lake Neuchatel, and famous for its University. It was fascinating to see through- out the country the barns and houses built side by side as one. building, many with a tunnel into the barn roof so they could enter the house when the snow is deep. The houses are laden with flower boxes overflowing with red geraniums, and often the barns too, as well as front yards full of flowers. The towns are well kept and the streets clean. We stopped at Berri for lunch, the lovely unique Capital of Switzerland, and one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe. We admired the oldest clock in Switzerland, and The famous fountains of Bern as well as the Bear Pits. After lunch as we drove through the mountains, we were shown camouflawed rocks concealing gun positions used for defense purposes, and metal plates in the road hiding explosives. Ev- ery available foot of land in Switzerland is used for farming. The farms on the steep sides of the mountains were a con- stant source of wonder. It seem- ed impossible that men and horses could. keep their footing to work the land. We stopped at Lucerne for two hours to shop for watches and sightsee. Lake Lucerne is one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe, and we all walked over Chapel Bridge, the covered bridge with its water tower, which crosses the river diagonally at Lucerne and contains 112 paintings of local history. On our way again we passed the Swiss Chapel er- ected in memory of Quech As- trid killed in a motor accident at that spot, then arrived at Hotel Urnerhof, Fluellen, at 9 p.m. Ready to leave by 7:30 a.m., we had a delightful trip on Lake Lucerne. We saw the Devil's Cathedral with its echoes, the Museum on the spot where Switzerland was founded, the William Tell Chapel, and the natural monument to F. Schiller the author of the play, William Tell. The bus met us and we were on our way again for a breathtaking drive through the Alps, with a rest stop at the w)pIA.' wrwry rrr i rwr�lw �•' ri .t.•.. •w. . . .wig,�rlr;�r;rr;W,U;.+.1rerk CLEARING 0 T r asionswaraw DOORS -- TOOLS HARDWARE SASH LUMBER TRIM PLYWOOD PAINT Seaforth Lumber Ltd. Beautiful Churches In the morning we were giv- en till 11:30 to shop or to go up an. inclined railway to• the top of one of the mountains nearby. Then we were on our way again, passing through the Marie Theresa Archway built in memory of her husband, King Leopold, who died two weeks after their wedding. As we left Innsbruck we stopped at the Church of the Four Columna, Wilten Basilica, a truly beauti- ful church, Across the road we could see the Olympic ski jump constructed for the 1964 Win- ter Olympics to be held at'Inns- bruck. We passed the Univers- ity of Innsbruck backed by tow- ering mountains travelling be- side the Inn River, over the See- feld Pass, the second highest in Austria, where we had a won- derful view of the Inn Valley. At the top we saw the Seefeld Ski Resort where •many of the Olympic Games will be held. After passirig through Scharn- itz we crossed the German fron- tier, and stopped for lunch at Mittenwald. Here we visited a violin shop and were shown how violins are made. In the afternoon we travelled through Upper Bavaria and at Garnisch saw the ski jump op- ened by Hitler at the Olympics before the last World War. We now noticed Turkish domes on the church towers, a reminder of the days the Turks occupied this territory. In Germany the house and barn built as a single unit is still found, but more often the barn was behind the house rather than beside it as in Switzerland. In several vil- lages Bavarian Maypoles stood in the square. The land now be- came fairly flat and all under cultivation. Our afternoon stop was at Hirschburg Alm and here again a Herron got in the Damen door. Oxen were seen working in the fields as we drove along the fringe of the Black Forest. We joined the Autobahn, built by Hitler be- fore the last war, and which runs 2,000 miles across Germ- any. The Autobahn Chapel with its glass front showed the can- dlesburning for the people kill- ed on its super highway. After dinner at the Ulmer Spatz Ho- tel, Ulm, Terry took us for a walk down to the Danube and showed us the old part of the town. Here it was not trains that kept the light sleepers awake, but church bells that rang every 15 minutes right h'> side the hotel. Sample Beer Our usual 6:15 a.m. call had us on the bus by 7:30. Before we left, everybody made a quick visit to the church Mun- ster Zu Ulm, which has the highest steeple in the world. On the Autobahn again it was very foggy for the first hour, then cleared before we reached Heidelberg and saw the famous Heidelberg University. Our two free hours for lunch and shop- ping found most of us eating at Perkeo's, where the lion roars every time a new keg of Neer is opened, and of course it roared while we were there! On our way again we crossed the Rhine and passed through Mainz which was almost com- pletely demolished in the last war. Here we saw an old Cath- edral built in 1009 and parts of the old wall and watch towers. Printing was invented here. From here on, terraced vine- yards covered the slopes of the mountains and there were many castles. This was a very beauti- ful trip along , the Rhine, through a series of wine pro- ducing towns, the houses built tight together so they formed walled fortifications with watch towers, built between them at intervals. We stopped across from Lorelei Rock for coffee, and the ladies bought Hummel figurines, then continued on to Boppard where we had a won- derful trip on a chair -lift to the top of a mountain. Vine- yards stretched out beneath us and we had a perfect view of the Rhine and its valley. We continued on to Koblenz, through the Moselle and Rhine country, apd stayed at the Ho- tel Hohenhtaufen. In the eve- ning we all went to the Wain- dorf Wine Garden to dance and sample the native wines. Build New Dams The next morning we follow- ed the Moselle Valley, noting the new dams being built to speed up the flow of the river, and thus enable it to be re- opened as a trade ,route. There were still many vineyards and castles as we made our way to- ward Luxembourg, a Dukedom lying between Prance, Germany and the Netherlands. By this time we had iltite an orchestra Oft the busy With Si>rrlss cow bells, *TIT HMQN Ammo 190. ..1 .J.-� .1 .1 1 .1 ..1 .:1 ..&-4 .1, .1 :1 :.1 1..`1:.1 -:1 1 1 -. Lead a booti-ful life and give a gift from MacDonald's. You'll find styles for the whole family. - SLIPPERS from $1.98 to $4.95 Ulu !' io.. fl FELT BOOTS L -Three Styles All Felt, Felt with Leather Foxing; Felt with leather sole — PAIR RUBBER BOOTS FOR THE FAMILY featuring Hood, Minor and Import Brands . MacDONALD SHOES Factory To Feet M . M . -r .. `, y, . 4. .4 4 .. 'n . -4 y, .'.. . '� .: ..y . ,S... '•.. Y... {y *u rr Save Shu Money M. 4..4.. 4. 4..y.. 4. ".. • ..M . S. .. 4...y.. 4.. 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