There is never a dull moment here

May 25, 1954

Well, here it is 0730, and I have been up since 0500.  They came banging on the door because we had to turn in all of our script.  They are changing it.  The same thing happened yesterday morning at 0630 because Willie decided that I should get up and eat breakfast!!!

We had some excitement Sunday morning.  One of the colored boys [I hate when she does this] came through the gate about 0400 and they took up his pass.  Well he knew he had had it because he was court martialed last week, so he went gunning for the members of the court and the gate guard.  He went down to Service Company with a sparrow in one hand and a knife in the other. [A sparrow??  A bird?? Or is that Army code for something else?] He woke up the boy on duty and told him that the door to the supply room was open.  While the boy went to close it, the colored boy took the keys to the arms room and got a carbine.  When the other boy came back there was the sparrow with his head cut off. [So turns out it was a bird.  I wonder what the significance was?  Sounds very Mafia-like.] The colored boy went down to the ammo dump, tied up the guard there with the telephone wire, took an ammo truck loaded with 90 mm shells, and drove through the gate on the wrong side.  When the guard came out (the wrong one too), he shot him.  Then he started chasing the CG.  The guard was moaning, so he just pumped a round in him from head to foot.  Then he started toward the guard house.  Don Goellner was OD.  He climbed out a back window and went around through the gate and started firing just as the colored boy was firing through the door of the guard house.  Don and the colored boy fought up and down the street, past the chapel, and toward battalion headquarters.  Don finally got him.  They also got one EES truck too.  It’s a wonder someone didn’t hit the ammo truck.  If they had, we would really have made the headlines.  This started about 0630.  Just a little while later and people would have been coming in for early mass.  It was tragic, but it could have been even worse.  [Pretty crazy doings for little old Straubing!]

Last week Willie and I went to town several times.  Also went to 2 baseball games this weekend.  Otherwise there was nothing special going on.

Straubing Baseball Game

May 27, 1954

Last Tuesday about 9:30 one of the Kraut engineers hanged himself in the coal yard which is next door to my room at school. [Good grief!  If Mocha and Granddaddy had known all of this stuff was going on, I bet they would have told her she needed to come on home.  LOL] More things go on around here.  The whole regiment moved out that day for a 3 day FPX.  This time they have played in their own backyard.  The Kaserne is the objective.  We went through town last night and there was all of tank company with all of the men in their field clothes.  We even saw Willie riding through.  It gives you kind of a funny feeling when you think that that is sort of what things must look like during a war.  But it’s kind of exciting too.

War Games

Willie in his jeep

Then we almost got run off the road by a bunch of captured tanks coming back to the Kaserne.

I spent last night and the night before with Pat Allen.

The troops will be coming in sometime tomorrow morning.  Sho’ will be good to really see them again.  [i.e., sho' will be good to see Willie again. *wink*]

May 30, 1954

Friday night Jim Bray and I went downtown for some ice cream and coffee.

Last night there was a Regimental party – command performance.  I went with Willie – cocktails, buffet, and dance.  We had a grand time.

Today I spent the day with Rita and Bernie Huntley.  We rode up to Bogen – it is beautiful.

Because of what happened last week, Corps has decided that the security here isn’t what it should be. [You think?] Now they are putting on a whole company on guard each night.  They are also sending out officers to other battalions to check the guard.  Several people are being court martialed, etc.  There is never a dull moment here.  This place really looks like they are expecting something – everyone walking around with guns, etc., the gates down.  There was only one guard on the ammo dump last weekend and he was tied up.  Also a general walked in the motor pool one morning and drove off with a jeep, etc. [Oh, wow.  It's like a comedy movie at the base!] I guess they figure we are too close to the border to be lax.  Maybe things will change – we get a new Regimental Commander Tuesday.

June 2, 1954

All anyone can talk about here is this guard business.  I don’t see how they have anyone left to do anything else!  Someone said the other day that they heard two snails tried to get in under the fence but didn’t make it.  They also say a rabbit ran himself to death trying to get out of the ammo dump – there are 10 guards there!!

Monday afternoon a whole gang of us went to Plattling to a gasthaus and drank wine.

Last night Willie and I went to Mariandal!! [This makes me laugh, but then it makes me think how excited my roommate and I would get to go to Studebaker's on Friday night!]

Today I had to go to Munich to get my visa extended.  I have never walked as much in my life!  Spent the afternoon and my money in the PX.  I ran into a girl there from W.C.  She is from Smithfield and is a Special Service Girl in Landshut – Ann Grier.  We had a nice long chat.

Bombed out buildings in Munich

Munich near consulate

Also a boy just came in from Chapel Hill – Neil Creighton.  He knows Jake and Ham!!

June 5, 1954

We left Straubing yesterday afternoon for Paris.  Two boys from there are on the tour too, and they seem real nice – Jim and Bo.  We had to go to Nuremberg for the tour.  From there we got on a bus.  It took us all night to get to Paris.  We got in about 9:30 AM.  The weather has been beautiful today.

I met Gui Dardel this morning. ["Gui Dardel"?  I'm sure I've transcribed that wrong, but her handwriting wasn't always the best.  I'm assuming she was doing it after knocking back a few.] We walked around some and chatted.

This afternoon we went on a sightseeing tour and saw:

The Louvre – that is a tremendous palace.  From the square there you look through the small and large Arch de Triumph to the Place de la Concorde.  The Louvre is on the right bank of the Seine.  Then we crossed the Seine to Cité Island where we saw the Palace of Justice.  This is the place where Marie Antoinette was held prisoner.

         Then we went to Notre Dame.  This was built between 1163 and 1284.  Inside we saw the stain glass windows – Rose of the North and Rose of the South.

Notre Dame

Rose of North

Rose of South

Then we crossed over to the Left Bank into the Latin Quarter where we saw the Sorbonne.

We also saw the Pantheon and the Luxembourg Gardens.  Then we went to the Dome of the Invalids – 1764.  The dome has pure gold on it.  Inside is Napoleon’s tomb and other military leaders.  There is an altar that is a copy of the one at St. Peter’s.

         From there we went to the Eiffel Tower.  It was built in 1889 for the International Fair here and is 900 ft. high.  It is amazing.

Eiffel Tower (taken from a lying down position, I believe)

Next we saw the Arc de Triomphe – 1836 – started by Napoleon.  The French unknown soldier is buried here and there is a centennial flame.  Then we rode down the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde.  This is the largest square in Europe.  One of the obelisks from Luxor is here.

Arc de Triomphe

Champs Elysees

Afterwards we had tea and pastry at a sidewalk café.

We are going to the Follies tonight.

June 6, 1954

Last night we went to the Follies Bergere.  It was very good.  The costumes were beautiful.  We had a typical Paris taxi ride home – they had to get out and argue in the middle of the street.

This morning Hilde and I and two of the boys – Jack and George – went to the Louvre where we saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus.  Then we wandered down the Champs-Elysees and had lunch at a sidewalk café.

Sidewalk cafe Champs-Elysees

This afternoon we went to Versailles.  It is tremendous.  We saw the Hall of Mirrors and the table where the treaty was signed.  The gardens there are beautiful. [Debbie and I visited Versailles when we went to Paris in the mid 80's.  We decided that Nancy Reagan probably wanted to live in Versailles instead of the White House.  This was around the time she created such a stir about the White House china and everyone thought she wanted to be Queen.] On the way back we stopped at Sacre-Coeur, which is the highest point in Paris.  There is absolute silence in the church because the holy sacrament is always exposed.  Afterwards I went with Jack and George down to Notre Dame.  We got caught in the rain coming home so we ran between sidewalk cafes and wine.

Versailles

Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

Sacre Coeur

Tonight we are going to Moulin Rouge.

Versailles has a population of 70,000.  The palace was built by Louis VIV in 1699.  Marie Antoinette was married in the chapel there.

Chapel at Versailles

Went to Moulin Rouge tonight with Jack Bennett.  It was grand.  Had champagne, and the floor shows were wonderful.  There was even an act from the Follies.  Larry Adler played the harmonica.  We tried dancing. [WHAT???  Mother danced at the Moulin Rouge???  Oh my.] I have never seen as many people packed into such a small space before.

Then we wandered around Pig Alley.  Finally we ended up at a hot dog stand eating a ham and cheese sandwich and drinking Cokes.

Tomorrow we leave.  It has certainly been grand.

June 14, 1954  (note:  for several days, Mother dated her entries as July instead of June – what in the WORLD was she drinking??  LOL)

We left Paris last Monday.  It took all day and all night to get back.  We finally got in at 06:45.  We stopped for lunch in Nancy.

Lunch in Nancy France

Square in Nancy France

French German border - home again, home again, jiggety jig

One night last week Willie and I went downtown to dinner.  Thursday we went to Bernie’s, Saturday we went to the Tutt’s, and yesterday we went to the Ireland’s.  There was a promotion party Friday night.

School was out Friday and I cleared today.

School children - I think it was mean that she made them face the sun!

Tomorrow Willie and I leave on the first lap of our trip – Amsterdam. [Ok, now we get to the good stuff!]

Things my mother tried to teach me

The DJ’s on the morning show I listen to read letters to their mothers this week to mark Mother’s Day.  One of them did a list of all the things he’d learned from his mother and that got me to thinking about things I had learned from mine.  So today, on Mother’s Day, I thought I’d share these things I learned from Marion Hunter Moore.  Or at least, what she tried to teach me!

1.      Just tell yourself….  Lots of things my mother said started with these three words.  “Just tell yourself that you won’t have cramps”.  “Just tell yourself that you’ll feel better”.  “Just tell yourself that you’re going to get over that”.  According to my mother, she never had cramps or morning sickness or hot flashes.  All because she “told herself” that she wouldn’t.  She was definitely the queen of the power of positive thinking.  I remember a letter that my father wrote to his sisters, telling them about his cancer and what had happened up to that point.  My mother added a little addendum that went along the lines of “I firmly believe that everything will be ok”.  A variation on the theme.  I wouldn’t have been surprised to know that she told my father “Just tell yourself that the cancer will go away”.  It wasn’t just a ploy, though; she really believed that you could overcome stuff by having a positive attitude.  Believing that everything would work out in the end.  I’m probably the most negative person on the planet and I always believe that the worst is going to happen.  Maybe I’d have been better off taking these words more to heart.

2.      Be sweet.   My mother said this a lot.  And it meant more than just those two words.  It meant be nice to people, don’t talk ugly to people, don’t fight, don’t pick on people, don’t be rude or mean, don’t be selfish.  For much of my life it meant “don’t be yourself, be fake”.  It was hard for me to be sweet.  It never felt like people were sweet to me, so I started off being mean or rude or self-centered.  Most everyone liked my mother.  Most everyone doesn’t like me.  I think it’s because my mother was always nice to people and she smiled at them and she didn’t say a mean thing about them (until they were gone).  People like that.  They gravitate to that.  I wish I had paid more attention.

3.      Go to college.  This was super important to my mother.  My brothers and I grew up knowing that we would go to college.  There was never really discussion about going, the discussion was more around where we would go.  My mother believed that an education was important and that you would make more out of your life with a college education.  She made that a requirement for marrying Daddy; he had to go back to college and get his degree.  This is one thing I never questioned.  I always knew I would go.  And I was always glad that I did.

4.      Live at home until you’re married.  I think I’ve mentioned this before.  My mother always made this pronouncement whenever I talked about getting an apartment.  I have since found out that my mother actually did live on her own for a bit in Kannapolis.  Well then.

5.      I am the mother and you are the child.  Next to “just tell yourself”, this was the other thing I remember hearing most often from my mother.  She typically said this when we were in trouble and we questioned why we were being punished.  The whole “I’m in charge” and “you are going to do what I say” thing.  I thought this made her seem like a big old meanie.  I swore I would never say this to my own children.  I dare you to ask my dog if I’ve ever said it to her.  J

6.      Don’t go over to boys’ houses.  I thought this was ridiculous.  But I guess my mother thought that it looked bad.  That you were some kind of “fallen woman” if you went to a boy’s house alone.  Like “hanky panky” was going to go on and that people would talk.  Which leads me to…

7.      No sex before marriage.  Except I don’t think my mother ever used the word “sex”.  You just didn’t have “relations” before marriage.  You were supposed to be a virgin on your wedding night.  I don’t know if this applied to the boys, but it sure applied to me.  I guess, to my mother, if you weren’t a virgin on your wedding night, you were a floozy or a slut.  I know that my parents traveled together when they were in Europe, before they were married, but they also were not alone.  So I believe that my mother followed this tenet of hers.  I sometimes wonder if she ever realized that I grew up in a different time and that guys had their own ideas about this.  Surely she did….

8.      Do what men say.  Ah, this one nearly made my head explode.  I remember telling her one time something that my then-husband wanted that I did not and she made the comment “well, if that’s what he wants, I guess you’ll have to do it”.  I couldn’t even imagine that.  I think she let Daddy make decisions and she did do what he wanted.  I don’t know if she was always so Zen about it as that “do what men say” pronouncement sounds, but I also know, now, that Daddy always looked out for Mother.  He wanted her to be happy and he was always thinking about her.  Maybe if I had ever had a relationship with a man who wanted to make me happy, I wouldn’t have been so quick to fight this.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I’m too selfish to ever just “do what men say”!

9.      Tell them you’ll take any job, i.e. don’t be picky.  I think this kind of went back to the “women’s work” thing.  That what I did wasn’t as important as just having a job.  This came up when I had been laid off from a job early in my career.  I was struggling to find another job and had applied at a local retailer.  She wanted me to tell them that I would be a sales clerk, just to get a job.  I was horrified, because I didn’t want to seem like I was (a) desperate and (b) slumming.  In her world, if I had to work, then it shouldn’t matter what I did.  Especially since, at the time, I had a husband, who could “take care of me”.  I think the “don’t be picky” thing translated to other aspects of life too, but I couldn’t help but be picky.  I want what I want – something she didn’t teach me.

10.   Family is important (unless it’s family you’re not that crazy about).  We did lots of family things, not only within our own family, but with our extended family.  Traditions were important, celebrations were important, special days were important.  And all of that revolved around family.  Most of our vacations when I was growing up had to do with visiting family.  Sometimes it was a week at the beach.  With family.  Or a trip to Boston and seeing all the sights.  But family was there.  Where family wasn’t as important to her was when it was family she wasn’t crazy about.  She didn’t like being inconvenienced when some of my father’s family would stop by to visit on their way from Michigan to Florida.  That bothered me, because, to me, they were still family.  We didn’t see them often and they wanted to see us, particularly after my father had died.  That was brought home to me a few years ago when my brother Paul and his family came home from Europe the first time.  I wanted us all to get together as a family while they were in town and my oldest brother didn’t see the need to try to work his convoluted schedule to accommodate that.  It caused a fight that I’m not sure is completely healed to this day.  They rearranged their schedule that time, but ever since then they will not rearrange schedules to accommodate the rest of us.  We have to work around their schedule.  Somehow I don’t think Mother would approve.

11.   Everything can be cured with Coricidin and Bufferin.  This was Mother’s answer to everything.  You have a cold?  Take a Coricidin.  You have a headache?  Take a Bufferin.  You have the flu?  Take both.  A little simplistic, but Mother was not one to make a big deal out of not feeling good.  When we were kids, she took us to the doctor like she was supposed to, but once we were older, she either suggested some kind of over the counter medicine or some old wives’ tale remedy.  This hit home for me when she got sick.  In 1998, she ended up in the hospital with this overwhelming “illness”.  She probably had a stroke, she may have had a mild heart attack, but she was never the same after that.  During this time, we discovered just how much she didn’t like going to the doctor and just how much she would avoid doing things that would help her get better.  We found out that she had not been to a gynecologist since she had given birth to my youngest brother.  She had not had a physical, maybe ever.  If something didn’t feel right, she took a pill.  Coricidin or Bufferin, usually.  She never really regained strength in her lower body, because she really didn't want to do the work it required, and was in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.  Because she was not active and also because she wouldn’t tell you when something was wrong, she died younger than she might have.  I learned from this that Coricidin and Bufferin don’t cure everything.  I sometimes don’t deal with minor things, but I don’t let the big stuff get by me.  I go to the doctor, I pay attention when things aren’t right, and I won’t let the same things that happened to my mother happen to me.

12.   If God wanted you to have holes in your ears, you’d have been born with them.  I’ve talked before about my mother’s aversion to fashion and makeup and all that.  When I wanted to get my ears pierced, she wouldn’t let me.  When one of my cousins visited and had pierced ears, I tried to get her to let me do it then, but she wouldn’t.  And then one Christmas, Mocha came to visit and she had pierced ears!  My uncle Bo, who was a pediatrician, had pierced her ears with his handy dandy ear piercing gun.  And not only Mocha’s, but my aunts’ and my two girl cousins’ as well.  My mother was defeated.  When we went to Sugar Mountain for Thanksgiving that year, Uncle Bo brought his ear piercing gun and I got my wish for pierced ears on Thanksgiving morning.  But my mother really thought that your beauty was what was inside you, not what was on the surface.  I’m pretty sure I needed all that surface stuff to make me feel like I was ok.  Because what I had never felt good enough.

13.   Always show respect to adults.  I always interpreted this to mean that, from her perspective, adults were always right, even when they were wrong.  What I’ve learned is that adults aren’t always right, but when you’re a kid or even a young adult, grownups know things and have lived things that you can learn from.  Just take the time to listen.

14.   Always tell the truth.  I haven’t always.  For many reasons, but mostly to keep from getting in trouble.  Which didn’t always work.  But she was right.  Telling the truth was better.  And you never had to worry about messing up your story if you were telling it truthfully to begin with.

15.   If you look for your presents, you won’t enjoy Christmas (or your birthday or any other gift giving occasion).  This one, as it turned out, wasn’t true.  One year, when we lived in New Jersey, we found where my parents hid the Christmas presents.  It was in an unlocked closet upstairs in the finished attic.  Where we played a lot.  And where I can’t believe my parents didn’t realize we would open the door to a closet that wasn’t locked.  We were caught looking at everything.  And my mother, forever after that, told people that we didn’t play with the toys we got that year because our Christmas had been “spoiled”.  That actually wasn’t true.  Or any of the other years that I found the list and knew what I was getting ahead of time.  It just heightened the anticipation because I knew I was getting something I’d had my heart set on.  She probably would have told me not to read the end of a book because “it would spoil the ending”.  But I do it anyway and it never is disappointing to me.  I actually enjoy finding out how they get to the ending.  That I already know.  Even now, I think I always want to know what the end is so that I can feel ready, no matter what the outcome.

16.   Santa Claus is real.  Just tell yourself that Santa Claus is real.  And then he will be!  It all comes full circle, doesn’t it? J

Every Mother’s Day, I miss my mother.  But I think about her.  And I believe that she is looking down on me and smiling, because she knows that I always loved her in spite of her weird ideas and crazy homilies.  Happy Mother’s Day, Mother!

Postcards from heaven (also known as Italy)

Some postcards that Mother sent home to her parents and sister Amelia Ann from her trip to Italy.

A picture of the bahnhof (train station) in Rome

This is the bahnhof here in Roma.  Sho' is swanky.  We went to the Easter Mass at St. Peter's this morning.  Afterwards the Pope came out and blessed us.  Did you see it on TV?  I have never seen as many people in my life.  Tomorrow we're off for Naples, Capri and Sorrento.  Happy Easter!

The Ponte Vecchio in Florence

I spent half of my money here and the rest in the Straw Market but it was fun.  Ran into Barbara at Sorrento and Capri.  They will also be in Venice.  We are getting ready to leave for Venice now.

St. Mark's Square in Venice

Tomorrow we start back home after a grand trip.  We have to get up about 4 o'clock.  It's going to be rough and then ride all day.  I have bought enough silk ties to start a store.  I do hope some of the males in the family will wear them!  This is St. Mark's Square where they feed the pigeons every day at 2 o'clock.

Just a boring couple of weeks on base

May 5, 1954

Well, let’s see!  I had better catch up last week.  Last Thursday was the end of the IG and 1^st Bn got a superior which meant that the whole Regt got one.  That is the first time that that has ever happened in 7^th Corps and there are no records of it’s ever having happened in USAREUR before.  This 6^th A/C is quite the stuff.  Anyway, Willie and I went downtown.  Then Friday night we went to the movie.

We just messed around Saturday – May Day.  That night there was a battalion dinner and the May Day dance.  We had a grand time.  Willie left early Sunday morning for Hofenfelds for two weeks.  Sunday afternoon Don, Pat, Peggy and I rode to Passau to see the Tuites.  It was a beautiful day so we put the top down.

Monday we celebrated Don’s birthday because Pat was going to the hospital Tuesday.  Later that night Bob Walker talked me into going downtown.  We went down in the staff jeep – my first real jeep ride.  The rest of the time has been kind of lazy!

        Got to wash and write letters!

Getting ready to write those letters

May 11, 1954

Last Friday, Maj. Pennington had his promotion party.  Afterwards I went down to see Pat and Don for a while.  Then Saturday afternoon Louie and I went downtown shopping, and I spent all of my money.  (I can certainly identify with that!  LOL)  That night there was a promotion party like I have never seen around here before.  It was a real party.  Afterwards was the Monte Carlo night.  That was fine too.  Afterwards Louie and I went to the Mariandal.  Sunday after church we went to the Tuggle’s for a while.  Then the PTA had a barbeque.  It was real good.  Last night I spent the night with Phyl Hallas.  Joe was OD.

Wild times at the promotion party

Monday morning at 0430 a bunch of jets used our field for dive bombing practice.  It sounded just like they had pulled the chain up there.  Tonight Bob Walker and I went over to watch the VII Corps bowling champs.

About a month ago we got a new Chaplain – Maj. Bayhne.  He is Lutheran so our order of worship has been changed quite a bit.

It seems that a year or so ago there was an article in the Saturday Evening Post about the chaplains in Korea who stayed right in the front lines.  They picked out one particular one and wrote about him – that’s our chaplain.

Camel Caravan is doing a story on TV on a border outfit – the 6^th A/C.  They went out with a patrol from Regen, etc.  Sho’ would like to see it!

Willie comes home Saturday.  I’ll be kind of glad to see him.  ("I'll be kind of glad to see him"?  I suppose she's being coy.  Which I find amusing.)  I have missed him and maybe Louie will let me alone.

That bothersome Louie Audi

May 17, 1954

Willie came home last Thursday.  We went to Pat and Don’s to dinner.  Afterwards we ran into Bob Walker downtown and made the rounds.

Friday Bob, Willie and I took off for Furtslenfeldbach, the Randolph Field of Germany.  It is supposed to be the best geometrically designed field in the world.  Bob’s brother is club officer.  On the way we stopped at Landsut for dinner.  We got to Fursty about 1200.  Then we decided to go gasthausing until the wee hours.  We came back to the club and got Sgt. Mills up to fix breakfast for us.  (Kind of a bossy pair, aren't they?)  Then we went to bed until about noon.  After lunch we went over to the field for the air show.  All of their planes were on display.  The jets and the trainers performed and then an amphibian.  I have never been close to jets, so it was quite thrilling.

         Afterwards we went back to the club.  We started playing the slot machines.  I won 130 marks without hitting the jackpot.  It must be kind of unusual because they all talked about it.  That night we went to a dinner party.  Well I have never seen Bob and Willie put on such a show.  Everyone just sat there with their mouths open and listened to us.  I’m sure they’ll never forget us.  Then we went back to the club to the dance.  Afterwards we went gasthausing again.

Bob Walker and Willie

Sunday we got up about noon and ate breakfast.  Then we left.  We went to Dachau to the Crematory.  That must have been horrible.  We saw the ovens, the room where they went first to undress, then they went to the gas chambers but were told they were to take a shower, then the death room where the bodies were stacked.  (I really wish that Mother had taken some pictures of this place.  Although I suppose pictures can't really give you a sense of the horror of a place like this.  Trying to imagine the reality of all of this is a little mind numbing.  I personally find it hard to comprehend the level of evil that was behind the Holocaust, I can't wrap my mind around it.  The sadness and senselessness of it and the complete lack of humanity that spawned it overwhelms me.  I imagine that it must have been the same for Mother and Daddy while they were there.)

We saw the mass graves, where they had target practice, one of the execution spots with a blood trench, the hanging tree, and the gallows.  At the entrance is a statue with “Never again will the dignity of man be voided” in German.  Next to it is the DP camp behind walls.  Bob says it is filthy.  The road leading to the Crematory certainly must have been heavily guarded – there are bunkers all along the way.  In the oven rooms there are hooks where the men who worked there were chained.  The people in Dachau declare that they didn’t know what was going on.  That’s mighty hard to believe.

Then we were on our way.  We stopped at the Dachau Freising, and Landshut Officer’s Clubs.  We even had a flat tire in Landshut.  We got back here in time for the movie.  I really had a grand time.

Bob Walker changing tire

Willie changing tire

Mother's Italian Job

April 20, 1954

This morning we caught the boat to Capri.  From there we got in a little motorboat and went to the Blue Grotto.  There we got in little row boats to go in the Grotto.  You have to lie down in the row boats to go in.  Inside the water is very blue and looks like there is a light shining from below.  The boatmen sang too.

Blue Grotto Capri

Outside Blue Grotto

Capri April

Mother at Capri

The trip over was kind of wet because we were rushing so we wouldn’t have to wait so long at the Grotto.

Then we came back to Capri and go the funicular up to Anacapri where we had lunch in the patio at the Manfrechi Hotel – very good (can’t find this hotel).  Afterwards we went to the Gardens of Augustus.  Caesar had a palace here.  The view was wonderful.  We could see the “light house rocks” which still have Roman inscriptions on them.

Lunch at Capri - Manfredi Hotel

Light House Rocks at Capri

Farouck has a home on Anacapri too.

Then we came back to Sorrento and did some shopping – mostly looking.

         Now we are getting ready to go see the Tarantella dancers, which originated here (southern Italian couple folk dances characterized by a fast upbeat tempo).

Tarantella dancers

         The dancers were at a place called the American Bar.  I can’t say very much for the dancers, but they were colorful.  We were escorted home by 4 boys on motorcycles!!!

April 21, 1954

I have never seen such drivers.  The bus drivers here are terrific.

After riding the bus and the train all day from Sorrento we finally arrived in Florence.  We are staying at the Hotel Baglioni Palace (this hotel is the heart of the historic center of Florence).  We are in a suite and it is tremendous.  Why you could put our room from the Milani in this bathroom!  In fact somebody came in looking for their room.  They thought this was the hall.  Then someone else came in looking for the elevator!!

It has rained on us all day.  Hope it clears up tomorrow.

Everyone sings in Italy.  We have seen lots of little straw houses, old walled cities, etc.

Singers on train Florence to Venice

Straw houses on the way from Florence to Venice

April 23, 1954

Yesterday morning we went sightseeing.  First we saw the Church of St. Lawrence which has the crypt of the Medici family.  The Chapel of Princes is above the crypt.  The scene on the altar is made of all natural colored stones – no painting.  Michelangelo did a lot of the statues here.  Late 1500.  Next we went to the Baptistry of St. John which is the oldest church and is made of Florentine marble.  The cupola is painted in gold.  It is the most important piece of work.  There is also a wooden statue of Mary Magdalene in repentance.  The Cathedral is next to it (the Duomo, I’m guessing).  It was started in the 1200’s and finished in 1886.  It is beautiful on the outside.  Inside is a clock with only an hour hand.  The Bell Tower is in the same place with the two churches.

Baptistry of St. John Florence

Bell Tower Florence

Cathedral Florence

My picture of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Florence 

We passed what is the oldest Citadel – 1255.

Then we stopped at the Square of Lordships (Piazza della Signoria) which has loads of statues.  Filled in square with statues because people always met there when something went wrong.  There is also a palace here too – Ancient Citadel of Florence.

My picture of the Piazza della Signoria

         Next we went to the Church of the Holy Cross (Basilica of Santa Croce) which is the 7^th largest church in the world and the 2^nd largest in Florence.  Michelangelo’s tomb is here.  This is on what used to be the Industrial Square.  We went into a shop that makes mosaics.  It was amazing the way they make them.  Then we went into a leather factory.

         Then we went to Michelangelo Square which has a wonderful view of the city (it also has a bronze copy of his statue David).  We rode along the Avenues of the Hills which are very pretty.

Florence from Michelangelo Square

Then we went to the Pitti Palace which is tremendous – 1400.  The Pitti family was the wealthiest and most influential family of Florence.  They were bitter opponents of the Medici family but never lived in the Palace because they lost everything before it was finished.  The Kings of Italy used to live here at one time.  Now it is an art museum.  Saw Rafael’s Madonna of the Chair.

At Pitti Palace Florence

Pitti Palace

Then we went to Peruzzi’s – very famous silversmith – oldest in Florence.  Saw the Ponte Vecchio which was the only bridge not destroyed.  Over the Arno River – Germans on one side and Allies on the other.  Funny little shops from back on bridge.

In the afternoon we went shopping on the Ponte Vecchio and in the Straw Market where I spent all of my money.  Twas fun.

Straw Market 

Mother on Ponte Vecchio bridge

Ponte Vecchio bridge

My photo of Ponte Vecchio Bridge from the Uffizi

Last night I took some things out to an Italian family for Mrs. Tutts.  They didn’t speak English but we made ourselves understood.  Then we went to the Roof Garden at the hotel.  Very nice and a good view of Florence at night.

We finally got to Venice, and I just love it.  [I did too.  For some reason, it made me a little emotional to know that we both loved it.]  When we came out of the bahnhof, there was the Grand Canal and all of the gondolas – just like all of the pictures.  On the way to the hotel, The Europa (there is a Westin Europa in Venice that overlooks the Grand Canal.  It is a 5-star hotel!), we saw gondolas parked in the garages – two poles!

Grand Canal in front of bahnhof

Canal in Venice

My picture of the Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal

         The hotel is certainly crummy looking on the outside, but very swanky on the inside.  We have a nice room and bath.  Our tub is the funniest thing I ever saw.  It is a square and has two levels.  You sit on the upper level and put your feel on the lower level.  I felt just like I was sitting in a first grade chair while taking a bath!!!

Bathtub in Venice

Mother and the party gals at the Europa Palace on Grand Canal

This afternoon we went to St. Mark’s Square.  It is just like the movies – loads of pigeons and people.  We sat in one of the sidewalk cafes and ate ice cream – just like all the rest of the Italians.  Then we went shopping.  I have never seen so many shops in my life in one area.

St. Marks Square

My picture of St. Marks Square

I ran into Joan Diembacher in the lobby.  I hadn’t seen her since we landed, so we had a nice long chat after dinner.

April 24, 1954

Venice on the Adriatic!  This morning we went sightseeing by foot.  We first saw the Church of St. Moses – Baroque style (heavy) – 17^th and 18^th centuries.

Adriatic Sea Venice

The winged lion is the symbol of Venice, and you see it everywhere.  Venice began in the 5^th century and was a group of 120 islands.  Each island was under a different ruler until 687 when they elected one ruler – the Doge (Duke).  They were important for trade with the Orient.  In 1866 Venice joined Italy.  The population was 315,000.  It is built on wooden piles – no rocks – and the old part is sinking.  Sometimes, very rarely, the water even comes up in St. Mark’s Square.  There are 350 bridges here that connect the town.

Doges Palace – on St. Mark’s Square.  There were 120 Doges.  It was the seat of the Venetian government but is now a museum.  It is made with lead, wood, brick, and mosaic.  (We have seen inlaid wood and marble and now inlaid lead on the steps of the palace.)  The prison is right next to the palace and is connected by the Bridge of Sighs.  When the prisoner crossed the bridge he supposedly sighed here – thus the name.  The prison was built in the 17^th century and last used in 1922.

Doges Palace Courtyard

My picture of the Doges Palace

Bridge of Sighs

My picture from inside the Bridge of Sighs

The palace is very ornate and had tremendous rooms.  Most of the rooms were covered with paintings, but there were two that had nothing except old armor.  In one of the rooms there was the “Lion’s Mouth”.  There were about 70 of them all over Venice for secret political papers.

Then we went down into the dungeon where the political prisoners were kept.  It was very dark and damp.  The cells were very small and lined in wood with only a wooden bed.  Lord Byron spent one night here for the experience and inspiration for one of his poems.  His cell is in the original condition.

Right on the waterfront are two tremendous pillars topped by the lion and St. Theodore.  The executions were held here.  There are two red pillars on the balcony of the Palace where the executions were announced.

In St. Mark’s Square, opposite the execution pillars, is the clock tower built in 1499.  The hour is in Roman numerals and changes every 5 minutes.  Below the time is a sun dial with the 24 hours on it.

Clock Tower St. Marks Square

St. Mark’s Church was built in the 4^th century and again in the 11^th century.  It is covered with mosaic both inside and out.  In the vestibule on the ceiling are stories from the Old Testament and inside from the New.  It is connected to the Palace.  The Venetians used to go there to pray before the Madonna of Victory before going into battle.

Then we went to a lace factory.  It is amazing to watch them make lace.

This afternoon we went down to watch them feed the pigeons at 2 o’clock.  I have never seen as many pigeons in my life.

Pigeons St. Marks Square

Me trying to keep from being poop bombed by pigeons at St. Marks Square

Then we went shopping.  I don’t see how there could be any tiles left here because I bought them all.

Tomorrow we get up about 4 o’clock to start our journey back home.  It’s been a grand trip.  I do like Venice and it has been nice and mild here, thank goodness!

April 26, 1954

Well, here we are back in dear old Straubing, and it’s kind of nice to be home.

They got us up at 4 AM yesterday morning and I haven’t been to bed since.  On the way to the bahnhof we saw the Coca Cola delivery truck – a gondola.  We had first class accommodations on the train.  Did we ever feel suity!  Barbara and Muriel had to come up and sit a spell because they said it would probably be their only chance to!

First class lunches on train coming back from Italy

             We got into Munchen about 1200 after riding through the Austrian Alps most of the day.  It was a beautiful ride.  We got a train out of Munchen at 2320 for Regensburg.  We sat there for about 3 hours and got a jeep to Straubing.  We finally got in about 0600 this morning.  It was a rough trip and a rough day today.  But we surely did have a grand trip.