Richmond Hill High School - Archway / Dome Yearbook (Richmond Hill, NY)

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interesting X-ray tube factory, l returned to Berlin just before the beginning of the Olympics. The capital was crowded with visitors from all over the world, who had come for the games, and the flags of the competing na- tions were flying in every corner of the city. No one tallced of anything but the games. We were in our seats early on August 'Ist and watched the huge stadium filling up with people of all nationalities. The airship Hin- denburg circled around and over the stadium, there was a flourish of trum- pets from the towers at the gates and exactly on scheduled time the solemn tones of the great Olympic bell Hcalled the youth of the worldn and the contestants marched in. Each group was preceded by a color-bearer with its flag and by a young man bearing a shield with the name of the country. The Swiss had a flag-swinger who did marvelous triclcs with the Swiss flag, throwing it high aloft in all possible ways, even rolling it up and throw- ing it high in the air behind his bacl4, and, as it unfurled in the air and descended, always catching it again with great dexterity, The moment the French contingent appeared, the spectators went wild with cheering, and the French held their flag dipped and gave the Olympic salute for the entire march around the stadium. The three hundred and fifty seven American contestants marched in, resplendent in straw hats and blue jaclcets, loolcing very unmilitary, but very much like home. When the games had been officially opened, eighty thousand carrier pigeons from com- peting countries were let loose to talce the news home, filling the air with circling birds. ln a moment the last torch-relay runner entered the stadium with the flame from Greece, and the Olympic fire was lit. , held, l found the Olympic fire burning on the mast of the l-lansa Kogggfj, a medieval trading ship of the type of the Santa Maria. Kiel, and its sur- roundings, l had been warned, were dreadfully monotonous, without a hill for miles, and with rain almost every day. l-lowever, it proved to be one of the most interesting spots of my entire trip. The flat country seemed to me to have a charm surpassing that of hilly parts, while the Kieler foerde reminded one at once of Long lsland Sound. There was plenty of oppor- tunity to go swimming in the icy bay, and although the water swarmed with huge jellyfish, they didn't sting even when one toolc them out of the water in his hand. The races were wonderful, with the weather and sailing conditions changing from day to day. Though Kiel could not boast of many foreign spectators, the little steamers following the races were crowded, even on cold or rainy days. When l-litler came to view the races there was great excitement, whenever his boat neared a Steamer, its occupants brolce out with wild cheers for their Hfuehrern. The only circumstance to mar my enjoyment of the races was the poor showing made by Leaving Berlin for Kiel, where the Olympic sailing races were beirggg-5

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poets, Goethe and Schiller, had lived, and then there were trips to a labor camp and to a B. D. M. CBund Deutscher Maedell camp. At this latter, which might be compared with our Girl Scout camps, the girls served us supper and showed us over the whole camp, after which they en- tertained us with follc-songs and follc-dances. ln return for this the Danish members of our course sang songs of their country, and a young Scot played Scotch tunes on the piano. When the girls found out that it was the birth- day of the little round Welshman in our party, they brought in a candle for him and we all sat around the hugest round table l ever saw and celebrated. The poor fellow had to stand up and malte a valiant attempt at a speech in German. We finished up the vacation course with a farewell get-together at the Blaclt Bear Hotel, where Martin Luther had stayed when in Jena. The groups from each country sang follc-songs-people from Denmarlc, Sweden, Finland, England, Scotland, Wales, France, ltaly, Switzerland, Turlcey and the United States. Our group, which besides us contained a young couple Hom lflarvard and a student from some other college, sang Home on the ange . 'falcing a roundabout route to reach Wuerzburg, l had the opportunity to go over the Wartburg at Eisenach, where Martin Luther translated the Bible, and to see the splendid Hall where the lVlinnesaenger held their contests, the rooms of St. Elizabeth, of whom the story of the miracle of the roses is told, and the room in which Luther worlced, where the plaster had been torn from the wall by souvenir-hunters at the spot where he is said to have thrown an inlc-stand at the devil. Wuerzburg, the city of Rococco, which l had lilced especially last sum- mer, again impressed me with its pleasant atmosphere - the old fortress on the terraced hillside rising up over the winding River Main, the ancient, four hundred year old bronze crane, the many old hospitals and charitable institutions with their wealth of vineyards, the dozens of churches and the magnificent palace of the Prince Bishops with its ceilings painted by Tiepolo and its lovely formal garden. Cnc cannot stay in Franconia for any length of time without becoming acquainted with its Boclcsbeutel wine, its Rococco and Baroque archi- tecture and the worlcs of Riemenschneider, the master stone and wood carver of the sixteenth century. To me Wuerzburg seems to possess the best of all these. A visit to Rothenburg proved that this little medieval town is everything the guide boolcs say about it, and still nicer. There are not merely one or two old houses, but the whole town is full of buildings from the middle ages, still the same as when built, while the old city walls are in almost perfect condition. The half-timbered and gabled houses, old stone fountains, apothe- caries shops with their quaint signs and the ancient churches with tombs of lcnights gave a picture of the middle ages. After passing thru Bamberg again, with its beautiful thirteenth century cathedral, and thru Rudolstadt, where l was able to visit an

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our entries, the best record being made in the star class, where we managed to ralce together enough points for a fifth place. Unquestionably the finest sailing was done by Dr. Bischoff of Germany, who in his star boat toolc five firsts, one second and one fourth place out of a total of seven races. To see him handle his boat in a close finish was enough to talse one's breath away. Kiel is essentially a naval city-I couIdn't imagine it without its gray, square-sterned warships, its square-rigged school ship and its neat, blue- jaclceted sailors. The British cruiser Neptune and I3oIand's training ship were visiting at the time of the games, and Iater the Italian cruiser Gorizia arrived. Last summer it had seemed amusing to me that people loved so much to promenade in the Kurparlcs of the nation's spas, but this is as nothing to the thousands of Kielfs inhabitants who turned out each evening to crowd along the I-Iindenburg Ufer, the long broad waterfront promenade, where they listened to the naval band or broadcasts of the Qlympic Games in Berlin. Some nights there was a special attraction of searchlight practice by the ships in the harbor, which was joined in by the visiting cruisers. It was on this promenade that the closing ceremonies for the sailing races were held. Sailors, S. A. men, and youths from labor camps marched along carrying torches, the flags of the victorious nations were hoisted as their national anthems were played, and hundreds of Itayalcs with Japanese lanterns paddled about near the shore. Suddenly on all the warships in the harbor, torch flames appeared in rows around the declts, which at a rocket signal were all tossed into the sea, while searchlights shone up into the air. I Iowever, the poor Italians, who evidently had difficulty in under- standing the arrangement, remained holding their torches until they either beat them out against the sides of the ship or finally also threw them into the bay. At another roclcet signal the searchlights went out, there was a flourish of trumpets, and the Qlympic fire on the mast of the Kogge flicltered and died out. The Qlympic sailing races of 'I936 were at an end. I I I : 5 ' Li..