ROTTERDAM TO ISTANBUL

I had hoped to organize an event for our family that we would enjoy and always remember. Since I had been traveling Europe for several years, I hoped to share the history and beauty of Europe with our entire family. My plan formed in my mind around the summer of 1975. We would rent a small boat in Rotterdam or Amsterdam and head up the Rhine River, across the new canal to the Danube River and on to the Black Sea and then down to Istanbul. This journey would probably take four to six weeks during the summer. Further, we would want to take it in the coming two summers before Doug would serve a mission.

We would sleep on the boat which we could anchor any time we wanted. The scenery along the Rhine and Danube would provide ongoing sights that would inspire our imaginations about the great events that had transpired over the past centuries. Whenever we stopped, we would ride our bicycles around the countryside to visit the castles, museums and villages.

To allow us to enjoy these adventures we would assign certain members of our ontourage to study a language that could be shared with all of us as we encountered the natives. These languages would include Dutch, German, a Slavic or two (Roumanian which is similar to Italian, and Bulgarian), and lastly Turkish. Needless to say, with a year or two before engaging in this adventure, we could become familiar with the history and sights along the route so that we would be sure to enhance our pleasure.

On a trip to Washington, D.C., in November 1975 I arranged an appointment with Melvin Payne, President of the National Geographic Magazine. He listened to my story about a family of 10 boating across Europe, and the suggestion that we would photograph and write an article for the National Geographic Magazine about our trip. He asked if I would be capable of taking pictures of our adventures. I assured him that I had a fine camera and knew how to use it. He seemed quite interested in my proposal, but he said that he would have to present it to their editorial staff to see if it would fit in future issues.

A few days later Andrew Brown, Assistant Editor, wrote to me on November 21 to say that they had already considered such an article by their staff people. At a later meeting Mr. Brown said that I might try my plan with the airlines which all print their own stories in their in-flight magazines. He gave me a list that included TWA Ambassador, PanAm Clipper, British Airways Highlife, Air France, Lufthansa and National Airlines Aloft.

Looking back I recall that this plan caused some excitement from our family. Each of us thought about which language we might focus on and what preparations would be necessary.