This is the story of Will and his two friends who sailed to England in 1967 to see the world. Aerogrammes. letters, diaries and postcards help to tell of their adventures in this A to Z.

"Back in the U.S.S.R"   Beatles  • 1968
I’m back in the U.S.S.R.
You don’t know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the U.S.S.R.

52 Weltje Road,Hammersmith,  W6 London, 29^th August 1967

Greetings! We had a fabulous trip and already have some good slides back. Briefly we stopped at Brussels, Belgium and onto Hamburg, Germany where we stayed at a hotel and checked out the Zillertal which is the fabulous beer hall where you drink from great steins of beer and the brass band plays while everyone links arms and sings and dances.  Here we also saw the girls in the windows on the Reeperbahn admired by throngs of spectators.  West Germany seems a great country, very modern and the Autobahns are really class.  No speed limits which is terrifying as we narrowly escaped one four car pileup. Many of these highways were built by Hitler and they have no space at the side for broken down cars to get off the road.

Had a great stay in Copenhagen, Denmark which has quite a high standard of living.

Extract from Diary Monday 7^th August

Bus took us through Copenhagen to the Tuborg Brewery where we did a tour of inspection and afterwards got right amongst the chilled strong beer.  Saw the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace and then to Memorial Museum to Danes who fought in the underground resistance against the Nazis. Took photo of the little mermaid and spent afternoon shopping.

There is no censorship here, so slides, books, magazines, films are available in most pornographic detail, receiving no attention from Danes but lots from tourists.

Strolled up to Tivoli Gardens after dinner in self-serve restaurant.  Met Kim and Margaret from Canberra and rode on roller coaster, ferris wheel, played poker machines (made in Australia), and then saw a high-class variety show which featured Marlene Dietrich.  Cost 3 Kroners (3/-) to stand.  Fabulous success.

We drove into Sweden which is supposed to have one of the highest standards of living in the world.  Stockholm was beautiful as it’s built on 14 islands.  The open-air folk museum was fascinating.  Early type homes and shops have been reconstructed and people in period costume were carrying on crafts and so on inside.  Very realistic.  

We cruised then through the archipelago with the midnight sun shining on the water and had a glorious smorgasbord dinner and breakfast on board, being awoken to land in Finland and finished a couple of days in Helsinki with a sauna bath (where the idea originated).  Very invigorating. 

Thurs 10^th August

Stood on deck to watch ship enter Turku harbour, Finland.  Through customs without difficulty although NZs had to have visas for Finland.  The Youth Hostel in Helsinki was part of the Olympic Games village in 1952. Very flash hostel 3 or 4 to a room with cupboard space, desks, hot showers, TV (saw American TV programme with Finnish sub-titles) Hostel has three gymnasiums and one 5 lane bowling alley.

Explored the area in the afternoon and went into Helsinki after dinner to see night-life (non-existent).

We reached the Russian border the next day and spent two hours getting through customs while they searched everything, mirrors under the bus and climbed on top and all.  We spent over a week having a look at the results of “fifty glorious years since the workers revolution” and saw Communism at work.  I entered open-minded and expected to see the result of “the great leap forward” but left totally unimpressed.  A country that is sending rockets to the moon has its people living in shanties (out of the cities) and carrying their water in buckets out of the town, farming with horses and ploughs and so on.  The same way they have been living for centuries.  The only change Communism has made is to give them TV sets.  

The All the same Russia was very interesting as we had seen nothing like it before.  Leningrad and Novgorod were places we stayed and then into Moscow which was much better with modern apartments and new campsite. The shops are very austere, a very narrow range of goods on sale and mainly food shops anyway. There was a good market for ball point biros with flick ends (unfortunately I had bought normal ones) and the chewing gum which were both fetching one rouble each (AU$1) or sixpenny gum on illegal sales.  They were so keen for jeans they were prepared to buy the ones we were wearing. Beatles records were also in demand and some people had brought them to sell. Also, there was a very big black market on money changing. You could get two and a half times the official rate but we felt we were being closely watched.  Saw quite a lot of the city during our four-night stay. 

Extract from Diary

Thursday, 17^th August

Up at 8:30 AM left camp 9.30am into Moscow, visited Kremlin and saw Tsar’s cannon (never fired),  largest bell in the world, then Red Square and Lenin’s tomb (long queue), checked out GUM department store. Saw Russian ladies working on the road in many places shovelling dirt. Lunch in square near bus. Back into Kremlin and got couple of pics of Red Square.

Then by bus to souvenir shop where I bought a set of Russian dolls. Back to camp for dinner and then shower and some bods went to circus but Roy, Ian and I walked down to hotel and ordered ice cream AOK and Russian beer (terrible). Circus was said to be crook. Bed 11:30 pm.

We weren’t sad to get out eventually however into Poland which although Communist too, appears better off financially.  At least the horse and carts had rubber tyres!  Poland apparently has some free enterprise and it was good to see shops with attractive window displays etc and people who appeared a little more excited about living.  Black market prices for money was four times the official rate.  From here on we stayed in hotels in two cities that really received a hammering in the Second World War.  In Warsaw we saw men unearthing human skeletons buried only two feet down. 

Extract from Diary

Tuesday 22nd August

Up at 5:30 am brekky at 6:00 am Drove all day through pretty Polish countryside passing many horse and carts but very little motorised traffic. Reached East German border at 5:00 pm on into East Berlin at 8:00 pm. City is surprisingly modern with much construction taking place but quite a few traces of war damage. Our hotel Berolina is very modern and new and is said to be the best in East Berlin. 9:00 pm dinner of four courses and welcome by our host. Each room has private bath and is very comfy. Bath and drink before bed.

Wednesday, 23^rd August

Up at 7:00 am with good brekky in hotel. l changed money and headed off down Karl Marx Avenue to check out the town, past a modern fountain and then back down an old time, fashionable street of pre-war Berlin. Checked out bombed cathedral and saw “monument to those victims sacrificed to Fascism and Militarism”. Continued to Unter den Linden where rebuilding was complete to Brandenburg Gate and saw the wall with guards everywhere patrolling the no man’s land with automatic weapons.

Hitler’s bunker was still there where he died and then we walked on to Checkpoint Charlie, the only crossing into the West, where we were told to move on.  Had dinner in nice German restaurant for 10 shillings sterling. Into Post Museum and saw car smash out the front, then inside another bombed church, passed a bombed theatre under reconstruction and checked out a new church. On to “Museum of German History”, a communist interpretation, very anti-Nazi of course which showed the “heroic struggle of the German worker to defeat the bourgeoisie and capitalist warmongers to bring peace happiness and economic prosperity to the German people”. Viewed the museum where Karl Marx and Einstein were educated and the library where Lenin read and wrote in 1895. Travelled on Berlin underground and walked back to hotel for hot bath and dinner of four courses.

Communist Germany is easily the highest standard of living we’ve seen for a communist country with a variety of goods in the windows etc and we have the feeling there is quite a bit of free enterprise operating. Michelle’s fluent German has been handy especially for ordering cold  beer. 

Thursday, 24^th August

Up at 6:30 AM to good brekky. Great coffee with cream. Set out at 7:30am, arrived at East German border at 11:00 am and spent some time while bus, passports, boots etc were checked for stowaways. Got through to the West German border at Helmstedt – breathed a sigh of relief. Good to be in a civilised country again with a high standard of living!

Have been back in London a few days and we have this flat for another three weeks and then hope to get a better one for the winter.  School starts next Monday unfortunately but only seven weeks to a week’s holiday so won’t be too bad.  Keith and Phil should be back very shortly.  They were in Denmark last I heard.