Letters To Home - July 12, 1952

Giessen, Germany
July 12, 1952

My leave is over much too soon, and I'm back in camp again. I got back today about noon, so that will give me today and tomorrow to get all my things straightened out and to rest up a bit.

I spent six days in Copenhagen, and the rest of the time was spent in Germany seeing some of the territory that I had not seen before. Copenhagen was the best; I'll never forget it. Everything there is so modern and clean. Almost everyone speaks English, and every so often someone would stop me and ask if I was enjoying my stay in Denmark. I stayed at the Axelborg Hotel the whole time. It compares with anything in Cleveland. It cost 17 kroners a day, which is about $2.50 American, but that included breakfast, always a very large breakfast. I usually had bacon and eggs, Danish pastry with marmalade, strawberries and cream, and coffee or tea. For lunch I usually wasn't too hungry, but would maybe eat a shrimp sandwich or something like that, and try to get hungry for dinner. Almost every restaurant had something on the menu called a "mixed grill," which is really a large meal. It's usually several different kinds of grilled meat, with a vegetable salad, bread and butter, and a glass of beer. Almost more than I could eat, but I managed. I found wonderful meals almost every place I stopped, and the prices were reasonable.

I did get to Malmo, Sweden for just a few hours. The Swedes and the Danes don't seem to be too friendly to each other, probably because the Swedes were neutral, and Denmark was occupied by the Germans. Malmo was pretty, but I didn't go much beyond the water front. You can see Sweden from Copenhagen on a clear day. A ferry runs back and forth about every hour. You do have to go through customs, but that was no problem.

The one thing that really bothered me was that at this time of the year, there doesn't seem to be much night. It seemed that I could go to sleep in daylight at 11:30 p.m., and it was broad daylight again about 3 a.m. That would be hard to get used to.

On the map I sent, you can see how I made the trip; from Giesen to Frankfurt, then to Kassel, Gottingen, Hannover,Hamburg, Neumunster, Flensburg, Padborg, Fredericia, Nyborg (ferry boat) Korsor, then Copenhagen. The trip was 21 hours one-way, but was pleasant. I had a 4-place compartment, shared it with a British soldier, a Canadian soldier who is also in the British army, a very pleasant Danish lady, and myself. We all spoke English, got along fine. The Danish lady was quite helpful when it came to paying for the meal I had on the train, told me all about the Danish money I would have to get from the American Express office in Copenhagen.

I certainly would like to take another trip to Denmark, but probably won't get the chance in the time I have left here. When the pictures come back, I'll send them along.

I have to close now. Is the Plymouth still running well? Write soon, please.