Ruth’s Diary

August 2, 1939, Lindau to Friedrichshafen We had some difficulty for breakfast. We couldn’t get rolls – so a couple of the boys went out & bot some. We paid 4M/40 for breakfast – casoul(?) & jam – & the milk we ordered never showed up. In spite of all this, we got started about 8:45. It took only about 50 minutes for us to do the 23 kilos to Friedrichshafen. We had about an hour and a half before we took the ferry to Konstanz so we went out to see the Zeppelin Museum & also into the building where there is a Zeppelin under construction. We crossed the Lake by ferry to Konstanz – had a good lunch at a hotel & then went to spend our last few pennies before we crossed the border. Crossing the border was quite simple – our passports were inspected & our Am. money checked & that was all. When a few feet away we were stopped by the Swiss customs. Our biggest difficulty there was to get our bikes straightened out & a deposit placed on each, which is refunded as we leave the country. The hostel was only a short distance away & almost as soon as we landed we went for a swim in Lake Constance. It was snot too cold-just right. Another thrill – a swim in Lake Constance. We got our own supper tonight & it tasted so good–canned beans, macaroni & cheese, white bread & butter, applesauce, pastry, & a grand cup of tea. The boys cleaned up the dishes after & I caught up on some of my writing. One of the Swiss customs officials came to see us while we were preparing supper. He told of an experience similar to mine where an elderly man complained quite bitterly of conditions in Germany & he felt that there was a great deal of discontent among the older people. He also told of how the Jews were given 10 marks allowed to leave Germany if they crossed the Lake by night & tried to get into Swiss. He also felt very strongly that the U.S. should take a strong stand in its foreign policy & that war was going to come soon. Every man was armed in Swiss. and its borders were strongly fortified. Also in Germany men who had no regular work were employed in the army & got only a subsistence. Those employed in building fortifications were forbidden to marry: that the U.S. was the Jews’ paradise. It is a relief to get into a Swiss hostel – clean, quiet & no Hitler youth. However, 2 German Swiss girls have just come in which means we are sleeping 6 in 4 beds.