You will recall, dear reader, from Karl Chronicle #1, although I will be following Karl’s route circumnavigating the globe, for practical reasonsq I’m neither completing this journey sequentially nor contiguously. My travels are not efficient.
So although my last Karl Chronicle summarized our travels through the Canadian Prairies, you now find me meeting up with Karl in Europe. Or, more appropriately — as we go back 120 years — I’m meeting Karl on the “Continent”.
On March 18, 1899, the Truro Daily News reported Karl’s original travel plans. He was to travel from Egypt to Sicily to then north to Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France before crossing the English Channel to tour around Britain and then return to Nova Scotia. But as a consequence of the access to passages in various ports, Karl’s plans changed. Yet the changes did not diminish his desire to get to the Continent, and in July 1901, Karl arrived in Belgium.
Over two years had transpired since he departed Nova Scotia, and biking through the Continent was his final adventure before returning to England to cross the Atlantic Ocean and return to Canada. Karl commenced his travels in Belgium, then proceeded to the Netherlands, Germany and France.
I’ll be doing the same.
But first, let’s set the stage.
In the years since Karl started travelling, there had been significant global changes. When he left Truro in 1899, he was set to travel around the world, primarily stopping in those countries that were part of the vast British Empire. Queen Victoria presided over the Empire and the impact of her legacy we know today as the Victorian Era. But in January 1901, while Karl was travelling through India, Queen Victoria died on the Isle of Wight after a 64-year reign, at the time, the longest in British history. She was succeeded by her son, Edward VII commencing the transition to the Edwardian era.
Apart from the postmarks in Karl’s book validating his travels in each European country, there is very little documenting his adventures. Based on my research, I’m going to attribute this to the following presumptions: (1) It was the very end of Karl’s trip around the world, he had been travelling for 2 years and 3 months, cycling over 15,000 miles. I’m sure at this point, he was tired and perhaps ready for his return home. (2) In Karl Chronicle #33, documenting our travels in Quebec, we learned that Karl struggled with other languages. Europe was not part of the British Empire. Therefore English was not the primary language. Karl’s inability to communicate would have left him feeling relatively isolated. (3) Lastly, Karl cycled through all 4 countries in a mere 14 days, moving swiftly from town to town. This quick transition between locations meant that Karl would have been on his way home by the time he wrote a letter to sister Mattie or the Truro newspaper by the time the mail would have arrived in Nova Scotia.
So, on July 13, 1901, Karl boarded the S.S. Princess Josephine, travelling 80 miles across the English Channel from Dover, England, to Ostend, Belgium. The ship was built in Belgium in 1888 specifically for the Dover-Ostend passage by the Denny brothers from Dumbarton, Scotland. It measured 300 feet long and 38 feet wide and averaged about 21 knots.
Three hours later, Karl arrived on the Continent.
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