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11.4.60

Dear Folks -

I have just a few minutes before afternoon tea to write, but since nothing very
special has happened this week, and as time is very scarce, I'm going to try it.

Studies started right off at full blast and are a great deal heavier than last
quarter. There are appeals being made to reduce the load a little, but as long as the
work continues to be as interesting as it has so far, I don't mind the added work.
Last quarter was not as stimulating intellectually as I had hoped (largely because the
kids didn't put out much, but also because the professors expected so little), and it
looks much better this time. Dr. Tarshus in economics is especially terrific, both
as a teacher and as a person; he has a very interesting wife (Swiss born, speaks fluently
English, German, Italian) and a delightful little girl (Tanya, 3 yrs 8 mo., seems much
alerter and older than that). Since I've had Econ. 1 before, I'm taking his seminar in
International Economics, but am trying to do that reading early in order to do some
independent reading under him on the subject on National Income Theory, line up a
summer reading program. German this quarter is much more interesting - we're
finally done with grammar study, are reading a book of excellent post-war short
stories (later part of Goethe's Faust too) and we've had some pretty good discussions
on their central meaning, existentialism, etc. The reading is even better than the
class discussion though, even with all the effort of looking up words constantly.

Our third course - Medieval and Renaissance World Literature - is off to a good
start. Dr. Whittaker has given some good lectures, and the reading list
(about 9 books!) is good. So we're going to perhaps accomplish quite a lot, considering
we have a total of 23 days of classes in the whole quarter!

We had 6 hours of guest lecture on the history of art - Medieval to Baroque -
this past Wed. and Thursday. A lot of valuable information, with slides to
illustrate, by a professor from Frankfurt. Also a lecture on the current situation
in Berlin, much more on this to come before April 26 when we go there.

This weekend I had planned to stay here, but on hearing that Fraülen Dürfel
(one of our German teachers) was arriving to Köln, Mary Ann and I decided to go along.
Left Saturday morning and got back about 8 pm Sunday, so it was a really
quick trip for so far - but we had both been to Köln before and knew what we
wanted to see. Went to 8 AM Palm Sunday mass in the cathedral (not much
music, which we had hoped for, but in that church any service is worth attending!)
and then spent 2 delightful hours in a park on the shore of the Rhine (about a
mile long, 1/4 mile wide, with acres of lawns, groves of trees, etc) enjoying the
most beautiful moments of spring - the blooming tulips and pansies and many,
many other varieties. Colorful and lovely beyond words. Then while Mary Ann
climbed the cathedral tower, I spent another in the modern art museum which
Bridge and I had seen so briefly. The trip both ways was beautiful, with
the fruit trees in bloom and the new green bursting out everywhere. Miles
of rolling hills, half farmland, half forest, on a very fine 4 lane autobahn
all the way.

And next week we'll be in Paris for Easter (going by car! saves money!) at
Notre Dame! Golly how the time flies past. Sorry this was so hurried. Lots of love
George