Pilgrims’ Progress

Judith Bell’s “Pilgrims’ Progress” (Nov. 20) was a delight. For those who have been to Amsterdam, but want to return, it is definitely a keeper in the “Future Travels” file. Having said that, however, I would have liked the map to include the names of the countries outlined on the Baltic Sea. Putting the names of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the map would help educate your readers about an area more aligned with Europe than the other countries in the former Soviet empire. Estonia and her Baltic neighbors welcome visitors and have much history to share with the world. Having been to Estonia six times in the last three years, I would like everyone in our country to read pieces such as this one, about the rich culture at this place that was buried for 50 years by political oppression. How about starting with a map so others know where to find them?

BARBARA HINTON

La Jolla

Your article brought back many wonderful memories of the period I lived in Delft in 1993. My apartment overlooked the very canal on which the Pilgrims must have traveled to get from Leiden to Delfshaven before beginning their journey to the New World. As is evident from the name, Delfshaven was Delft’s remote harbor at a time when it was an important center of commerce (much as San Pedro is Los Angeles’ harbor). Now a quiet oasis and a delightful place to spend a few hours in the middle of bustling Rotterdam, Delfshaven maintained its independent status until swallowed up by Rotterdam in the late 19th Century.

SCOTT C. CHASE

Los Angeles