| Madam Zebra |
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July 1988
Summer in Europe & Winter in Australia Friday 1st July POSTCARD: TRIER – 'Porta Nigra'
[Written 1st July] We suddenly realised today why this was T’s favourite place in Europe – It is the birth place of Karl Marx!!! B has been in bed for 2 days with flu and a very high temperature (38.5), so she hasn’t been able to accompany me to the sites, which are extremely interesting. There are three intact ancient Roman palaces in Trier, which was the Imperial capital of Gaul and was where emperors Diocletian and Constantine spent their holidays. Quite a lot of red hair and fair skin in Trier. A strange mixture of medieval and baroque with modern industrial development seems to characterize the towns we have visited, although in all none had had close views of pleasing forests and vineyards. Still good weather – watched Wimbledon – sorry to see Cash badly defeated. Saturday 2nd July Sunday 3rd July THE NETHERLANDS Monday 4th July
Holland as we fortunately did NOT see it! Tuesday 5th July Wednesday 6th July Thursday7th July POSTCARD: AMSTERDAM
[Written 8th July] B is now completely better after a day in bed. Our hotel here was absolutely lovely – cosy and quiet next to a canal overhung by beautiful trees. The weather is rather changeable like Melbourne in summer with occasional thunderstorms and a lot of cloud and drizzle. The town itself is very beautiful, extremely obliging and friendly as well (probably more than any other city we have visited). B’s friend took us for a drive in the countryside through some lovely forests and across beautiful grasslands, also along a dyke to the south of the “Rhene” (= Rhein), and to a Poldar, new land excavated from the sea. We have also spent a good deal of time in art galleries here – absolutely fantastic – Stedalijk Modern Art Museum in Amsterdam and Krollermiller Sculpture of Painting Gallery in the middle of a National Park. Friday 8th July DENMARK Saturday 9th July Sunday 10th July POSTCARD 1: COPENHAGEN – 'Tivoli at night'
[Written 10th July] Thank you very much for your letter. Our accommodation here, halfway between Kobenhavn and Helsingor is absolutely magnificent in a lovely sunny room overlooking the beach and sea. Next to us is a beautiful forest of oaks, beeches, elms, ash and hazel. The weather is very idyllic, and the sun seems hardly to move at all – as if time has stopped still. It rises very early (ca. 4am) and sets very late (still light enough to see at 11pm). It was about 24 degrees C here yesterday and probably about the same today. The Tivoli Gardens are the City’s main attraction, an extraordinary melange of beauty, and vulgar sideshows, in a delightful garden which was especially lovely last night lit up by fireworks. B persuaded me against my better judgement to go on a big dipper! Lots of Vikings here – I am a total foreigner amongst all these blondes. A thunderstorm yesterday made me think it might be extremely cold during the Scandinavian winter here, especially with strong wind rushing across the flat Danish countryside from the North Sea. Lots of bougainvillea – how did they manage that???!!! POSTCARD 2: COPENHAGEN – 'Tivoli'
[Written 10th July] They must surely replant it from greenhouses – it won’t grow in Melbourne at all because it is too cold there. We adored Italy – they speak NO ENGLISH AT ALL!!! (especially not in railway stations). B doesn’t speak Italian, but I speak it now. Fluently enough, I might add, to have had some very lengthy and complicated conversations thanks to: 1) its similarities to French; 2) Miss Openheim (she made me learn about 200-300 musical terms in Italian which I have never forgotten); 3) my ear for it, which is probably better than my ear for French – the Italians speak quite slowly of course. Every inch of Italy is a sheer delight, a great adventure. We wished we could have spent longer there. I won’t boast about my German, it was absolutely terrible. We don’t get on at all. Enjoying Scandinavia however. Monday 11th July SWEDEN Tuesday 12th July Wednesday 13th July Thursday 14th July Friday 15th July Saturday 16th July NORWAY Sunday 17th July Monday 18th July Tuesday 19th July Wednesday 20th July Thursday 21st July POSTCARD 1: BERGEN – 'Evening mood at the harbour area Vagen'
[Assume this was written 20th July] I am writing from bed – I caught B's flu virus and had a temperature of 38.4 last night. B had to go off the pill because she was developing varicose veins and is now expecting (about 6 weeks)! In view of this and terrorism in Greece (we nearly booked the “City of Poros” and were going to stay at the “Aura”) perhaps we should consider an earlier return, although it is a bit too soon to be definite. Stockholm was absolutely wonderful – we spent our time with B’s friends at their country house – it never got dark!!!! Light enough to distinguish all colours at midnight. Marvellous forests in Sweden. Oslo mostly a bore. POSTCARD 2: BALESTRAND – 'Sognefjord Norway'
[Written 20th July] This is the Fjord which we saw today and which I am looking at now
whilst writing. My flu is a lot better today although I feel a bit washed out! You can see by the light in this
what I like here – this is the 11pm and 1.30am light I spoke of in my postcard from Sweden, although there it
was much warmer (21 degrees at midnight) and the forest more mysterious. This is very beautiful, but for my
taste I could have preferred to have kept the best – Sweden – till last. The Swedes have a beautiful language
and look to me slightly Slavonic, a little Russian. Their countryside is unimaginably wonderful, and enormous
and wild like our bush. B is feeling and looking pregnant. We prefer the more continental climate of Sweden and
France to the coastal and cold climates of Great Britain and Norway!!! Friday 22nd July Saturday 23rd July AUSTRIA Sunday 24th July Monday 25th July POSTCARD: NORWAY – 'View of lake "Oldevatn"'
[Written 25th July] Oslo airport. We decided to go to Vienna today after all – the cost of staying & altering our timetable was in the vicinity of $3,000 with the huge distances involved and high cost of flying!!! This is a bit like some parts of the Myrdal Fjoord, but our weather was bleak and cold, very uninviting after pastoral and forest country of Sweden where it was 20 degrees all night!!! Tuesday 26th July Wednesday 27th July Thursday 28th July Friday 29th July Saturday 30th July POSTCARD: SALZBURG – 'View to the cathedral, the fortress and the Untersberg (6115 ft)'
[Written 30th July] We reverted to our timetable after a speedy recovery and snap decision – it would have cost $3,000 to go to Stockholm missing our flight!!! Vienna well worth it, utterly sumptuous and magnificent. Lovely music emanating from everywhere there. Salzburg also lovely, but not so much for music as for gorgeous scenery and delightful buildings and old town. A fairy tale city. Also went to nearby Berditesgarden in Bavaria, Eagles Nest (Hitler's place 5,500 feet) down the salt mines and went to 2 convents here. Very enjoyable. Sunday 31st July SWITZERLAND Next: August 1988 |
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