UNTRODDEN PATHS.
[TO THN EDITOR OIF TFIN "SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—Might I, in anticipation of the holiday season, when but for the exorbitant hotel prices many persons of quite modest means would gladly go abroad " unbossed " by the "personal conductor," draw the attention of your readers to the fact that there still are quite ideal summer resorts to be found in many parts of Germany at a cost in many cases of not more than three marks a day P Any one wishing to explore the beauties of the Taunus Gebirge, for instance, and desirous of doing so at a moderate outlay, cannot do better than write to the offices of the "Taunus Club" (Taunus-Verein, Opern- plats 4, Frankfort a/M.), whence they will be able to obtain much useful information as to the country about, the altitude at which the various places named are situated, and the names of hotels with their terms. Such spots as, for instance, Treisberg, Arnoldsbeim, and Rumpelheim are full of charm and easily reached from here. The Touristenverein for Hessen (of which the headquarters are at Marburg a. d. L.) is equally helpful, and offers places of singular beauty such as Anions- burg, Rauschenberg, and Frankenberg, all accessible and moderate as to hotel prices ; while even the Schwarz- wald—more popular with wealthy travellers—still has nooks and crannies known to its " Verein Schwarzwalder Gastwirte," who gladly and liberally cater for the less "opulent," and these can be communicated with at their headquarters at Hornberg. I have left to the last one of the " dreamiest," loveliest, and least-known districts,—the Bavarian Forest. Happily no "trippers," native or foreign, have as yet spoilt its old-world charm. The journey thither is, of course, more expensive, but this is more than compensated by the " next-to-nothing " one can live for. Once there, the " Waldverein," which is affiliated to the " Nordbayerische Verkehrsverein, Niirenberg," would give all requisite information. The choice here, moreover, is great,— idyllic spots, past which the " fashionables " bound for such smart crowded "Kuriirter " as Karlsbad and Marienbad get whirled in the train de lure, little dreaming of beauties that lie hidden and ignored within a stone's-throw of many a little wayside station, such as Furth and Passau. Then, too, there is Engelburg, to which attaches a romantic story not entirely unconnected with this country, and stately Fiirsteneck and Eisenstein, and many another. I should add that a mark, fifty pfennig had best be enclosed with the first inquiry to cover the cost of the printed matter, such as hotel list (which will give the tariff) and guide to the country ; and, of course, so far inland as these little Bavarian villages a colloquial knowledge of German is absolutely necessary, while the visitor would do well to familiarise himself with the patois as well, for High German is something of a foreign tongue still
to many a primitive Bavarian peasant. They are, however, the kindliest and friendliest of beings, with an outlook on life which still has something of mediaevalism, and .offers a refreshing change both to the mind and body of the jaded twentieth-century hustler, malgre lui.—I am, Sir, &c., A. B.
Previous page
