63. Three years in Europe 9 Romesh Chunder Dutt

 

   The travels of Bengalis in the past 

                        Sumana Dam

          (Continued from the last part)

In this part, the relevant country is Germany.

From November 2, 1886, to December 15, 1886, during his nearly 45-day journey across various European countries, Romesh Chunder Dutt visited six countries and thirty cities. Following this, the author made some observations for future European travelers.

• In every reputable hotel in Europe, English, French, and German are spoken. Therefore, knowing any of these languages makes it easy for tourists to communicate without any difficulty.

• The Baedeker series of guidebooks are excellent. If one reads them beforehand, there's no need to spend money on a guide.

• During this 44-day journey, he spent a little more than 66 pounds, averaging 1.5 pounds per day.

• Due to the need to cover more places in a short time, his expenses were higher. If one stays longer in one place, the hotel charges are usually lower. Generally, Europeans travel by staying in one place for one to one and a half months.

• His hotel expenses amounted to thirty pounds, while rail fare cost twenty pounds. He spent fifteen pounds on car rentals, museum and gallery entrance fees, buying souvenirs, and taking photos.

• Different countries have different currencies, which can be inconvenient for travelers. If all countries were to adopt the same currency, it would benefit tourists. This far-sighted idea of Ramesh Chandra Dutt remained unused for many years. Later, in 1999, the euro became the common currency in most countries the author had visited, except England.

After this, the author traveled Europe once more, with a focus on Germany. He added this journey's narrative in the third edition of his book.

On August 12, 1893, Romesh Chunder Dutt visited Cologne, Germany, again after twenty-two years. By this time, many changes had occurred in Europe. The Cologne Cathedral, which had started in the 13th century, was completed in 1880 under the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm I of the newly unified German Empire. Describing the grandeur of this massive and royal cathedral in words is difficult.

From Cologne, he went to Wiesbaden, famous for its therapeutic baths. The author had come to Europe for a change of air due to ill health, but even there, he fell sick with malaria for about a month in England. He also suffered from sciatica. Thus, Wiesbaden proved beneficial for his health. After bathing in the warm springs and drinking the water every morning, he, like many others, regained his health within a month. He also began learning German.

Occasionally, he took delightful trips around the surrounding forests and the Rhine River. He particularly enjoyed reading a book alone in the shade of trees during a summer afternoon. In many European cities, natural forests are preserved close to the city. He hiked up and down the forest paths and visited nearby places like Sonnenberg, Neroberg, and Eisenhand. He also took a steamer along the Rhine to visit Germany’s National Monument. This monument features a 33-foot statue of Germania, with oak leaves on her head, a German royal crown in her right hand, and an open sword in her left. The statue sits on a 38-foot pedestal, located 740 feet above the ground. Germania is the personification of the entire German nation.

The author visited several German cities along the Rhine River and along the river route. Frankfurt, now in Prussia, is popular with tourists as the birthplace of the famous author Goethe. The city’s attractions include Goethe’s house, a statue, the old town hall, the cathedral, and the dilapidated Jewish quarter.

Another city along the Rhine is Mainz, where Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press, was born, and a statue stands in his memory. On another day, he visited Worms, the birthplace of Martin Luther King, and saw his memorial and statue. Further along the Rhine, the river Neckar merges into the Rhine. The university city of Heidelberg lies along the Neckar. Its university is the oldest in Germany. The ancient and crumbling Heidelberg Castle, built in the 14th century, bears witness to many historical events. Continuing along the Rhine, the author visited Speyer, Strasbourg, Alsace, Metz, Lorraine, and other cities, each carrying its own history of wars and conflicts.

The travel narrative concludes with this excursion of the Rhineland—an account of Romesh Chunder Dutt’s three-year stay in Europe from 1868 to 1871 and his subsequent travels in 1886 and 1893. The book is so information-rich that in the future, when the travel stories of other writers on these countries are described on this blog, new information will simply be added based on it as the foundation. Due to Romesh Chunder Dutt’s extensive knowledge of European history and places, his writings remain relevant in many aspects to this day.