Following is the continuation from the last Newsletter of the journal of Billings Grinnell Almy. (See introduction in Newsletter No. 85, January 1996.)
Berne. After breakfast viewed city. Hazy for distant points. Visited Capitol building. Specially busy on account of official business in connection with assassination of Empress of Austria in Geneva yesterday (Swiss territory). After dinner wrote ACA and FFA and visited Protestant Munster. Had three square meals. All one could eat, more rare than usual.
Berne to Interlaken, nice pleasant ride. Beatus Strasse cut along edge of Lake Thun. Similar to Arenster along Lake Lucerne. Interlaken at noon, no mail. Left our wheels at Intelligence Office and started for Lauter-hummen on foot. Reached it about 6:00. Up a pretty valley with perpendicular cliffs on each side. Jungfrau in foreground at upper end of valley. Rented "Alpenstock", going good. 33 miles from Berne to Interlaken.
Early start for Wengernalp 10:00 Kl. Scheidigg (12:00), Lauberhorn (1 p.m.), Grindelwald (4:30 p.m.) Ober Grindelwald Glacier 7:00 p.m. Unter Grindelwald Glacier to fire 8:00 p.m., to room about 9:00. Very long, busy day. Jungfrau at 2-1/2 mile, looked less than 1/4 mile. Close to snow glaciers of Eigen, Monch and Jungfrau. Good view from Lauberhorn. Came over side of Lauberhorn sliding down shale and grass. Fire department slow. Yes!
Left Grindelwald for Faulhorn 7:30 5 hour climb, reached top at 12:15. Long and difficult. Cloudy so general view was spoiled. Great cloud views however. Down via (?)* and Schynige Platte. The (?) Was when we were lost near Sagisthal Sea. Attempt to make short-cut ended poorly and with loss of 1-1/2 hours so that by running we caught the last train and didn't have to walk down which would have left us tired out. Letter from Ada.
*Transcriber's note: these ? Are his, not mine.
Interlaken towards Turka Pass but did better. A hard days work against time, Homeward Bound. Interlaken 7:45, Brienz 8:45, (19 mi, 2 hr.). Guttamen (9 mi) 11:30 dinner. Handegg Fall very great 1:59 (4 mi). Gornsel Hospice (5 mi) 3:17 Gornsel Pass (3.3 mi) 4:05. Gletsch 4:48 (3.8 mi) Turka Pass (6.2 mi) 6:58 Realp 7:57 (7.7 mi) 20 mi easy, 20 very steep, 4 down 6 up ? & 8 down. Up two mountain ranges and down two.
Realp to Bonaduz 58 mi over Oberalp Pass. Good riding down, coasted 3 & 2 mi. 6 mi. too steep to coast. Dusty and poorer roads later. Dinner of Bratchen and the head of Rhine on Oberalp. Nice ride Verzam - Bonaduz. Conglomerate rocks and pine forest. Rather tired, effect of the two days work - 3 passes in all. Mailed letter at Andermatt to Ada.
Bonaduz along East boundary of Schweiz to Lake Constance down Rhine Valley. Wide level valley, prettier than the Rhone. Few castle ruins. Day of great disputes over the road to take. Cross lots thro' field, saved a mile but lost time to Rorschack, 72 mi. By boat to Lindau. Postkart Ada.
Train Lindau to Munich 137 mi. Left at 10:30, arrived at 7:00. Hilly at first, but latter part of the ride through a very level, parts even marshy, country. This day we had two German bicycle scorchers dodging and running into trees at Lindau. Saw a sunset over a level prairie country. Tendency towards making one homesick.
Forenoon in Old Picture Gallery and received mail. Letter from ACA and Ada. Saw the old collection of Greek sculpture. The original statues, some as old as 2000-2300 years. Saw some of the business streets, monuments, obelisk, etc. Broad streets common, with promenades and bronze monuments. Mailed a letter to Ada.
To New Picture Gallery (modern pictures). Porcelain paintings very good. Collection of Egyptian and ancient antiquities. In afternoon finished up Old Picture Gallery and saw the Basilica. Received another letter from home ACA and got a German haircut, not at all bad. Wrote to FEA and Miss Winger.
Called at Hamburg-American SS Line reading room. Read papers until 10:30, then went to the Maximilian ?, a historical picture gallery. Quite interesting. Afternoon in Academy of Natural Science. Very large collection in Paleontology, Zoology, Ornithology, Geology, Mineralogy, Osteology, Conchology and Entomology.
Train from Munich to Nuremburg. Left 6:30, arrived 1:30. Old, old town. Wall enclosing larger part of town. Buildings with high tapering roofs. Old fashioned indeed. Fountains quite numerous through the streets.
Left Nuremburg 7:23 -"Call for bill overnight hereafter when leaving early". J bought tickets while I waited for "Die Rechnung". Slow train all day. Reached Leipsic at 7:00 p.m. dark rather cloudy. Some good scenery at places. One stretch of alternating tunnels and bridges, good. High viaduct. Found our room in the dark. Letter from Ada waiting here.
Nice clear day. Located, unpacked and arranged room. More homelike. Nine weeks of tramping. Fraulein seems very pleasant. Chase and mother very nice people. Afternoon to a concert then walked out to a park, (NW) Pleasant woods with shady walks. Noticed big & numerous ? Stores. Chase talks German at me. Madchen und ich, zusammen sprechen nicht sehr gut, aber sehr schon.*
* Transcriber's note: Girl and I speak together not very good, but very pretty.
Visited with Mr. Chase and mother large part of forenoon. After eating a large dinner, we settled up accounts for the summer trip. Went around to church services at 5:00 p.m. After evening meal wrote letters until nearly midnight. Wrote to ACA, L.E. Mumford and Ada.