The Tramways of Basle

 When I first saw this image, I thought it was a postcard, but when I turned it over I found that it was a ticket stub.  Printed on the back,

"Welcome in Basle!  Switzerland, now being honored with your visit, is but a small spot on the globe compared with the size of  your country.  Yet she has been lucky enough to preserve her freedom and independency  during the war.  Her democracy has been deeply rooted in the people for centuries.  This has always fostered friendly relations with all democratic countries.

We wish all Americans on leave the very best for their trip through this country, which offers lots of beautiful things in a narrow space.

TRAMWAYS OF BASLE,  The Manager.

Ticket Fr. 1-  Serie Ii  No.  8916"

I won't go into the history of Basel, spelled Basle in German.  If anyone wants to delve into the 1600 + year history of the city, they can go online or check out a book from the library.  I will note that the city is located where the German and French borders intersect with Switzerland.

Basel is serviced by the Basler Verkerhs-Betriebe, The Basel Transport Service, the BVB, owned by Basel-Statdt, the city of Basel.  The system operates both trams and buses.   Of course, ticket stubs picturing American soldiers would not be printed on a postcard sized stub for everyday use.  The service must have been offering tours for members of the American occupation forces.  I'm sure, before 1945, they were also offering tours for German soldiers on leave. After all, tourist money is always welcome.  I keep thinking that American G.I.s probably found bits of German graffiti on their tours.  Maybe a Swastika, maybe a bit of pro Hitler doodeling, or perhaps even some anti-Nazi scrawls.  No doubt, the American soldiers left a few choice remarks of their own.

The 1931 Polytechnic Tour to Grindelwald, Switzerland 8

The last from this album, and I would really recommend that anyone interested should navigate back to part one, and view things in order. There was some non photographic ephemera, maps, and brochures, in the back of the album, and while I was able to get most of it scanned, when a rip in the Simplon map started to get bigger, I gave up on further scans. The last three maps in this post, top to bottom, should read as the actual map reads. There are two postcards in this post, but the second, the one in black & white, was pasted into the album, so if it was sent and there was a message on the back, we'll never know. The other is addressed to "Miss Violet Grey, Freeman Street, Wells-on-Sea, Norfolk, England" The message, "Hotel Schweizerhof Zermatt Switzerland Wednesday So sorry that you've not been well. Would have visited you at Norwich had I known in time. Last week, we went to this Blue Lake near Kandersteg where the Scout's Jamboree was held. It's even more blue than the P. Card. We came here last Sunday. Zermatt is a mountain village, very cold & bracing.-Love Ron Pye" Well, Violet Grey and Ron Pye are great names, and this is the only card not sent by either Eve or Jim. So, we have Jim and Eve, probably too old to be students, judging by their pictures, so they're probably staff or faculty at the polytechnic, from Norwich in Norfolk, a county in England. The best candidate for the actual school would be The King's Lynn Technical School, founded in 1894, renamed The Norfolk College of Arts and Technology in 1973. After merging with several other local colleges, in 1998, it was again renamed, this time The College of West Anglia. And Jim and Eve? It's a good bet they were in some sort of relationship. Did it lead to marriage, or not? Anyone out there who might know are invited to leave a comment.

The 1931 Polytechnic Tour to Grindelwald, Switzerland 7

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It looks like the Polytechnic faculty has left Grindelwald for a side trip. The only postcard in this post is addressed to "Mrs. R. A. Rowe, Norwich Rd. Norwich, Norfolk, Angleterre." The message, "Lucerne, Dear M., Just a day trip here-Having a lovely time -we arrive Victoria about 5 pm on Sunday. I will be home Monday about 3.30 (Norwich) Having lovely weather. Blazing sunshine today-lots to tell you. Jim." With only a few days until the trip is over Ja has gone back to his actual name. Is Ja a nickname or initials, or maybe he was trying to say yes in German. The Hotel Pilatus Klum is another Swiss hotel at the end of a cog railway. This one the steepest line in Europe. It was built in 1890 and is still open. The Graf Zeppelin was built in 1928, just three years before this trip. It flew over a million miles, made 590 flights, 144 ocean crossings, and carried 13, 100 passengers before being retired in 1937, just a month after the Hindenburg disaster. It was scrapped in 1940.

The 1931 Polytechnic Tour to Grindelwald, Switzerland 6

I love to hike and backpack, and when I go off into the mountains or across the desert, I prefer not to see other people. And while I've run into some interesting ruins, I also would rather not see man made structures. When I look at old photos, I like to see people, things, and buildings, so I'm happy to get past the scenery of the last two posts. The pictures of the trains are of the Jungfraubahn, a narrow gauge, cog railway with only five stations, Kleine Scheidegg, Eigergletschen, Eigernordwand, Eismeer, and Jungfraujoch, the highest railroad station in Europe. Construction started in 1912, and was finished in 1924. In 1931 a research station and observatory opened at Jungfraujoch. Perhaps that's why the Polytechnic faculty decided to vacation in Switzerland. Look at the second separate image. It's Eve, of course, but who is the man? My guess is that her companion, Jim, handed the camera to a fellow tourist and asked for a snap.

The 1931 Polytechnic Tour to Grindelwald, Switzerland 5

The thing about putting up an album is that sometimes there is kind of lull before more interesting images pop up. More glaciers and mountains and nothing from Ja (Jim) and Eve.