1981 - Family Trip #1 - Washington - Stamford

Sunday 5 April 1981 -  Washington

It was overcast today when we stirred and after a good breakfast at Lums (despite objections from Nora, who wanted to try something else) we set off for the Natural History section of the Smithsonian. What a place! I could have spent weeks there, but as I only had about an hour and a half, I concentrated on the American Indian section, which was really interesting. I only got half way through it when time ran out.

It had been raining on and off all morning, but we took a chance and went off to the zoo. We got showered on a couple of times before it came down heavily and we had to make a dash for it. We enjoyed ourselves and saw some very interesting animals, including the Giant Pandas, who were having a lunch of bamboo when we were there. The otters too were very amusing. (Rab had a poor experience with hot pretzels, which we were sure were not properly cooked.) Once again, our time was so limited that we could only see a fraction of what was on show.

We drove around for a bit, seeing more sights of Washington, including Watergate and the J F Kennedy Memorial Centre, before going to Lums for supper. A delicious meal of fried clam strips and very reasonable. We got back quite early and, while the kids watched TV in one room, we played Rummicube in the other. We had several beers and the girls had some pre-mixed cocktails - Pinacoladas and some ghastly Strawberry concoction. (Another ‘first’ for us – we’d never heard of pre-mixed drinks in cans or bottles.) Anyway they enjoyed it and we had a good evening.

All in all our best day yet in the USA.

Monday 6 April 1981 -  Washington - Stamford

The sun was shining today, as we packed to return to Stamford, but there was a biting wind blowing. Vicki was not at all well, so we had the luggage in the passenger area and she slept in the back, which also gave Matt a chance to stretch out. He was very tired because he had a lot of late nights watching TV. We had our final breakfast at Lums and set off on our return journey.

At home with the Schafers

The journey back to Stamford was very interesting - through Pennsylvania - and we stopped off at Bird-in-the-Hand (just near Intercourse!) to have a look at the Amish community handicrafts. (I wanted to buy an Amish flat hat, but this was vetoed) We also saw a lot of Amish people in their buggies. The farms throughout the trip were really so typical of the stereotype American farm, it was quite amusing. Big red barns, whitewashed houses, all built of clapboard. Actually it is the one thing that amazes me about America - the wooden houses. (Virtually all houses in South Africa are brick built) Most of the houses we have seen have been wooden construction and, if the Schafer’s condominium is anything to go by,(and Uli says it is) very flimsy wood at that. The doors are very thin, as are the walls and floor. We can hear the Schafers talking upstairs when we are in bed in the basement and also the neighbours TV.

I drove most of the way back, which I enjoyed. It was interesting seeing the countryside and our trip took us through the Poconos Mountains (pronounced Poke A Nose!). We drove through the Delaware Gap and the scenery was spectacular. We did not have much traffic on our side of the road, but it was solid on the other side - 6 lanes at times. We got back at about 19.00, rather weary, but managed to go down to the pizza restaurant and get two enormous pizzas and some beers and cocktails, which we drank while having our evening game of Rummicube.

We decided that we would go to New York tomorrow with Nora, leaving Uli to look after Michael and Vicki, who was still sick.

1981 - Family Trip #1 - Washington DC

Saturday 4 April 1981 -  Washington DC

We woke quite early and watched TV – especially the cartoons, which are on here first thing in the morning, much to Matt's delight - for a bit before getting the show on the road. After the somewhat disastrous meal of the night before, we decided to choose our breakfast eatery more carefully.

We drove across Alexandria to an area where there were a lot more hotels (at about half the price we were paying!) and had an excellent meal at Lums - pancakes, bacon and eggs at an average price of about $2 per head. It was a nice day again, although it was a bit windy. There were crowds of people around, including hundreds of coaches from all over the country, bringing in the teams for the grand Cherry Blossom Parade, which was being held that day. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any good photographs of the cherry trees.

What a tragic waste of lives these headstones represent - brave men and women all

JFK Memorial

We went to Arlington in the morning and found it very impressive, especially the Kennedy's graves. (The Vietnam memorial wall had not yet been built) I was particularly moved by the text on Bobby's memorial, which is a quote from a speech he made in 1966 in South Africa:

" It is from numberless acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

(The strict censorship which applied in South Africa in 1966 meant that we had never heard or read what Kennedy had said in his speech until now – which is why it was so moving.)

From Arlington, we drove around the areas of Washington which we had missed the day before and then headed for home. I would have loved to see the parade, but was in a minority and it was agreed that we would watch it on television. On the way back we called in at Crystal City, which is a large modern development, with office blocks and apartments above ground and a shopping complex below. We had a nice snack of pizza and tacos in the "Dinery", which featured 12 different ethnic foods and spent an hour looking around, which was very interesting.( This was our first experience of a food court, something unknown in Southern Africa at that time. I am sure that this was the first time we saw a comic collectors shop, which aroused Matt' interest and led to him starting to collect).

We got back to the hotel at about 14.30 and watched the parade until it was taken off TV at about 15.15. Seeing the bit we did only reinforced my view that I should have gone to watch. What an incredible bunch Americans are at play! I could have watched for hours. We had a game of Rummicube before we went out for the evening. We had decided to go to David Lee's Empress to have Peking Duck, on the recommendation of the Hollyhokes, (friends of ours in Cape Town, South Africa who knew a thing or two about a good meal) who said that it was the best in the world. Since it was quite a long way over the other side of town and Uli felt that parking might be a problem, we decided to go by Metro. We left from Crystal City and the ride was quite pleasant, if a little noisy - the brakes are very loud.

We got off at Metro Centre and walked a couple of blocks to see the White House, which was very impressive. We had intended originally to catch another train to the restaurant, but as time was running out, we caught a cab - all seven of us piling in - and had a hair raising ride. The restaurant was most disappointing and very expensive. The duck which  the Hollyhokes  make at home is more succulent than that served in the restaurant. It turned out that the awards the restaurant received were in 1973/4/5/6 and not since then! We trekked back by Metro, feeling a bit disconsolate. The trains were very confusing because none of the direction names had been changed. We finally caught one which showed three destinations (one of which was ours) and several other signs, such as "No Passengers"!

1981 - Family Trip #1 - Stamford - Washington

Friday 3 April 1981 -  Stamford - Washington

We were awake fairly early this morning and re-packed our suitcases as we were heading down to Washington DC and only wanted to take one with us. I went for a sorely needed run, which was very refreshing. The sun was quite high, but it was still very nippy.

We finally left at about 09.00 for our side trip and had a good view of the Manhattan skyline as we circled the city. But the most impressive aspect of the early part of our journey was the sheer volume of the traffic. At one stage the highway was six lanes each way and, although our lanes were not so full, all six incoming lanes were almost solid for miles and miles. The road surfaces in this area (and many others, we found) are appalling. Full of potholes and bumps. We travelled most of the morning on a Turnpike which, although a very fast road, was a bit dull because one cannot see much of the countryside.

 

We had never seen a four lane bridge!

In the vicinity of Philadelphia, we turned off onto a minor highway and made our way to Washington via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The countryside was much more interesting and the view from the bridge magnificent. I drove for the last couple of hours and found it not too difficult, except for turns at intersections, particularly left hand turns, where I had a tendency to move over to the left hand side of the road.

 

View from the bridge

Matt in the Kombi

Our hotel was in Alexandria, just outside Washington, an area which is of historic interest, much of which has been preserved in it's original form. Even the modern buildings are built in "Colonial" style in an effort to preserve the atmosphere. The hotel was OK, but much more expensive than we had anticipated - $55 per night. No meals - although it was said that a Continental breakfast was included, they didn't specify which Continent and, as a result, "breakfast" consisted of one donut and a cup of wishy washy coffee. We unloaded our luggage (to this day I have no idea what the porter, who was a country boy from one of the Southern States was trying to say to me as he helped us across to our room - it was the first time that I realised that American was really a foreign language) and as it was a lovely evening, we decided to go into Washington.

The blossomsdon't show

Regrettably, I didn't take my camera because the cherry blossoms were absolutely magnificent. One view really stands out in my mind - looking down an avenue of flowering trees with the Jefferson Memorial in the background. We drove around for a while, just gawking at the sights (the daffodils were also out in strength) and landed up at the Smithsonian Aeronautical Museum. It was just before 19.00 when we got there and I felt very sorry for the kids because, although we had some sandwiches in the car, we hadn't really eaten since breakfast. Uli and Nora didn't seem to worry about food as much as we do (perhaps not so obsessive as someone suggested!), but we got Matt a snack in the cafeteria. I could have spent a week in the museum and in the hour we had there I managed to see briefly some of the items I wanted to. It really is unbelievable what they have in there. The space items are the most fascinating, although the old aircraft were also very interesting.(The sheer size of the building is the most outstanding memory - full size aircraft hang from the ceiling like models in a child's bedroom - the one I recall, probably because I could relate best to it was a DC3 -Dakota!)

We left at about 20h00 and drove around looking at the Capitol and a couple of other memorials which were floodlit. We (the Herberts) were both starving and very tired at this stage, so when Nora suggested having a burger we agreed out of inertia, although we really felt like something more substantial. We made our way to a Roy Rogers Ranch at Nora's suggestion, which was absolutely ghastly. It was dirty and smelly and the food was awful. Anyway we shovelled it down (not forgetting, as the signs urged us, to be good cowboys and clear away our table) and were quite happy to go off to bed, but it was not to be. Nora had promised her kids ice cream, so we walked two more blocks away from the car (which was two blocks away from R.R.R.) to get them. They were very nice, but unnecessary.

Anyway, we finally got back to the hotel and crashed. until about 07h00 the next morning.

1981 - Family Trip #1 - Amsterdam - New York

Thursday 2 April 1981 -  Amsterdam – New York

We woke quite early and completed our packing before going down to breakfast, which was the same as yesterday and good. We checked out and arranged for our bags to be brought down the dreaded sixty one steps and off we went - first stop Boon Toys because the Russian car purchased there was defective. However it was not to be because, although it was 09.30 when we got there, the shop was not open and neither was the American Book Store, where Matt had spotted a Star Wars book.  (We were used to South African/Zimbabwean opening times – most shops opened at 08.00, and closed at 17.00))

We wandered around for about an hour, just looking at the sights - and there were quite a lot, even at that time of the morning! (It was only years later that we discovered that Matt had been practically traumatised by some of the sights in the red light district which we wandered into inadvertently, despite the fact we shot out as soon as we realised where we were!) and then went back to Boon, where we exchanged the car for another, which had a different defect. Since we had also picked up the Star Wars book, we went back to the hotel to gather our bags and a cab. We had intended going by taxi to the KLM terminus and then catch a bus out to Schipol, but it turned out that there was not much difference in price between doing this and going straight out in the taxi, which was much more convenient. The fare was about fl 50 (R10) which was, I thought, reasonable.

The airport was very nice and clean and the check in girl very pleasant. Unfortunately, the seats which we had booked the day before had been given to someone else, but, as it turned out, our seats were OK - there was a good deal more leg room than on SAA flights. Rab had a great old time going throughout the duty free shops at the airport. She got some perfume and I got some booze. Our flight was called at about 13.15 and we made our way to our gate - thank goodness for moving pavements. Matt reckoned one was about 1 km long, and I think he may not have been far out.

We found, when all our fellow passengers were gathered together in the departure lounge, that we had a large contingent of Hassidic rabbis on our flight. Rab was a little apprehensive about the long trans-oceanic flight but I suggested that with all these holy people aboard, the chances of her using her flotation vest were minimised,  What a sight they were - about 24 of them: once we were in the air the younger ones seemed to spend their entire time wandering up and down the aisles of the aircraft. Maybe they were praying.

Matt's Cover for my Journal

The flight across was smooth, the food was good, Matt and I enjoyed the movie and, as the weather here was fine, our first view of the States was magnificent as we flew in over Long Island. We even caught a glimpse of the Empire State Building as we taxied in. We arrived at about 22.30 Amsterdam time and I thought Matt would be tired, but he was quite chirpy.

After the enjoyable flight, the ground control at JFK was a great disappointment. For a start, we had to walk miles and although Immigration facilities were not too bad, the scene at luggage reclaiming was like Dante's Inferno. The facilities were obviously erected long before the days of Jumbo jets, because there just was not enough room. To make matters worse, the luggage was coming on one of two mechanical belts. I watched one and Rab watched the other, while Matt battled valiantly to keep the hordes from stomping all over the hand baggage. Eventually we had all our goods together and then had the problem of joining the Customs queue. Not for the Americans the simplicity of a Green/Red Customs exit. Every passenger had to go through one of six Customs posts and, in many cases, the baggage was searched. All in all, a bit of a nightmare (and the last thing we needed after the long flight across the Atlantic - it was quite a few years before the Americans introduced Green exits). 

Having fought our way through these tremendous obstacles, we captured a friendly porter, who took us and our baggage through to arrivals, where there was no sign of our friends the Schafers who were to meet us! They pitched up after about ten minutes, and although we pulled their legs about being late as usual and it was lovely to see them. The trip back to Stamford was interesting as we circled the outskirts of New York, through the Bronx etc. I was very surprised to see how much wasteland there was, much of which reminded me of the outskirts of Johannesburg - long brown grass, burned out in parts - with industrial rubbish scattered here and there. The picture I had in my mind of areas like the Bronx was every inch being used, but it just ain't so.

Stamford and the area around here are lovely and it must be really beautiful in summer because there are so many trees. All the roads are tree lined, which disguises the fact that there are so many of them. It is only when you come to a major interchange or a built up area that you realise how many there are and how many vehicles there are around. We had a very nice meal of Steak Tartare and a lot of chatting. Matt saw some TV, which impressed him, and we finally got to bed at about 22.45 (local time), which meant that we had been up and on the go for the best part of 24 hours.

1981 - Family Trip #1 - Madurodam

Wednesday 1 April 1981 -  Madurodam

We woke later than expected since it was a case of "lights out" at 21.15 last night. It was very misty and quite cool. We made the most of a good Dutch breakfast of boiled egg, coffee, ham, cheese and bread (one of each, except the white bread - two of those!) and then caught a tram in Rembrandt square to Centraal and from there caught a train to The Hague. From there another tram took us to Madurodam – the miniature village which included prominent Amsterdam buildings.

Rab and Matt in Madurodam

The train trip was, once again, very smooth indeed and although the mist was fairly thick, we got a good view of the scenery on either side of the track - the polders, the sheep and the flowers. Matt was thrilled with Madurodam and we spent about 3 hours there. I must say, it is a fabulous place and it was very difficult to decide which of the items one liked best. Hope all the pictures came out. Had to laugh after the event at a bit of a difference of opinion we had about the souvenir photos they took there at fl 4 each (R1.30) or fl 10 the lot. I said buy all three, but Rab was adamant that one was enough because of the expense! Then we went and spent another fl 100 on dress material! (This had an echo eight years later in Queensland when the party decided not to go into a wild butterfly enclosure in the Atherton Tablelands because it was too expensive at $4.00 a head, or $16.00 for the 4 of us. The hotel we were staying at - Mirage - charged about $16.00 for a drink, let alone a round!)

The expensive picture

We went on, again by tram, to Scheveningen, but after a brief walk along the front, feeling very chilly, we had a snack lunch of Haring and frites ( plus mayonais) before catching a tram back to the station. It was the first really cold day we have had, at least cold enough to wear our gloves, that is. Of course, we had left them at the hotel! We caught the Metro to Waterloo Plein after an uneventful trip from The Hague back to Amsterdam because there is a flea market there. We arrived only fifteen minutes before closing time so did not have a chance to see much, but what we did see was fascinating. We were going to catch a tram, but walked instead, to Muntiplein, where there was a big department store where Rab bought her material while Matt and I went to the Boon toyshop and bought a Russian  police car and another Star Wars figure.

A last look at Amsterdam

Since it was coming up to 18.00, we went to a coffee shop near the hotel where we had soup, chili con carne, uitsmeijeiring and pancakes, all for R13.00 including beers and coffee. And so to bed

1981 - Family Trip #1 - Amsterdam

Tuesday 31 March 1981 -  Amsterdam

We woke early this morning, despite the late night and were all ready when the taxi arrived at 07.50. We all piled in and drove to the station in Bonn, amazed to hear an apologetic announcement that the train would be two minutes late. We’d never heard of such a thing in South Africa – or Britain for that matter - if the train turned up somewhere about the expected time that would be a bonus. Sure enough the train pulled in spot on the new time and before long we were off on the next leg of our saga.

It was a misty, moisty morning, so we could not see much of the countryside. There was an old, non-English speaking German in our compartment, who had been sitting in one of our seats before Rab kicked him out. He tried, unsuccessfully to engage us in light conversation until he got out at Koln. It was quite a relief and fortunately the train was not crowded, so we had the compartment to ourselves. Matt and I popped along to the refreshment car next door at mid-morning and collected 3 sandwiches and a couple of drinks, which were a bit pricey at about Dm25, but they were tasty.

We were soon over the Dutch border and there was great excitement when we caught sight of our first windmill. It was still misty, but cleared a bit later and we were able to enjoy the Dutch countryside flashing past. The ride was very smooth and all the officials very pleasant.

Our hotel - tall and thin

We duly arrived at Amsterdam Centraal and hailed a taxi to take us to our hotel. The driver had never heard of the hotel, but we found the address in our papers and he located the hotel without too much difficulty. I don't think that any of us were quite expecting what we found because it was so unlike any establishment we had stayed in before. The hotel itself is just like a very tall, very narrow house. The reception is below ground level and in one corner is the practically spiral staircase, which goes up, practically vertically (sixty one steps) to the roof, below which is our room! The bathroom is unbelievable. In the area normally occupied by a bath alone, they have managed to fit in a basin, a toilet a radiator and a bath! A hip-bath, mind you, which I fill pretty amply.

Not a great deal of room for two

Anyway, we deposited our luggage and traipsed down the sixty one steps in search of Amsterdam. The first person we met tried to bum 80 cents off us; there was graffiti everywhere; dog-shit abounded; the air smelled foetid and the place looked dirty, especially after Bonn. We all felt let down. (Especially Rab, who had such happy memories of Amsterdam from a previous visit and who had been telling us how marvellous it was going to be when we got there) We wandered around the streets all afternoon and had a visit to Madame Tussaud's. We tried Haring Rolletjie at a corner stand and Veal Crokets with Frits and Mayonais at a Wimpy. We saw the Dam and we confirmed our flight on Thursday at the KLM offices in Leideplein. By which time we were tired, so we wended our way back to the hotel, bought some marvellous cheese and some biscuits from the shop on the corner, and slowly climbed the sixty one steps to our room.

Rab and Matt contemplate the view

After snacking on our snacks, I fell asleep (it was now 18.00) and slept for an hour. Felt much better and quite peckish when I woke up, so we all trooped down the sixty one steps and went up a couple of blocks to Rembrandtsplein, where I bought today's Telegraph and we had a bite to eat. Rab wanted pea soup, which was not available, so settled for Kippensop (ie Chicken Noodle) and Matt had Tomato. I had Uitsmeijeiring (ie ham and cheese and eggs on bread) and a beer - total cost about R8.00. We walked home and met a very friendly marmalade cat.

1981 - Family Trip #1 - Shopping in Bonn

Monday 30 March 1981 -  Bad Godesburg/Bonn

The decision was that we should leave early this morning and to that end we would not eat at the flat, but on the move! Well, we landed up having "only" fruit, coffee and yoghurt at the flat and finally left at about 09.30!

It was overcast today and a lot cooler and we walked down to Bad Godesburg to see a toy shop that Matt had seen there, which wasn't too exciting. It was interesting to see the town square and the shops, including a vending machine that sold poop scoops for people with dogs! There was a marvellous scene outside one of the shops, with the shopkeeper screaming like a virago at two blokes who were trying to deliver a case of goods to her front entrance. We thought at first that she was going to dump the case into the road in front of a passing car, but she finally desisted - the temptation was obviously great though.

We caught a tram into Bonn and got tickets for the early train to Amsterdam tomorrow, leaving at 08.31. The booking system was most impressive and we now know almost to the inch where we must stand in the morning to get aboard. The fare was most reasonable too, I think - R50.00 for the three of us, considering that the single fare from London to Birkhamstead was R4.50 (2.50 pounds).

From the station we went to the toy shop so that Matt could make his major purchase of Playmobil. His total budget was R110 from birthday presents (he had his tenth birthday the day he and Rab flew out of Cape Town) and in the end spent R40, leaving a reasonable remainder for  purchases in the United States. I think his choice was, in the end, a good balance. Anyway, he was thrilled and is now playing with some of them.

On we went to a large department store where Rab had seen some material she fancied. Jan left us there and then went on to her work at the shop. (I think it was at this stage that she confessed to having some problem in trying to move around with a group which had to reach consensus on all major decisions!) Rab bought R40 worth of material at what she said was a reasonable price. We then went back to meet Jan after an abortive attempt to buy her a toaster with a travellers cheque which was not acceptable to the shop.

After a cup of coffee while waiting for her we went on to an old pub for lunch and very good it was too - Matt is impressed with everything German and especially the potato dumplings! After lunch we made a few more purchases, including two bottles of Cuja-Cuja and then back home. We had intended going to the Museum, but found that it was closed on Mondays. ( This was fortuitous as far as my travelling companions were concerned since both loathed museums) On the way home we popped into another department store - Hertie - to get Jan's toaster and saw some enormous stuffed animals in the toy department. Life sized donkey, calf, sheep etc at prices from R800 to R180! But marvellous to see.

Last Supperwith Jan

We had a bite to eat at the flat since the local pub was closed, it being Monday. Christine - Jan's secretary - had popped around to bring Jan a present, which was a book of potato recipes plus a couple of kilos of new potatoes. So for supper we had goulash soup and new potatoes, plus, of course, cold meat etc etc and toast from the new machine. We also polished off the odd litre of German white wine - OK, but nothing to write home about - and then Jan brought out some home made Kirsch given to her by a friend in Switzerland. (It was Agnes and Claude in fact who we finally met in Sydney in 1987) It was rather powerful proof alcohol and I declined any more after finishing mine (and Rab's!). So we switched to Mandarin Napoleon, a glorious drink. I eventually went off to bath, leaving Jan, just a little bit tipsy, talking to Rab. We both felt that, despite her very good job and all her acquaintances, she is quite lonely and had in fact rather enjoyed having us. (Having lived in foreign countries ourselves now, I think it was not loneliness so much as just missing people with a similar shared background.)