Throw back 100 years.
if a review was written by another person. But I am worthy of indulgence, because no one has yet posted such material on any travel site.
( And if possible, put the correct date of the trip. 15.081929 - 04.09. 1929. I did not succeed. )
Foreword.
I have a fairly rich collection of old and vintage literature on cars and motoring. And just recently, sorting through the rubble, I came across this magazine. "Illustrated Automobile Tourism" for October 1929.
An expensive, high-quality publication at a price of 15 francs of the time. The format is more than 2 A 4. I don't know how many pages. It's numbered in Roman numerals. But there are many. The editors give advice to road travelers and answer questions. Here, for example, their rating of cars.
Six-cylinder Oakland. Perfect comfort for long distances.
Compact Chevrolet, for those travelers who do not accept large sizes.
Minerva is ideal for those who want to travel but don't like to drive themselves. You can put one of the servants next to your chauffeur and they will not burden you with their presence.
A large section is devoted to women's travel equipment. Here and fashion.
Here and accessories for safety and comfort.
Here's another.
Of course, a lot of advertising, designed as a male audience
and for women
But the main value of this publication is that stories and reviews of travelers were printed there. Moreover, in these stories between the authors there are dialogues and references to each other.
The editors help tourists with photos. They are, of course, black and white, but especially successful shots are redrawn in the form of paintings by an editorial artist. Like this.
And especially valuable shots - pictures are not printed on the pages. They are pasted into the magazine as separate sheets. Moreover, they are glued so delicately that they can be taken out, framed and hung on the wall. That is, this is about the same when we copy good photos from the stories of our authors to our disk.
And then I realized that "Illustrated Automobile Tourism" is the forerunner of TourPravda almost a century ago.
And I decided to make translations of the stories of those travelers.
And donate them to the site.
At first I thought to create a new account even for these purposes. These are not my stories. But then I realized that it wasn't. My. It was worth such serious costs (time, technical, intellectual and even alcoholic) that I am not ashamed to post these translations under the KolyaOROEgor brand. And each story is quite deeply literary processed for the convenience of the reader.
I thought it would be an hour. I’ll scan it, translate it into text form, launch the translator in Yandex, comb what I got and voila. Horseradish and radish, not voila.
For example, here is a piece of text at the output of the automatic translator -
- What jc L / auto life nomtel. 'but if he wants happy and s] children, they,
- Look what time
were right in the AR skirt; naughty landscape ban; from the sun TRO] - who is from VOI
It's hard to deny that your human is good enough for a jerk.
In skiing, last month, or we were in search of Guys-Man's memories, merchants in Debaltseve and acrobats who settled on the square made signs for us: "e ^ ^ iH! Where are you going?
And what can be combed here? Just shave off your head and grow a new one.
I raised it. I have good enough French. I know five whole words. Among them are pronoun, particle, verb, numeral and noun. This was usually enough for me for conversations with French-speaking drinking buddies. But for the translation of travel stories, this was not enough. But everything worked out. In the text, I deliberately sometimes left the direct translation without processing. This gives more color and immersion in that reality. While working on the text, I tried to keep the style of that author and did not try to bring something of my own.
Recently on the forum I posted a thread about the USA.
/forums/discussion/238817/neponyatnaya_amerika#latest
Then in the comments we started talking about campers and caravans.
Including, for this reason, the first translated story will be just about them.
In short, do not judge strictly. And if you like it, then I will continue. But not at once.
A fairy tale of sleep and awakenings under the bottomless sky.
. .
HERVE LAUVIK
There is no point in denying the fact that the comfort of spending the night in nature is far from the comfort of spending the night in a palace. The grass is too close. There are too many pesky little inhabitants in the grass. The mud under the tent in dry weather looks like cocoa powder, and in the rain it is already viscous chocolate.
The sun is harsh during the day, and the morning fog can be frosty off the coast of the Riviera. And we are again waiting for warmth after the cold, enthusiastic kisses of the starry night. And mosquitoes. . .
It so happened that providence, luck and diligence gave me and my charming Emma a modest car and we, quite civilized people, wanted to wander.
And they began to use this car for tourist purposes.
Initially there were hotels. Often good, sometimes not. But in one of them, Jack *, driving the car into the garage, crushed her wing and burned the starter. Stupid substitute for an old fiancé ! I was so upset that I wanted to spend the night on the street under the ceiling of the bottomless sky, and with walls of swaying trees.
Emma supported my idea. Those who have slept in the fields have seen the countryside fall asleep in evening peace and then wake up after complete silence. These people saw the clear rising sun, walked at dawn and smelled the roses. And these lucky ones do not want to return to hotels where the furniture smells sharply of fresh varnish and still smells of mighty stew from the kitchen. And if someone tired arrived at midnight and went to bed, then he will be awakened by his neighbors, who leave with noise at dawn. And, in any case, at 5 o'clock in the morning, some Janet will start rattling buckets to water the horses.
Sung by many provincial peace? ! Yes, this is hell.
So what? Tent? It was always preferable for the majority because it was the simplest and most proven. Even Jules Cesar ** sometimes slept in a tent, although he was not a tourist. The current travel goods industry offers different types of tents. For 300 francs*** you can buy a modern model in any department store. It will fold 28 times and will not take up much space.
Some time ago we bought a tent and went to nature in a big company. Ahem. At first, while setting up the tent, I received several hammer blows on my fingers with the assistance of ridiculous friends who laughed like chickens. Then it started to rain. . .
It was good for the Boy Scouts. But I'm no longer a Boy Scout. Gene was more comfortable in his bottle than we were in a soaked tent at 2000m in the mountains in the rain.
And spiders. . . And a couple of artichokes under the cloth floor.
I will not unnecessarily demonize life in a tent. But even with my dear Emma as a companion, under a bunch of sleeping bags, I felt bad. And I'm not a sybarite. I'm just used to living in a house with solid walls.
And the question of price. Of course, a trip with a tent is much cheaper than overnight stays in hotels, but after a small number of trips, the tent becomes unusable and you have to buy a new one.
The next step in tourism is a flat trailer with a canvas house - an awning. It is suitable for two. Why do we need someone else? There are a number of such tent trailers, the appearance of which is very seductive.
Our regular contributor, Mr. Baudry de Saunier, whose experience in tourism matters is huge, has considered all the pros and cons of such trailers. A story about them appeared in L'Illustration in 1922. Of course, much has become outdated since then, but the two main drawbacks of such structures remain.
Tent trailers are good only if you come to a picturesque place and stay there for 8 days. But if you are going to actively travel, then everything is bad. You cannot move around with the awning installed. And folding and unfolding it every time, and also in the rain, is a complete disaster. There is a plus. Such a trailer is very light and does not load the car. But this is too little.
It is worth mentioning another author who loves to travel with a caravan, sleep away from people under the azure sky and writes about it on our website. Ouch. in our magazine. This is the respected Maharaja of Gwalior (or maybe his secretary). But the Indian prince does not have a small trailer. He has a three, and maybe a five-ton monument on wheels worth 300.000 francs, for the movement of which a very expensive car with an engine of 80 horsepower is needed.
And we will return again in the article of Mr. Baudry de Saunier. He believes that a trailer is best suited for travel. Light Trailer is a trailer that follows a regular car. You can put it in a place that is considered suitable, unhook it and go to admire the surrounding villages or on an excursion to the city. Travel by car without any burdens. Drive the same way you used to drive around Paris. All ammunition will remain in the trailer.
Thank you, dear Mr. Baudry de Saunier! We, on your advice, bought a Trailer - a trailer, hooked it up to our modest but patient B - 14 **** and went on a trip.
We have a three-meter one. Inside there are two comfortable beds that fold into longitudinal sofas during the day. It looks like a first class train compartment. 8 people can sit on these sofas during the day, but why are they? Emma and I are fine together. Our house weighs 500 kg.
When we drive, we almost do not notice his presence even on sharp turns. The power of our twenty-two-horsepower engine is enough. On a good road, the speed is 60 - 65 km. h. An average of 45 km. h.
It is very convenient that all things go in the trailer in their places. And cologne and napkins. You don't have to look for anything. And in the case when all things are stacked in the trunk, if you need a powder box, a fresh collar, a sandwich or a map, they will be the last ones you get from the bottom of the luggage.
Our trailer has 4 legs - a stop of the latest development. They are adjustable in height. The trailer of Mr. Baudry de Saunier had simple stops and he had to look for flat stones in the rich fertile earth in order to slip them under the stops and balance the structure. And at night one of those rocks rolled away and the trailer leaned like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
We have three windows. The walls are insulated.
Under the beds are large chests for bedding. But the main thing is air mattresses. Everyone can inflate it to their liking, lay a thin woolen mattress on top and sleep with pleasure. It is a delight to have a comfortable bed while traveling. In all my life I have never met a hotel where the beds had comfortable mattresses.
Electric lighting! ! ! There are three paintings on the walls. Mont Blanc, the famous figure skater and view of the Guadarrama. There is a large wardrobe for dishes, where the plates are held by springs, and an ice cabinet. 8 large cylinders - thermoses for cold water. Wash basin. A stove that hardly smokes and a table with compartments for writing and carbon paper. And a typewriter, on which I type this story of mine. And all this in a space of 3 by 1.75 m. Just a house costs 15.000. You have to pay extra for equipment.
When we stopped for lunch at the Brantome Hotel, we were surrounded by a large crowd of American tourists who had been driven off the street by the downpour. They were wondering how our house survived the rain. Perfectly. Everything is dry inside, and there are beautiful little droplets on the roof.
In Saint-Aubin (Department of Calvados) the downpour was like a natural disaster, but we sat and dined inside and didn't even notice it.
But there are also disadvantages. It is not easy to spend the night in a trailer in Paris. There are too many curious people who look at it like an airplane.
We are also completely losing the image of serious, civilized people.
In Liguge, a fair was starting on the central square, and the organizers, seeing us, began to shout - “Here! It's here. Where are you going? ” They mistook us for carnival participants or acrobats.
In Normandy, we exchanged greetings with people from Pinder's circus. They thought we were circus performers too.
In Poitiers, we were asked not to park in the city center.
And His Majesty Gaston Gerard (mayor of Dijon) even tried to arrest us. But he was the only official on our whole journey who acted like that.
But how much kindness we met on our way! At Huzette de Luchon, Madame Danielle decorated our house with hydrangeas. And how delightful it was in Provence! People brought us spring water and pointed out the most picturesque places for parking.
In Dre, the gentleman near whose estate we spent the night said that next time we would sleep in his garden.
In Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, a farmer who sold us milk gave us roses and asked us to come back.
Near Avignon, at the Fountain de Vaucluse, an old shepherd said to me - “Ah! If it wasn’t for my 80s, I would have changed my life and bought the same trailer. ” And he laughed and affectionately stroked the headlights of our car.
Thus, when traveling with a trailer, we have better contact with people and a thousand times more with nature. Nights in the forest.
Waking up to the singing of birds, when the fields are covered with dew, like a girl's neck with a pearl necklace. This is not seen by city dwellers. And so day after day. We were returning to a taste that we forgot or didn't even know. Bathed in silence. Funny rabbits run silently around, but you can hear the grass trembling, excited by the warm wind. You can even hear how a small ant walks and freezes in fright when Emma cries out - “Look, what a cute jay! ”
Our car was not a sports car, but now it has become a tourist car. He has seen and heard a lot.
“Look, Mom! Look! A small house that rolls behind a typewriter! ”
How often have we heard these words. As always, the kids were right. It is the house that rolls along the sea, sparkling in the sun with silver decor, leaving stuffy cities with noisy trams behind.
Like a fast trout in a river, it jumps and runs from banal landscapes, boring neighbors, boring, everyday life. Runs from too hot sun into soft shade. Runs through cold nights and bright days. Who would like to see the same?
*Jack. - An employee of a hotel or restaurant, whose duties include driving the guest's car to the parking lot or garage.
**Jules Cesar. - Julius Caesar.
***300 francs. - One franc of that time is equal in purchasing power to about one euro.
****B - 14. - Herve and Emma have the latest Citroen model B -14 G. Number of cylinders - 4. Volume 1539 cm3. Power 22 liters. with. Max. Speed .80 km. h. Four-speed box for a surcharge. Not synced. Interior ventilation occurs by tilting the upper part of the windshield. The price in the basic configuration is 27.000 francs.
Here is his salon.
Estimate the width of the car.
This modification has a very interesting option. An additional row of seats, which is closed with a lid-back. This design was called “Barrel” or “Teschino place”.
