1936 On the Continent

marks to the £1, whilst if I buy my traveller’s cheques in England I get 18 to 22 marks to the £1. In the City we have often had trouble over the fluctuation of the mark; this time I shall get some benefit from it. Calculating correctly therefore, as regards my disbursements in Germany the £1 will be worth 20 marks to me. It is a great point also that, in addition to the Registered Mark, I as a foreigner am entitled to still further advantages in Germany, as if I remain there longer than seven days I get a reduction of 40 per cent. for the journey from the German frontier to my destination and back. I can also, if I work out my plans beforehand, take a circular tour under the same conditions. I may travel either by rail, boat or aeroplane or combine all three as I wish. I must say I do not quite understand this. We English would never stand a foreigner getting better terms in our country than we ourselves, but in any case we do not set so much store by foreign tourists as the Germans, who are making greater efforts than ever to attract foreigners.
Routes to Germany
    When I have travelled from London to Edinburgh I have always known which was the most comfortable evening train to choose. Now I have the task of choosing amongst various possible routes. At the London office of the German State Railways (19, Regent Street), they talked to me at length in answer to my enquiries, giving me detailed advice. I would very much like to fly—my holiday is being planned so that I may make up for what I have missed so far, and I have never yet flown. However, perhaps I will leave flying for next time, although it is tempting to think that I could be in Cologne in five short hours, and the fare is reasonable It costs little more than the journey second class in a sleeping car. But on this first journey to the Continent I have the feeling that I should get more of the atmosphere of travel if I went by train. In addition the sea passage of six hours from Harwich to Flushing is tempting. It would take me no more than fifteen hours by sea and rail to get to Cologne. I could also go by another route, for instance Dover-Calais, in almost the same number of hours, but this time I should like to see as much as possible of Holland, at least from the windows of the train. Many advise me to go by the big ocean liners of the Norddeutscher Lloyd from Southampton to Hamburg, and perhaps that would be pleasanter, but I think it a good thing not to collect too many new impressions before my arrival in Germany. One cannot do everything at once. I have decided therefore to leave in the morning, arriving in Cologne in the late evening.
    Where shall I go when I reach Germany? I have looked through a pile of travel books and enquired of countless people, and now I must make up my mind. Four weeks is a horribly short time. Many things worth seeing must be left out. I shall have to give up East Germany, though, according to all accounts, the country of the old Prussian Knights is well worth seeing; so is East Prussia and the free town of Danzig, which is interesting for its political history and its wonderful medieval panelled houses. Now that I have come to the point of deciding how I shall spend my four weeks, I begin to realise that I have waited too long.
The Rhineland
    It is a good thing that I am going to arrive at Cologne, because it is obvious that I must see the Rhineland. I have heard from countless people that the journey up the Rhine to the peacefully dreaming wine towns and the towering stately ruined castles, is one of the most beautiful that the world can offer. Also, I must confess here and now that I am filled with comfort at the thought that I shall be able to drink the Rhine wines, which I prize above all others, on the spot, and shall be able to enjoy a tip-top wine for 2 marks, i.e., 2 shillings, and for 4 or 5 marks a famous vintage, without feeling that I am paying as customs duty twice the price charged in the country of origin (even though fully convinced of the necessity for the English customs system).
    After the Rhine the next place to see will be Frankfort-on-Main, the great commercial centre of the west, and reputed to be one of the most beautiful towns in Germany. Nuremburg must certainly not be left out—at least, so I am told—nor the neighbouring town of Rotenburg, which is, perhaps, the only town in the world which remains undisturbed by the centuries, and within its walls gives the impression of an unspoilt