Page:Diary of a Prisoner in World War I by Josef Šrámek.pdf/97

 field flasks. We haven't drank such cool water in a very long time.

A hydroplane flew quickly over us, landing every now and then. We saw huge factories and storage facilities, huge pyramids of briquettes. A huge military transport passed by with horses. We left Toulon at night.

The signs in the coaches are in French, German, and English. Passing through the Toulon suburbs, we saw civilians again after 8 months and the forest green we'd missed so much on Asinara. But, most important, we watched women. Each of us was just gazing at those lush daughters of the French south, and our thoughts were so strange! Small wonder—none of us had even approached a woman in 23 months. None of us had tried the pleasures of love. I must admit that French girls are really pretty!

Just to be free at home—now we feel the full weight of our fate. A soldier with a bayonet is placed five steps from another one. Every move and step are commented upon.

The train passed through beautiful gardens and well-kept vineyards. Figs, olives, and fine spruces swished by our windows. Some mountains approached slowly and a longer tunnel. Tired from the ship, I fell asleep. I was awakened by the command to get off at a small village named Cassis. It was 12:15.