Europe At Your Window (1950, sound)

[Music] [Applause] Joan and I spent our honeymoon in Europe my mother's people were from Sweden from a small fishing Village near bad where a picture asks to be taken in any direction you [Music] look from the fishing Village we went to housing board which is like all the rest of Sweden clean and [Music] colorful we could have spent our whole month in Sweden but we'd promised ourselves a trip to Paris originally we planned to go by air but we saw a poster in a travel agency [Music] window say this looks like an interesting way to go to Paris what this but I thought we were going to go by plane I know but since we have enough time we might as well try the coach L bus sure let's give it a wh okay this was to be a new and unusual experience in traveling a steward is and look what they're loading into the luggage trailer two drivers never a tired driver at the wheel before we'd gone a mile we took to Sea we drove on to the ferry which took us across the orison the straight that separates Sweden from [Music] Denmark along the fine Danish highways we rolled toward copen [Music] hen it's the capital of Denmark and we had been told it was one of the most interesting cities in Europe so we left the coach in Copenhagen and rented bicycles to see the sights in this bicycle Mad [Music] City we saw Hambra the old fish market and a malan borg square with a Royal [Music] Palace we saw the stock exchange with its wonderful Tower of Twisted snakes that make it look like a cork [Music] screw my pockets are always full of sugar because Joan likes to make friends with horses we were reminded of a character from H Christian Anderson's fairy tales when we saw the statue of The Little Mermaid she is the emblem of modern Copenhagen in the summertime Denmark lives in boats its people have been dependent on the sea since the time of the Vikings [Music] back in Copenhagen we again found ourselves in the usual traffic jam of [Music] bicycles everyone who visits Copenhagen should see tiv the wonderful amusement park in the Heart of the [Music] City even from up there we could hear the music of the tiv guards [Music] they're all grammar school boys just youngsters Main Attraction of tiv is the pantomime theater with its wonderful classic performance unchanged for 200 years the clown is the symbol of tiv [Music] there are half a dozen superb restaurants in the park night and tiv brings colored lights and fireworks a Fourth of July celebration every night [Music] Denmark is a land of islands strung together with Bridges back on the coach again we headed south past the seaside dairy farms toward our destination for the evening near the German Frontier the town of obro [Music] next morning we rolled into Northern Germany through the medieval towns of sches Holstein and then into war ravaged Hamburg the white aaban spread us across North Germany toward the Netherlands since lyus travels only by daylight we Miss none of the [Music] scenery our hotel that evening was at buo in the heart of the forests of Eastern Holland we weren't prepared to find surf bathing so far from the Sea The Wave machine in the hotel pool makes Breakers any size you [Music] want we ordered ours large [Music] this was our first anniversary we'd been married a month so we took a table for two while some of our fellow passengers danced and gathered in congenial groups over cups of Dutch coffee all this food and best hotels was included in the price of our ticket next day we headed west again toward rdam for Refreshments all we had to do was Buzz the hostess so we enjoyed cold drinks from the coach's own refrigerator while we roll through the poer land the rich pastures reclaimed from the Sea by the industrious people of Holland Joan was particularly Charmed by the washroom aboard it let her pretty up so she reached our stops ready for Sight scene we had arranged to take another stop over at [Music] reram not far from reram is Kinder Dy where we found dozens of windmills built long ago to pump the farmlands [Music] dry also nearby is the lovely Old Town of Del a snapshot is Paradise [Music] probably the best way to see Del is to take a boat along the peaceful canals which are more numerous than streets [Music] the landmark of Del is the old church started in the 13th century it has tilted like this for 500 years the new church was finished before Columbus sailed from Spain for the new world there was a carnival in Del the day we were there with sign language Joan made friends with a Little Dutch girl who stood wistfully by the merry G they got on [Music] together it was hard to say who had the most [Music] fun we caught the next coach to Paris arriving at the Holland Belgium Frontier early in the afternoon if you drive a car in Europe Frontiers can be Troublesome but there were no such worries for us the hostess took our passports and a brief case of documents in 10 minutes she was back and we were on our way toward Brussels leaving the poor motorist still arguing with the frontier guards for all I know they were still arguing when we reached Brussels in the afternoon this gave us time to visit the Grand PL the great Square surrounded by palaces built in the Middle Ages there's a flower market in the grand PL where you can choose from among the finest roses in [Music] Belgium Russells is also famous for lace [Music] I asked Joan what she would like from this shop but she just couldn't make up her [Music] mind so I planned a [Music] surprise I Knew by the way she said oh Jack that my choice had been a success from Brussels we went South across Belgium and then across the broad fields of northern France so to Paris where we left our Linea Bus near the arch of Tri triph on the [Music] Shan Paris plus Concord the Opera plus vondom names familiar to everyone who has ever heard of the queen of cities the L Notre [Music] down the book stalls along the [Music] S Paris our city of Dreams thrilling stop on a road of romance e [Music] Paris is a Dream City for Honeymooners we'd been there for 2 weeks seeing the SES and sitting at sidewalk cafes but our time was limited and we wanted to see Rome too we saw an ad in the Paris edition of The Herald Tribune we'd heard about linuz from some friends that it was a wonderful service and just about the most Pleasant way possible to see the country still we thought we ought to see the coach for ourselves so Joan and I went to the terminal where a Hostess greeted us and showed us her modern coach she called our attention to the large windows and we were Charmed by the idea of a refrigerator for cold drinks on board but it was the welcome of the comfortable seats that sold us a few days later we were on our way to Rome watching the Panorama of the French Countryside as it unrolled past our picture window our Hostess who spoke five languages told us bits from the fascinating history of oxir on the river yon crowned by its Cathedral from the Middle Ages [Music] The Old Mill Inn at Vermon with its outdoor restaurant is known as one of the finest eating places on the road from Paris to Geneva we ate a delicious meal under the trees by the Placid Mill Stream after lunch our route followed the canal of burgundy and then up the foothills of the Jura mountains late in the afternoon we arrived at champo where our lodging for the night was the delightful Hotel ripo there was time for tennis on the hotel courts neither of us is very good at it but we had fun [Music] anyway in the morning breakfast was served in the [Music] garden then the coach started its climb up through the high pastures and quaint Mountain Villages of the [Music] juras as we crossed into Switzerland Lake Geneva greeted us at the end of the lake is the city of Geneva famous as the home of the League of Nations this Monument to woodro Wilson symbolizes a peaceful Universe Lake Geneva becomes the rone river in the very Heart of the City [Music] Geneva is most famous for watches there are dozens of shops and beautiful Swiss watches cost less than half their price at home our tickets allowed us the choice of coach or boat passage to monre our Paddle Wheel steamer left Geneva for a four-hour crws up the [Music] [Music] lake we glided past ancient Forts and medieval towns [Music] it was a peaceful trip so Placid in fact that I dozed in the warm sun Joan who never misses a thing woke me to point out the terrorist vineyards near [Music] laan be sure to take plenty of film when you make this trip like everyone else we use twice as much as we'd planned and why not the scenery on this part of the trip is among the most spectacular we've ever seen in the distance was the Chateau of Shion made famous by Byron's poem about the prisoner kept in an underwater dungeon here for seven years [Music] at montra we left the [Music] boat here we rejoined our coach to leave Lake Geneva and go up the Valley of the rone river toward the simplon pass [Music] we climbed first through Aline Villages and then through the Tilted fields which as you get higher are called Alps the mountains of Switzerland get their names from these high pastures especially on this part of the trip we were glad that we had competent experienced drivers we focused our attention on the scenery while they concentrated on the road after Rising 4,000 ft in 14 miles we reach the summit of the pass where we stop for scenery and afternoon tea [Music] we had done our mountain climbing the easy way into the Sky High pastures where the herdsmen grazed their Brown Swiss cattle in the summertime as we went South we went down the arrangements to cross the Italian Frontier handled as usual by the hostess took only a few minutes so we arrived at the hotel Milano in straa soon after leaving the pass no one who goes to stra should miss a trip to the barami Isles just offshore in Lago [Music] Maori the hostess suggested that we would find the island of the fishermen Isola pescatori the loveliest of these Enchanted Islands [Music] [Music] so we return to [Music] sta after traveling through the villages on the shore of Lake Maj we sped along the autostrad the express Highway leading to Milan in the Cathedral Square the Patza Del duo we stopped for sightseeing and then [Music] lunch like all Cathedral squares in Italy it has pigeons and people to feed the pigeons [Music] we remember Milan for its soaring spires and also is the place where you buy postcards by the [Music] yard soon after lunch we passed through Genoa birthplace of Columbus one of Italy's great [Music] ports then along the Cliffside Highway above the resorts of the Italian Riviera in many places the road becomes an Avenue of flowers as it winds down to sea level to glamorous rapalo [Music] from there the rote rises again through Olive Groves in late afternoon we arrived at sestri Levante above the town is the castle today it's a beautiful hotel here we dined and spent the [Music] night early next morning we took a swim from the hotel Beach [Music] breakfast was served in the Rose [Music] guard the road South wanders through the coastal mountains and past Hilltop [Music] Villages our next destination was a town outstanding in the history of the scientific World Galileo used its principal landmark in his early experiments we had come to Pisa it was from this tower that Galileo dropped his [Music] weights the tower leaned even then almost as much as it does today it was built as the belfrey of the Cathedral of Pisa we thought this was the loveliest church we saw in Italy having launched at Piza we drove along the coast for some time turning Inland from civia toward [Music] Rome we passed the ruins of one of the great aqueducts that once served the Eternal City we had come a long way with our congenial Companions and it was with real regret that we said said goodbye to the hostess and drivers who had made our trip so pleasant most of the sites of Rome are close together the Victor manual Monument on Patza Venia is only a few steps from The Forum of Cicero and [Music] Caesar it's only a few minutes walk from The Forum to the Coliseum the huge oval stadium in which Gladiators fought and martyrs were thrown to the Lions the entire Arena could be flooded through these underground channels so that Naval battles could be stayed before thousands of Spectators we got an impression of the huge size of the Coliseum when we noticed a man moving in The Distance dwarfed by his surroundings we saw the plaza of St Peters with its Obelisk and its fountains there are many beautiful fountains in Rome one of the most interesting is the traby fountain there's a legend that if you toss a coin into the fountain you will come back to Rome Joan missed on her first try but the young businessman who knew he would fish it out eventually gave her another chance this time she was lucky we knew we would come to Rome Again by lus [Music]