Amsterdam, July 31
On train for Hamburg -Honey dear: -
Your letter of July 12 came today - not forwarded at all. 19 days seems rather slow just to Amsterdam, don't you think? But I'm glad it came before we left.
I'm sorry the garden is so dry - was so dry. But things may have improved. We've had rain enough to share easily. No clear day here, but only one real drenching, on the first day's canal trip. However, my camera takes pictures in all lights - we've had the prints made here and they surely are good. I think you'll enjoy looking at them. Tomorrow on the train I label them, which will be quite a job. There are all kinds, important and otherwise. I like the one of the station labelled "Polcirkeln."
Aug. 2
The train was impossible for writing. This is a wait at the "Damfrisering", namely the shampoo lady. The royal princess comes here. What more could be asked? But you have to wait your turn, no appointments, no running out to do a few errands. - nobody loves me - no letters! I really think I must have some mail stalled somewhere, for I have had so very few letters. Yours have come, thanks be, and two from Beryl, but only two other friendly ones, and the items of business from the Pres. office. It's not normal! However, if they are lost, they'll get to me sometime, for we have left addresses wherever we had told anyone we were to be.
I really didn't write you enough about either the aeroplane trip or the congress in Amsterdam. But they'll have to wait. I can't remember whether I told you of the theatre show at which Grace Bacon joined us. We three had a stall and so had a fine time to talk. There's always somebody to drink up my spirituous portions. I like to drink a little to know how the things taste, but not much. On the boat Mrs. Erikson was able to finish up mine, and since her husband paid the bills and since they were always drinking each other's things, it seemed quite suitable. At the theatre Grace acted in the same capacity - but 'twas an elegant drink I gave her - don't know what!
The Alkmaar trip was very cheerful - I adored that place, but I think I told you a bit about it, cheese, weighhouse tower &c. Also dinner with Mildred Dennett, 1909, who has a husband and two babies, one born during a year of study in Europe, at London, in April. Since then the babe has journeyed in a basket to Prague and forty other places, enjoying foreign travel early, and apparently thriving - very cunning. It has to get home to Minneapolis before it gets too long for the basket. It begins to touch bottom on stretching now and Minneapolis is a month away!
Saturday there were many speeches at the Federation telling what the Dutch women are doing, all most interesting, especially the member of parliament and te botany woman, Johanna Westerdyk, who is a big woman with a string around the middle of a purple bag of a dress, but an obvious power in her country, one of their two full university professors. She gave her own paper on women in biology, many more in botany than in zoology, and read another one for a speaker who was ill. Also she led singing and in general was obvious in managing, and all fine except her clothes - or her habits of eating. She's Miss Searles 15 years ago, plus 50 pounds in weight and 50% of hustle! And clad in a purple bag, of very modest, even tacky, length.
Well, in the afternoon on Saturday there was the best speech of all, by Prof. Zimmern, a man who is the head of the Paris Institute on Intellectual Coöperation. This is under the League of Nations. He is English, and I think I heard him somewhere in the U.S.A. He talked on his subject and it was really thrilling I can tell you, there is something in the intellectual appeal - the world isn't all emotion, even if the psychologists do emphasize that so excessively. Prof. Simmern was followed by the Norwegian woman of eminence, K. Bonnevie, who is on the Federation Com. on Intell. Coöp, which affiliates with the League work, and she was fine too. Both she and Mr. Z- were easily the most interesting speakers I heard. Then I left to go pack! The things I missed were a discussion Sunday mornign led by Prof. Z- and a biological-medical excursion Sunday p.m. There were meetings Monday, too, but nothing I cared particularly about.
We had one more dinner with those nice Bryants before leaving. They knew lots of people we do, including the whole Hamlin crowd. We started at 8:15 Sat. night and got to Stockholm this morning, Monday, at 9:00. It was a varied trip, not as planned. The first night they stirred us up at 12 o'clock to see passports and do customs. We had given away our passports to avoid this, but it did no good. We got in at 6:17 a.m. to Hamburg, and had about two hours for breakfast &c. The station is huge and it was amusing to see how ready they were to take American dollars! I sent you a card from there. Anne brought 30 $1.00 bills and they are a blessing. The loss on exchange is very little and they seem to go anywhere. In the Hamburg station, in Amsterdam, to piece out the end, and on the trains they have been fine.
There was a through car from Hamberg to Copenhagen and we ought to have been in it, but the platform was a mob of folks and luggage. We certainly have no conception in the U.S.A. of hand luggage. We ended up in a 1st Kl. compartment (tickets 2nd) with folks who had a real trunk - or so it looked to us. We changed 8 times or so - no 7 yesterday, once the night before. We went on three train ferries, but never in the train, always with - or without - porters. There were three customs exams, and Sweden seemd to me over-thorough. But we ended in our proper place in the sleeping compartment at Malmö with the "northern" clothes we had left in their luggage storage a week ago. Anne lost a padlock off her dunnage bag, but not by theft - just platform friction! There is a nurses' convention here in Stockholm, and we came with the Danish bunch. I had decided they were nurse and so decided to talk to one - who turned out to be a Presby. N.Y. grad. now head of the Copenhagen municipal hospital, and she was just that fine type we see in our best. It was a pleasant episode. The scenery through Germany and Denmark it was interesting to copmare with our aerial views. The ground tells you such different things, details such as the fact of a certain crop in Denmark which takes great fields being turnips, (orpossibly sugar beets) while what I saw from the air was its blue-green contrast to the yellow grain. I'm crazy to see more of Denmark. Our itinerary may be thrown into the scrap heap, for we do like these regions!
The sun shone out gradually as we crossed Denmark. All three ferries were really very nice save one where we had to stand a half hour. The longest one was two hours, nearly, from Warnemünde in No. Ger. to Denmark, and the boat had steamer chairs almost as good as an ocean liner. We basked in them! The water was all some agitated but not enough to bother folks.
Today in Stockholm it is perfectly glorious weather and we feel so cheerful. It seems so natural and so charming and so clean! We had reserved rooms at the Grand Hotel and they are truly elegant, in a new section of the thing, unfinished a month ago, and now just open. Hot & cold water, such pretty furniture and so many conveniences. It's the place to be extravagant for we've been travelling rather steadily and for long distances. The sleeper last night gave us a fine sleep of a solid eight hours, but I'm going to get a nap today. We pay at the hotel between 2.50 and 2.75 for this elegance of room and we've located an "Automat" where I had breakfast, cereal, mil and weiner brod. for less than 25¢, so we may not be so extravagant after all.
My hair is now clean - so well done! Quite as good as the Göteborg place we enjoyed. It's curled, to keep it from slumping and so I'll be quite à la mode tonight at the reception. But I hope some will come out under my hat. The hat is pretty decent - velour for about $4.75 - grey with blue ribbon to go with my clothes. It seemed foolish to get a good velour, but there was a henna one I'd have bought if I had a few more clothes of that color here. I'm now waiting for them to finish Anne. Her permanent demands a little more treatment than mine and she slipped out a moment as I was started first. Dr. Benedict and wife got out of a taxi as we left the hotel, said they'd been to Lappland. I'm anxious to know how they went and how they liked it. They had less time than we, much. They looked tired and sort of hot, but it was only a fleeting glimpse.
We haven't really made plans, but are likely to stay here a week and then perhaps slip along the Göta canal with a stop of maybe two or three nights along in the middle. And I'm for more Copenhagen myself! These places are hard to get to - why not stay when we're here instead of fooling around with Holland and Belgium which are easier to reach? But I'm still hoping for some word from Alma after both Bennett and the hotel realize we're here. A Hereford, Eng. lady asked me to visit her and I may do it - with moderation - if I don't hear from Alma. I'm still for the Isle of Wight for my last week.
But a day or two will decide.
Much love, honey - I'm still sending to So. Hadley, for even Anne's numerous letters seem to take very different times to get here, and I can't reckon well enough about your end, either, knowing Nova Scotia mails! My love to your companions, too.