Trip to Europe - 1956

Medieval Streets
Ancient Castles
Spanish patios
Baroque churches
Fashionable villas
One finds striking contrasts
Gondolas
Motorcycles
Stadiums
Lido (Venice) Swimming
The Blue Grotto of Capri
Magnificent villas
The Cradle of Art
Artistic treasures

Phillippe Revilliod

May 20, 1956
Arrived in St. Moritz May 19, 1956 from Milan, Italy. We registered at Languard (?) and had dinner there that first evening. We were told that our room would be each six francs a night. We arrived toward evening, it was raining. The following morning it was snowing hard and there was a few inches of snow on the ground. The beauty of the mountains was out of this world. At noon the sun was bright and the snow on the streets soon vanished.

Mont Brien the small Hotel in Geneva (Aunt) Miss Barnard’s


Our Trip to Europe
April 7, 1956
Sailed April 9

May 22, 1956
We left St. Moritz Tuesday a.m. for Chur, Zurich Chaffausin and Lohhingen, my dear Rob’s native town. We stayed there one night and had a grand visit with Rob’s sister-in-law, saw the place where Rob was born, visited the church, saw the street fountain and nearly the whole village. Hotel Zumhirsch was where we stayed all night. The village looked lovely to us. If only it had been near cherry season we would have waited for it. That part of country is known for raising the best cherries in the country. Lohingen is a quaint, darling, progressing little village most of the inhabitants are people of the soil. The hill-sides are covered with vines. Rob’s mother owned her share of them during her time.

Our day in.

May 29, 1956
We stopped at Hotel Baren in Interlaken. We met Mrs. Erickson in Zurich where we bought each a green bag alike. Of course Mary was with her. From Zurich we went to Luzern on the 27th of May and I was in bed for a day with a bad cold. On Sunday we took a boat cruise on Four Caton Lake. We were in Luzern three days the 26, 27 and 28th.

From Luzern we went to Interlaken and were there about four days. From Interlaken we went to Bern, Hotel Wachter. Before that we went to Wimmis and from Bern we went to Bienne where the two brothers live. We had a visit with them.


May 31, 1965
We left Interlaken and went to Spiez to Wimmis where we saw Fritz and his dear home. From there we went to Bern. It rained hard when we arrived in Bern early in the afternoon. Watcher Hotel is where we stopped.


June 7, 1956
Geneva
We came to Geneva Tuesday the 5th of the month at the Hotel des Familles. We had my ticket, return ticket to USA changed from August 10th to June 23th at the Cunard office. Today, the 7th we went to see Annie and Albert in their dear little home. They served fresh strawberries and Miss B. and I did justice to them. It was Albert who prepared the tea and whipped cream. I was forgetting to say that Wednesday the 6th we went through the United Nations Palace. Can I ever forget the grandeur of it all?

June 11, 1956
Saturday the 9th I came with Albert to their home in Plans des Ouets and it is wonderful to have all good things things to eat on. Annie tells me about taming a bird called Mark. I must tell about it. It seems that they fed that bird about five years; he would fly in the kitchen in a circle and then leave until the following day. Then one fine day he came with a mate who waited outside; he flew in the kitchen as usual and it was the last time. They never saw him again. Annie and Albert grieved for many days. They found him when he had fallen out of his nest and brough him up.

Bern, Switzerland
Just when did we arrive in Bern? We went to see the hospital where Rob stayed in 1908 and 1909. The Sister Superior took us through the old building and the new and showed us the beautiful grounds and their new chapel. It surely brought back the past.


June 23, 1956
I arrived in Paris the 24th of June 1956 and stopped at the Hotel St. Petersburg. I had the best meals there that we had all the way. I took three sightseeing trips. The first one was to Malmaison and Versailles. The second one was to Notre Dame and the third one was a general trip. Oh, yes, I took a fourth trip. It was to see the Gardens of Paris, Le Bois de Boulogne and Le Bagatelle where the roses were beautiful. It was on Friday that I went to the musée; I was there all day.

I do not think I have said a word about going to Young Frau when we were in Interlaken. It was a great day’s trip. I went alone. Miss Barnom had seen it twice. The weather was beautiful when we left Interlaken that morning. The scenery was out of this world; we were climbing all the time and going through many tunnels. About 100 people went up. We saw snow and glaciers and skiers on top and had about two hours there. Then we came down again. We were in a long tunnel about a half hour and during that time I slept. When we came out of the tunnel a pouring rain woke me up. And it was very foggy, one could only see a few feet ahead. The rain then turned to hail about the size of pea’s. There was a high wind. I expected to see the windows smashed on the side of our coach where the hail struck. But finely it stopped before I could see any damage done. Miss B. was waiting for me at the station and it gave me great pleasure to see her. We ran into Miss Ericton in one of the stores. Nearly every building is a Hotel in Interlaken. How do they all make ends meet? I wonder.

Wakona Club
Des Moines, Iowa
Phone CH4-8117

B.G. Hempelman
Des Moines, Iowa
Phone 7-0441

I returned to America on the Caronia Ship in a luxurious cabin all for myself.

June 23, 1956
A student from the Sorbonne and his mother from Evanston were delightful. Ingersol

Memories
It was a beautiful sight to see huge fields of narcisses growing wild near Montreaux. Hotel Sanloup above Les Avants. May is the best time to see these flowers.

My green bag was purchased in Zurich, Switzerland May, 1956

Memories
We went through the engine rooms of the Christoforo Colombo ship. What a huge equipment!

April, 1956
We little thought that the ship Andria Doria (a sister to our ship) would soon be doomed. As we passed it, salutes were exchanged. April, 1956