Stanford Student Letters and Memoirs

March 26, 1960

Hi, folks-

Dave and I have finally found some spare time to do a bit of the typing for George that has truly stacked up in the past few weeks.

We thought these two subjects particularly interesting in a general way and only hope we can talk further with him about all of this when he gets home.

Meanwhile, he has spent a lovely long weekend in the Black Forest area of Germany and, at the present time, is bicycling through Germany- up to Bremen- over into The Netherlands (The Hague, Amsterdam etc) and then bak [back] into western Germany and along the Rhineriver (including a stop at Heidelberg) and back to the Burg by April 4th. They are loving every bit of it- even going uphill hasn't been too much for them I gather- and feel that they are getting a wonderful close-up view of the countryside they are covering. Later the group goes to East Berlin on a tour and to Luxembourg.

In a few days- maybe even tomorrow- I will be here at the typewriter again and will have some specific news of this trip for all of you.

I know there are probably more than the usual number of errors in this typing job- blame it on my lack of German, or just industrial fatigue. Just hope that you can guess what I could have written had I not made these typographical errors.

Dave and Lo

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a bottle to take back to the burh with us to share with Dr. Boerner since he helped us plan our trip and is anyway a generally great guy.

March 28th

Sunday we had a few more mile of the rugged Rhine to Rudesheim, then mostly flat slightly rolling country on into Weisbaden and across to Mainz. The most interesting incident was in passing Bingen where there is a stretch of shallows and very dangerous water. Just about the time we rode by a large barge had run aground and damaged its rudder, tying up traffic behind it as effectively as a big accident on the Bay Bridge. We stopped for about a half hour to watch as the damaged ship drifted carefully backward through the line of companion vessels to find safe anchorage for repairs. Then slowly the waiting boats moved single file cautiously thru [through] the narrow safe water channel. While all this was going on we fired a constant line of questions to an old man standing beside us, and in that half hour we learned a lot of river lore. Once again, traveling by bike and thus seeing so much more of what we pass, and speaking German, made possible the sort of experience which is inaccessible to the average traveler.

In getting into Mainz, we went first to see the cathedral- a sort of white elephant of several architectural styles- built of soft pink marble, and yet to me pleasing in spite of its mixed style. Unfortunately the inside is closed for restoration so we had to miss that part. After stopping briefly to see a monument to Johannes of Guttenburg (who was born and prited [printed] his famous book here in Mainz) we rode on out here to the hostel which is situated on a hill above the Rhine near where the Mainz flows is. It is large (300 beds) and modern ut there were only four of us here last night so it was sort of family style.(

Today is again sunny and beautiful and we are leaving soon to bike on to the city of Worms then on to Heidelberg and mail again!!!!!!!!! where we stay all day Wednesday too. From there probably 3 days back to Beutelsbach. I am glad we have cut our daily travel down to about 50 kilometers. It makes about 6 hours leisurely biking and time to stop and see things. And at night I am still plenty tired to sleep well and the muscles seem to remember each morning that they worked the day before. We were really put to shame last night to learn that one of the fellows staying here came yesterday by bike, a distance by his route of 120 miles, and part of it pretty hilly country too. The day before he had gone from Munich to Stuttgart- so by German standards out [our] efforts are fairly small time as you can see. Of course, we are each carrying about 30 pounds of baggage to weight us down.

March 30th

Another three full days have gone by since I wrote from Mainz and in 3 more we will be back in Beutelsbach. It has been quite a trip- very interesting and much fun but we will both be glad to get back to the burg and see everyone again, and to return to hot showers, really clean clothes, three hot meals a day though our cold ones have been terrific and fun too. We are staying tonight at the hostel in Everbach, between Heidelberg and Heilbronn on the Neckar river. The ride along the Neckar is the last leg of our journey, taking us as far as Ludwigsburg (near Stuttgart) for Friday night. From there we will ride to Beutelsbach Sat morning, probably stay with the

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Krauters Sat night since the burg isn't open until Sunday night.

Monday was a magnificent day- much more interesting than we had expected. In the first place it was warm and sunny so that by 9:30 we had our jackets off and spent the rest of the day in our shirt sleeves- spring weather for sure. The countryside between Mainz and Worms is almost completely flat. Much like the San Joaquin valley except that it much greener here. Mostly large farmlands, lots of truck crops. We followed along the Rhine to Oppenheim, there took a short break to walk through the side streets. Here we left the river, following the highway, straight as an arrow southward to Worms. Here the Rhine comes back to meet it. With the help of a nice tailwind we helped the 50 kilometers to Worms in 2 1/2 hpurs [hours]- arriving at noon. We bought some supplies, found a small park for lunch, then stretched out on the grass in the sunshine for a lazy 45 min. doze- Ah. The lazy life of a traveling student.

Fully relaxed and refreshed, we set out to see a little of the city. Worms is the oldest in Germany dating from some time before the Roman occupation of the area about the time of Christ. It has been a royal city and a Bishop's seat, has a long and rich history. But of course, most of this cannot be seen in architecture etc. so its visual impact is something less than its historical significance. We saw a fine monument to Martin Luther and his fellow battlers in the Reformation. Remember, his trial took place in Worms. Sculptures of the main leaders with the pedestals containing the seals of several German cities, scenes from Luther's life and some of his most remembered sayings. Also nearby are ruins of the old Roman walls of the city and, very close to these, the city's cathedral. This last was unfortunately badly damaged in the many wars of the past 200 years but is now quite well restored. Especially from the outside it is very beautiful, in particular the sculptured figures at the sides and above on the main entrance- Gothic period and very striking. Reminded me of those on the Fraunkirch in Nuremberg.

Inside the cathedral is sort of a cluttered display of the salvaged sculpture of the original church dating from about 1000. Too crowded to appeal to my simpler tastes. The altar is especially ornate and bold, high baroque.

Having seen the most interesting part of Worms by about 4:15 and having heard that morning that the stretch from Heidelberg to Heilbronn, would be rough biking, we decided to go on further for the night. So we headed east across the flat valley toward Bensheim- actually to Eppenheim, where there is a youth hostel. These towns lie at the foot of a range of high hills (in Germany they are considered mountains) which run north and south from Darmstadt to Heidelberg. As we came across the valley toward Heppenheim, the mountain came into view and, on one of the very highest right above the town stood a tall tower, the ruins of an old fortress. Sure enough, further inquiry indicated that the youth hostel was in this tower on top of the hill so, after 70 kilometers biking, we finished off the day with a 45 minute clontain climb, pushing our bikes up the road to the hostel but it was surely well worth the effort for the view in every direction was breathtaking- out over the large valley to the Rhine, back into the small valleys in the hills, across to other nearby wooded crests, down to the roofs of Heppenheim.

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After a huge dinner from our pqcks [packs], we went out again after dark to walk through the fortress and look out at the lights of all the villages, a light breeze carrying sounds from miles away through the still night.

Yesterday morning we rode the 27 kilometers along the foot of the hills into Heidelberg. All along the way we passed countless blossoming fruit trees, with flowers of pink, green, yellow and the light green new leaves. It was a rainbow of color on a sunny day. It was fairly easy riding and we were in Heidelberg by 11 AM. After dropping our gear off at the hostel we went by the Railroad station to buy the week's Time magazine and then to the American express to get mail. Then we went to the university mensa (cafeteria) for another good inexpensive 30c hot lunch, and off to walk around the old part of town. By far the most interesting was the famous Heidelberg "schloss" (There is no good one-word translation though castle is often given. The combination palace-fortress is as close as I can some) It is mostly the huge baroque palace with statues and colums [columns] sculptured into walls. But the palace is built within the remains of the medieval fortress, With round turret towers, moat, and stone bridges etc. Around it are beautiful gardens with the trees just showing their brightest spring green.

From the castle terrace there is a full view out over Heidelberg and you can begin to appreciate how beautifully situated it is. It is right at the beginning of the valley of the Neckar and the city is built only in the bottom of the valley, the hills above remaining thick with lush green forest. It is rwally [really] a perfect, romantic setting for a city, with the river winding back into the hills out of sight.

Coming down from the castle, we located part of the old university, wandered around the old part of town and then had dinner at the mensa and returned to the hospital to wash clothes and write and read before bedtime.

This morning we awoke to gray overcast skies and, by 11 AM, we were having the first real rain of our trip which is pretty lucky for this early in the year. We spent the morning wandering again, watched a couple of ships going through the river locks where a spillway changes the height of the Neckar about 6 feet, then back to the old university to see the student prison.

This was really an interesting experience. It consists of about 6 or 7 small rooms in the main old university building, set off by barred door and windows, simply furnished with a wood table, 2 wood chairs, 2 beds. The prison was used from about 1720 to about 1914 to hold, for a few days each, students who were drunk, rowdy, fighting etc; the most interesting feature is the collection of verses, sayings, signatures, and self portraits which were painted on the walls, layer over layer, by the "residents" over the 200 years. They were often quite witty and their general tone suggested that being in the prison was more of a lark than a general disaster.

After lunch at the mensa again, we went back to the hostel to pack up, put on raincoats and begin the journey up the Neckar. We didn't know what sort of country to expect since the river is smaller and more winding than the Rhine. But it turned out that the road was flat and smooth, followed right along the river, and we made the 33 kilometers to Eberbach before 5 PM. And with raincoats the rain was no great bothet either, thank goodness. The

Cambridge before going on to Stanford- Economics seminar is my class from him.

April 4th

In talking with the other kids I find that, between us, we really covered the continent except perhaps Scandinavia where it is too cold. The most interesting trip in the long run will probably be the group of 14 that went to Russia. They had a really fascinating, sovering view of the zealous work of the people to build a new Utopia. and of the loss of freedom and individual creativity and welfare that accompanies this eager submission to the glory of the materialistic state.

As I think back over our own trip, I don’t discover any such tremendous intellectual experiences- our was more an eclectic assembly of several bebefits to lesser degree. We saw a tremendous amount of scenery and much more interesting countryside from our bicycles- much more thoroughly than you could from train or car-forming impressions that should last much longer. We also saw several large cities: Amsterdam, Cologne, Heidelberg and many many more of the small villages than the auto traveler ever does. We saw some excellent paintings and a variety of architecture from medieval fortresses to the Cologne cathedral to modern Rotterdam. We spoke with a few people at length, though fewer than those on the burg who hitch-hiked. mostly hostel fathers and got much good practice for our German. We biked about 800 kilometers- 500 miles- averaging about 60 a day and took the train for about 1300 more. We spent about $56.pp apiece, including about #24.00 for train ticket which is really cheap living for three weeks in two countries as well as we ate. And, not least important, we spent most of our time in the healthy outofdoors- built new leg muscles and got suntanned and windtoughened faces, and feel good and healthy. And we can tell our children that we once took a bike trip around Europe, so all in all it was a pretty worthwhile I think.

You might be interested in the general outline of this quarter. Classes are:

World Literature of Renaissance and Reclamation period- Dr. Whittaker International Economics – Advance seminar because I have already taken Econ 1 – Dr. Tarshus. German.

The main trips and dates:

April 14-18- Easter in Paris. April 26-May 2nd- Berlin- group trip May 16-19 (not definite) Group trip to Luxembourg to study European economic community of coal and steel, problems of European integration. June 3-7 Five days in Vienna June 8th and 9th- finals June 10- Finish papers and pack and Goodbye party June 11th- See you at the Airport!!!!!!!