Fodor - Eugene Fodors 1936...on the continent

FODORS 1936ON THE CONTINENT

Copyright 2011 by Fodors Travel, a division of Random House, Inc.

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T HERE was once a man who bought himself a travel-guide, with the aid of which he mapped out a Continental tour comprising several countries. When he left England he knew exactly not only what places he was going to visit, but also what hotels he was going to patronise at each place.

The first shock awaited him at his first stop, a well-known French resort. The hotel recommended in the guide-book as the sort of establishment the traveller preferred, was simply not there; it had been destroyed by fire four years earlier; and the telegram he addressed to it from Calais may still be floating about the universe. Then at Saarbrcken he found that he was in Germany, though his guide-book informed him otherwise. And in Germany proper he found he was paying through the nose for everything, and only discovered too late that by purchasing one of several varieties of cheap marks, instead of spending English money, he could have halved the cost of his stay in the country. And so on.

He had relied on his guide-bookan excellent book in its way. The trouble was that its latest issue was dated 1929.

Need we labour the point? Such cases must be quite common, since new editions of most existing travel-guides are only issued at long intervals. Owing to their almost prohibitive prices it may take years before an edition is sold out.

It is with the object of overcoming these difficulties that we publish this first Continental Travel Annual, in which the information will always be up to date and of real interest to the traveller.

This brings us to the essence of the innovation which we are introducing in regard to the text of our Travel Annual. Our interpretation of what constitutes information of interest to travellers in foreign countries is as different from the traditional conception as a souffl is different from haggis. We have proceeded on the assumption that your thirst for historical knowledge is nothing like so great as your thirst for the beer of Pilsen or the slivovitsa of Belgrade. When travelling with us on the Continent you will not require a foot rule, for we will never call your attention to the size of an ancient monument; on the other hand, we will tell you the size of the tip that will earn you a smile from a pretty waitress in Vienna.

Above all, we will constantly remind you of one important thing that ordinary travel guides consistentlyand surprisinglyomit to mention, namely, that, for instance, Rome contains not only magnificent monuments and priceless art treasures but also Italians. The main interest and enjoyment of foreign travel lies not only in sights, however magnificent these may be, but mainly in contact with peoples whose customs, habits and general outlook are different from your own, and who create that picturesque, quaint, strange, inspiring atmosphere that you seek under foreign skies. Our Travel Annual introduces you to the people of the country you are visiting, and endeavours to show you their human side without, however, forgetting the travellers human side, hisand her!personal requirements in the way of comfort, amusement and general well-being.

We do not altogether neglect what is generally described as sights, but even here we always endeavour to link artistic experience with the human factor.

We have attempted to present all this in an easy, lighthearted manner, consistent with the happy thrill that foreign travel ought to give you. Originally we intended to commission a prominent writer in each Continental country to write about his own native land. But we found that, with few exceptions, native writers could not summon up sufficient detachment to make their intimate knowledge of their respective countries palatable to prospective English tourists or could not repress their own patriotic melancholia or over-enthusiasm about them. That is why, in most cases, we finally commissioned prominent writers and journalists who, though foreigners in the countries with which they deal, possess an intimate knowledge of them, combined with the capacity for detached presentation.