Stanford Student Letters and Memoirs

hike around the lake - along icy roads [patches?] (and occasional drifts) of snow, the open meadowland by old farms with [illegible?] buildings - barns with waterwheels powered by passing streams, etc. The lake [illegible?] about 2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide - was completely frozen over; in fact we [illegible?] men ski across it, using their poles to push off against the ice. In spite of the ice and snow the air was very warm and mild, as in spring.

Freiburg was a striking contrast to the [illegible?] restful beauty of the Schwarzwald (oops - Black Forest). The minute we stepped [illegible?] the railroad station we were swept up by the pressing crowds out on the street [illegible?] celebrate or watch others celebrate or to go somewhere to celebrate. Every restaurant and cafe was packed and noisy - we even had trouble finding anywhere to eat dinner. We had time for several hours of window shopping and sightseeing Monday [illegible?] and Tuesday morning. The most interesting by far is the "Munster" - old Gothic cathedral with its classic spire reaching skywards. The inside is worthy mainly because of some excellent stained glass windows, which have be reinstalled since the war (probably buried underground outside of town for safe keeping).

This coming week is cram time - I have an anthropology and a music paper to do and finals in German and Music to study for, all in 7 days. So I shall be a little busy, I guess! Also we've had daily chorus rehearsals this week, in preparation for our concert in Beutelsbach tomorrow night at 8 pm! We're singing a set of 6 Brahms Waltzes, two German [illegible?] English folk songs, and a beautiful finale - Randall Thompson's "The Last Words of David." Also on the program are our Madrigal group, a piano solo, and clarinet sonata, and a cello performance by a local physician who practices with Mr. Nanney. Should be an entertaining, and only a little amateur performance.

Our 3 week vacation will begin next Saturday - we're allowing Friday for final errands and preparations before leaving, and also hope to attend a concert in Stuttgart that evening (Jehudi Menuhin playing Brahm's violin concerto for one thing!) We'll bicycle from here to Nürnburg, then take the train to Hamburg. From here our route is not yet definitely set, but may be Bremen, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, perhaps Brussels, Köln (Cologne in English, I think), then down the Rhine to Heidelberg and back to Stuttgart. We have 23 days and will be trying to cover a lot of country, but it will be fun, I think, in a way that travel by car could never be. We hope to usually make 100 kilometers (60 miles) a day, sometimes perhaps up to 120 or even 140 if it's possible; plan to spend whole days in some of the most interesting cities. The ride down the Rhine should be especially beautiful! Plan to get mail through American Express - will check on arrangements and give you exact itinerary when I get time. Meanwhile, back to the books!

Love, George

Mom- Your letters come through fine and seem to be coming more often too! I really appreciate them, and all the clippings too! But Dads seem to be getting lost on the way! Just teasing - I know he's busy, but it's nice to hear from him sometimes! More love - me