1940 Magnet Yearbook

32 THE MAGNET, 1940
German Odyssey
GAY ARMOUR, SA
The "GrcnZCI)(llizci" (Border Police)
with their heel-clicking cftidency. had been
leh behind. and. tnrou/.:h the windows of
our compartment we could see the cultivattfl
fi ...lds of the Rhindand. For we were
in Germany. and ahead lay ten days of
siJ:hl·seein~ in this land of Luther. of \\'a~ner.
of Goclhe. and now of the demagol?:ue
of many worrls-:\dolj)h Hitler.
We arrived in Colog:ne in mid-afternoon.
and :-ince time was short. bc,gan our sightseein,g
immediately. Right beside the railroad
station, twin spires etched against the
blue of a summer sky st,Ul(] above the Cologne
Calhc{lral, by far thl' city's most illl­
])()sing building. The Cathedral is an enornlOUS
structure filled with statues and
carvings. and softly lit by stainerl-!!:lass
windows of breath-taking- heauty_ ,re
walked, we exclaimed. we walked some
more. and when we left it was night in Cologne-ni,ght
in a city on the Rhine-our
first nil!;ht in Germany.
We had dinner at the hotel. and then
rushed excitedly outside to mingle with the
crowds in the strccts. admiring- brilliant
nower-boxes on window-sills, listening to
music coming from many cafeS. and looking-
over bridg-es that took twenty minutes'
fast lI'alkin!{ 10 cross. Suddenly we heard
voices sing-ing-singin).! bealHiful1y. We
ran to the sitle of the britlge on which we
were standin,g: a company of S. A. (storm
troopers) was passing beneath. singing
their regimental song. There was nothin~
ominous about them in their khaki shirls
and black fota~e caps: Ihey all seemed
happy and carefree. ,re mO"ed on. wanderinK
aimlessly. and so .s.::reat was our enthusiasm
to sce all we could of the city in
one night that we were soon hopelessly
lost in one of the dingiest and dirtiest of
streets, filled with the most horrible-lookinJ.(
l)C()ph.'-and neither of 115 !'poke a word
of German~ Howcnr. !'.ince I ,1111 either
the child of Providence or the Devil's prot1i).!y,
wc found our way hack to the hotel.
Here was the first note of interest that I
ST.\TION" ANI) CATlIEI)HAL ,\T
COLOGNI~
put into my diary about German boy.~.
They arc either outra~eous flirts. or so rude
that Ihey will allnost knock you ofi the
sidewalk sooner th;1I1 get OUl of your way.
The next morninK we motored to Cob·
lentl. On the way we saw at least twenty
trucks of German soldiers 1!oing to manoeuvres:
not like the lij:::hl-hearted storm
troopers of the previous day. but men in
field-grey uniforms and ~teel helmets. TIle
si,1:ht sent shi"ers up :llld down our :;pines.
but we soon forgot it as we drO"e through
the country and s..1W that the German
scenery was very much like that of our
own Canada. ::'\evertheless the uneasy feeling
returned when on our arrival at Coblenll
we ha(l to walk to our hotel between
t\\'o giant soldiers. each with his hand on
his sword hilt: and when the ftrst thin~
we S