Years later, when I learned the African Caravan was in need of an advance scout, I asked Wally if he would consider me for the position. He did, and I worked from July 1959 to April 1960.
Why did I go to Africa? Very simple: to return to Europe and visit those cities I enjoyed in 1956, and to see the part of Europe I missed before I arrived. So simple.
Something changed after being with the Pygmy peoples in the Ituri forest, parking at the Great Pyramids, and shaking Emperor Haile Selassie’s hand. The European cathedrals, and museums had lost my interest. I was in awe throughout our adventures across the African continent.
Wally Byam worked with my mother and planned a three week European tour before we went home. My mother came over with the 1960 European Caravan and brought my father’s car.
Wally was always generous with me and this three-week trip was a thank you for the work I had done.
After the African Caravan met the European Caravan in Trieste, Italy, mom and I went as far as Venice with the group. Our odyssey began when we left the group in Venice.
Our itinerary scheduled my favorite European city, Innsbrück, Austria. Having the enjoyment of eating Wienerschnitzel, German potato salad, red cabbage and spätzle at our favorite restaurant. Evening entertainment with slap dancing and yodeling; I have such wonderful memories of the Tyrol.
Our next stop was Zürich. In 1956 I arrived at night and Wally, Stella, my mother and I left the airport for the campsite in Lucerne. There were beautiful landscapes, quaint buildings, and marvelous shopping. While on the Nubian Desert and stuck in the sand for several hours, I lost my Swiss Army knife. I replaced it and I still have it and use it today. The knife just had its fifty-sixth birthday.
Your imagination runs wild in Southern France as you travel up the Loire River. Vincent Van Gogh is everywhere, in the golds, the flowers, the trees and grazing animals. We stayed at a bed and breakfast on the second floor with a double window that we opened at sunrise and Vincent’s painting were alive.
Paris, oh my, I missed the “City of Lights” in 1956, but not this trip. This was Wally favorite European City and he wanted me to enjoy the City as he did.
Our hotel was quaint, small, furnished with antiques and an open elevator. We were in walking distance of the Paris Opera.
It is opera night. Carmen by George Bizet will be our evening entertainment. There is no doubt, the robust music and wonderful arias make this one of the special operas to attend. The Paris presentation had galloping horse entering the stage, monkeys and other animals. This performance was exhilarating, quite a production.
The Louvre, the gallery that features the Winged Victory statue as you climb the stairs into the museum. Yes she smiles; yes Leonardo da Vinci took time off from his engineering and inventing to paint the haunting Mona Lisa. Every hall has a new page from an art history text book. Wonderful!
The First World War is over. The Peace Treaty of Versailles is signed. As the various representatives from the nations involved walk down the Hall of Mirrors there are maimed soldiers strategically placed for the delegates to face the horrors of war. The unfortunate signing of the Treaty humbled Germany thus setting the stage for the Second World War.
The Versailles château was the residence for the absolute monarch and his queen, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. When the Revolution began in October 1789 they fled to Paris, where they were eventually executed by the guillotine.
No wonder there was a revolution when you see the wasteful opulence and the depletion of the French treasury. Versailles beauty is overwhelming, and its effect politically is understood. This is a wonderful tour, and a must on a trip to Paris.
Gustave Eiffel engineered and gave Paris its Statue of Liberty. The Eiffel Tower is synonymous with France, Freedom and the French. Mom and I went up to the restaurant and had a table by the window overlooking Paris. Our meal was very good. After the meal came the highlight, Baked Alaska with flaming fire tongues above the desert. What a spectacular end to a meal and memories of the Eiffel Tower.
My mother and I covered several tourist "must see" places and events every day until evening when we went to dinner and returned to the hotel. Paris comes alive at night. I tucked my mother in bed and crossed the Seine to the infamous Left Bank where the youth and students frequent.
After leaving the United States in 1959 the rage was folk music. It had blossomed in one year. I found a small café with entertainment. There were two Scottish brothers playing guitars and singing folk songs. My evening began at 10PM and ended around 3AM, I went back to the hotel had a few hours of sleep, then my mother and I were ready to see more of what Paris had to offer.
One evening after the folk song performance I sat with the brothers for several hours. I mentioned I had traveled in Africa and was in Beirut, Lebanon for several days with the Caravan. They perked up and asked me if I had been to the Kit Kat, an upscale cabaret in Beirut. I told them that I had gone there with a group of the Caravanners several nights in a row.
They had been one of the floor shows at the Kit Kat singing folk music!
Next, we were back in Holland at dinner time at the Garoeda in The Hague enjoying another rice table. With our sailing date approaching, we took a day’s trip to Brussels and visited the Atomium. What an amazing structure dedicated to the 20th Century Age of the Atom.
My European experience has ended, and we are sailing home. We were seated at the Captain’s table for the entire voyage, and attended several cocktail gatherings in the Captain’s cabin.
I can never express or repay the gratitude that I have my youthful travels. Wally Byam, Helen Byam Schwamborn, the Wally Byam Caravan Club and Airstream provided me with a lifetime of memories. I share them freely and often as I can.
Part Three: From New York to Zurich
Part Four: An Instant Connection
Part Five: Brimming With Enthusiasm
Part Six: An Early Morning Excursion
Part Seven: One, Two, Down the Hatch
Part Eight: All The Way Through Europe
Part Nine: A Memory Not Forgotten
