European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 15, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I editor s note it May take the Eye of a stranger to remind Ameri cans of the beauties of their Home land. Miss Burmeister author of this article is editor of the Bridge an English language monthly news paper printed in Hamburg financed by German businessmen interested in furthering German american relations and distributed free of charge at almost every . Forces base i Germany. Miss Burmeister visited the United states earlier this year and re counts some of the impressions of a european seeing America for the first time by Irmgard Burmeister the wide open spaces of the West they impress the foreigner most fall when he comes from Over populated Central Europe to the United states of America. I first saw those immense empty stretches of land from the plane when flying from the East coast to California. Peering Down through the Little window of the plane i tried hard to make out signs of human settlement at least some clusters of houses along the endless straight roads of Colorado Utah and Nevada but i found hardly any later when driving through the desert of new Mexico very appealing in its dryness to the visitor from humid North Germany i saw and realized what it meant that this state which is larger than the entire Federal re Public of Germany has Only about million inhabitants Small West Ger Many has almost 60 million. Incredible the courage of the Pioneer people who found their Way through these solitudes in their primitive can Vas covered carts. But understandable too for this country simply must have invited the adventurous and enterprising to try their Luck and find out what lie behind the  of course the skyscrapers of Man Hattan Are just As overwhelming to the european visitor As Are the wide open spaces in the West. Walking Down the great mid town avenues for the firs time i Felt the exciting vitality of new York City taking hold of me. Immediately i became part of the immense colourful crowd of Busy fast walking big City people swarming around in and out of the Gigantic buildings that makeup this unique City landscape. I did not feel weighed Down by these skyscrapers on the contrary the Dar ing architecture of some of the More modern ones elated and enthused me. What frightened me about new Yor City was the seeming endlessness of its residential areas. It looked As if it would take a really big Effort Ever to get out of the City out of this incredible accumulation of buildings cars and peo ple into the Green land. A City of contrasts that certainly an old outworn cliche. But if it holds True for any place it hold True for new York. Admittedly i had smiled a Little about the travel folder calling new York City Center of the  now i think the statement maybe True. There is nothing in the world of human beings it seems to me that is not to be found in new York and it is the lot he miss Burmeister in Manhattan the daring architecture elated and enthused me. J of. I saw Many Lovely Scenic where people would Stop an the View from their cars but one get out and take a walk be the Case in Germany. Were Many Little things Rica too of course that Strucki Trange and new. The practical of the Homes for instance theders in almost every House the urk nobs that i constantly turned wrong direction or the big f ice water served automatic Al you sit Down in a restaurant. Enormous quantities of Coffee was expected to drink every to speak of the heaped plate food which i hardly Ever Man of Nish. I liked the salads Ich and the Juicy steaks handshakes and ire Cream which i Inch better than the German and i tried the various Ham and cheeseburgers surprising can friends with the news that Jle in my Home town of Ham not even know what an Arneri Burger is like. I found the americans polite Ful and easy to Deal with with Lew exceptions among cab drive shop personnel. It a Nat americans More " somewhat Hur Oili but this May be drawn conclusion in the restaurants it German  was overwhelmed by the let warm hearted hospitality is really one of is m America so from Europe where Iti re it��1. _. Uly longer before is of Henoh Len Lori Vacy of a fan emn u up to a stranger. Mend a no sew Ives hesitate is. Yutan Boualy to their ten that it May not be iat they May not to a sul a thous meal America i a a sence of such . Quite a Relief for to strangers cab drive  told them 1968 rate Ian How Beautiful America is. The Garden of the gods with Snow capped pikes Peak behind it in Colorado. The Capitol so much More visible tradition. That i was a foreigner who had been i their City for Only a Day or two they usually thought i was a newcomer to America an immigrant. When i told them that i liked America very much they often asked me Why i did not stay there for Good whereupon i Felt almost rude answering that i liked Germany very much too. Prom these conversations i gather that the european tourist in America especially in the West instill quite a rarity. All Over the states i met a Surpris ing number of americans of German descent. Not Only did almost every Sec Ond person i talked to have a German Parent or grandparent but i also me very Many German refugees from the nazi period who had meanwhile . Citizens. Talking to them hearing their accents guessing from a few re served remarks what they had gone through and still sensing their under lying emotional ties with the old Home country was the most moving experience of the trip. There Are no private universities i Germany and nothing comparable to american Campus life. So i was glad that i was Given a Chance to see some american institutions of this kind. Although German friends who had been to the states had told me about the wealth spacious Layouts Fine architecture and ample studying facilities of Many american universities i was still amazed when i saw the first Stanford University at Palo Alto Calif. To me it looked like a student s Paradise and i Felt almost a Little envy for the Luck students who can live and work in such Ideal surroundings. I was told about recent sit in they had had at Stanford and i really needed All my imagination and understanding to see that students could have reason for protest even i such a heavenly place. ,. How Beautiful America is i saw Only a relatively Small part of it but this part included san Francisco Colo Rado new Mexico and Washington . Never will i forget the View froma High Rise apartment on san fran Cisco s russian Hill when dusk set Inland the fog swept Over the City from the Golden Gate. Or the View from mount Tamal pais Over to san fran Cisco gleaming White in the afternoon Sun. Or the Garden of the gods with Snow capped pikes Peak behind it Nea Colorado Springs or the mountains Ris ing from the desert near  i had had no idea How Beautiful and Green the country around washing ton is and How charming and unpretentious Are the White House an Georgetown. It was in Washington where i grasped for the first time the living presence of american history. When seeing the White House the Capitol Ford s theater and the other National monuments in the City it occurred to me How intact How unbroken the american political tradition is comparing it with a country like Germany where the political sys tem has been completely overturned no less than three times in the last 50years. Therefore one finds so much More visible tradition in the Washington Capi Tol for instance than in the new Ger Man bundestag building in Bonn or even in the restored Reich Stag building in Berlin. When seeing the charming old Home of George Washington at mount ver non i tried to figure which historic place in Germany could be compared to it in National importance i could no think of any such Symbol of a com Mon National heritage that would go undisputed by All germans. A strange fact but it illustrates quite clearly How Dif Ferent the picture is that americans and germans have of their respective National traditions. Readers of the Bridge americans i Germany May have had the same experience exploring a foreign country making comparisons one learns some thing about one s own country too. A Dafter having returned to America they May see their country a great fascinating country in spite of All its prob lems a Little bit with German Eye Sas i have just tried to describe. The stars and stripes Page 13