Iceland 1969

CN-69 - Abbreviation of Czech “Cesta z nutnosti” (A Journey of Necessity) to France, Luxembourg, Iceland and USA to show that my year stay abroad after the Soviet Invasion was correct for my traveling aspirations. Date of travel: Apr 2 - Aug 11, 1969 ITINERARY: I left Switzerland by train late on Apr 2. By early morning Apr 3 I got to FRANCE specifically Paris where I spent 4 days sightseeing the city including Versailles. Early on Apr 7 I got by train to LUXEMBOUG and was a day there. Overnight flight took me to ICELAND for Apr 8 and 9 (visiting its capital Reykjavik and Selfoss). Another overnight flight brought me to New York in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA in the morning Apr 10. In next 4 months I visited the following places by bus there: New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC, Niagara Falls, NY; Cleveland, OH; Chicago, IL; Kansas City, KS; St. Louis, MO; Huntsville, AL; Chattanooga and Knoxville, TN; Great Smoky Mountains, NC; Jacksonville, Cape Canaveral, Miami, Key West, Everglades National Park, St. Petersburg, all in FL; New Orleans, LA; San Antonio and El Paso, TX; Tucson, Phoenix and Grand Canyon, AZ; White Sands, Gallup, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos, all these in NM; Denver, CO; Cheyenne, Yellowstone National Park, WY; Salt Lake City, UT; Reno and Las Vegas, NV; San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Eureka, all CA; Seattle, WA. Travel office: No specific travel office used, but a student travel agency in Zurich, Switzerland gave me number of good suggestions, which I used during this trip. Not to close my possible return to Czechoslovakia, I asked and got the Czechoslovakian government permission for travel to USA. Who took part: I traveled alone with only rudimentary knowledge of English. In spite of that I had very little problems. In Europe I used the train, to Iceland and USA I took a plane and in USA I traveled by bus. In Paris I slept in a students’ college, on Iceland in a house of Salvation Army and in USA I slept mostly in YMCA or on the bus itself during overnight rides.