The last of the month and another holiday for the good, easy going people here. We hired a carriage and started at 9:30 for Berchtesgaden and the Konigssee. On the road, we saw many foot tourists with their Knapsacks on the back, pointed stick, and knee breeches, also girls and men on bicycles and Autos, all out for a good time.

And it was a glorious day, the sun shone brightly, the birds were singing, the meadows filled with wild flowers and our road along a pretty mountain brook, the Ache.

We passed through pretty villages where the houses are built in the Swiss mountain style with pretty galleries and staircases leading to them all in scroll work, the gables ornamented with scroll work and heavy rocks on the roofs to hold them down in winter.

We passed the Bavarian border, and an officer asked us whether we had anything liable to duty. The roads are beautiful and clean out here and as smooth as our asphalt streets, well protected wherever they skirt along a ravine or the river and kept scrupulously clean.

The mountains surrounding us were partly bathed in sunshine, and then again you could see the clouds hanging in the snow covered tops. We saw a curious opening in one of them called the Dragons hole, so called a/c of its resemblance to a dragon with open mouth. We passed the Salt Mine with a large lake in it, but could not go in as it was closed for the holidays.

When we reached Berchtesgaden, we had a fine view of the mountains which surround this gem of a summer resort. We saw the American Flag in front of a very pretty Swiss Villa and learned that it is owned by a rich American who spends his summers here.

A beautiful Avenue lined on each side by immense trees brought us to Konigssee. We had passed many peasants dressed in their alpine costumes, and when we reached the lake, we found crowds of them. The picture is one never to be forgotten.

But our stomachs claimed attention, and we took a good substantial dinner at the Schiffmeister. I engaged a boat for three and, as we had to await our turn, we took our time to eat our dinner.

We had two oarsmen in Alpine costume to row us, an hour going and an hour returning, for the big sum of $1.25 for the three of us. Steamers are not allowed on this lake and, after we had rowed around an island which hides the full view of the lake from our starting point, we saw the grand old mountain lake stretch before us with its tremendous gray rock walls falling into the bottomless depths of the lake.

A pistol fired at a certain spot was re-echoed from these high rocks, sounding like a heavy peal of thunder. On the only spot where the soil has been washed up and affords just space enough for a tiny settlement, stand the little pilgrimage church of St. Barthalomew and a hunting chateau, a charming retreat seemingly shut off from the rest of the world and surrounded by the most delightful scenery.

The wild, rugged walls of the Watsmann mountain in the background rise to the dizzy height of 10,000 feet, and here we rested under chestnut trees, now in full bloom and sipped the brown beverage.

On our return trip, we sang and then again we sat in silence and listened to the singing of the birds and the splashing of the oar and here we heard the Kukuk. It was all so charmingly quiet and so grand that our hearts were lifted heavenward to the Almighty (in thanks) who created all this grand scenery.

Our ride home was most delightful—again and again we stopped to pick the beautiful flowers, and it seemed as if Emily could not get enough of them.

Home at 6:30, glad to stay there and rest and talk about the glorious day which we have passed. And, all the day, in the carriage as well as in the boat, we had one seat to spare and wishing that you or Tante Lenchen or some loved one would be with us to share the pleasure.

My dear Boy:

We spent a quiet morning at home and, after dinner, took a car for Hellbrumm about three miles out of Salzburg. It is an imperial chateau with garden and foundations in the style of the 17th century. It was built by Archbishop Sittich in 1613.

The waterworks look very interesting. As you stand and look at some pretty fountain, the guard turns some key and the water spouts out of little holes in ground all around you. Again, as you enter a grotto, the water squirts out of the mouth, nose and ears of all kinds of grotesque heads, and if you do not look out you get a ducking.

In another grotto, a crown is lifted and lowered by the water. In one place, a large stage is seen with numerous figures which are set to work by the water and show the different mechanics in their work—a house being erected, coopers at work, blacksmiths, etc., the soldier guard marching up and down, a girl dancing and many hundreds of figures in motion.

This all, although it may appear childish, is still very characteristic of the taste of the 17th century and agrees with the charm of the surrounding nature.

The garden terrace lying behind the castle is almost classically beautiful with its gay flower beds and little ponds full of fish, reflecting the grand old cypresses that surround them.

A very nice walk up the hill brought us to a resting place from where we had a fine view of Salzburg and the old fortress. Emily climbed still higher to the picturesque Stone Theatre, a cavern half natural, half artificial, where plays were performed in “Ye olden times.”

We found quite a crowd out here as this is a great holiday pentacost, and we had quite a time getting on to the car, just like in America. We returned by the electric line which has just been opened to traffic and runs all the way to Berchtesgaden.

Home at 6:30, and, as it was very damp out doors, we stayed home.

We arose and Mrs. Cooper, who has been with us since we left München, decided to leave for Vienna at noon. She is from Honolulu, the wife of a doctor and a very charming lady.

She and Emily went out in the morning in the rain while Mama and I stayed in, but, in the afternoon, the weather cleared up a little, not much, and so we took a cab and rode around the town.

Salzburg, with 33,000 inhabitants, was once upon a time the capital of the wealthiest and most powerful principality in southern Germany. It is now the seat of an archbishop.

We had a look at the Cathedral, which is an immense building, in fact, so large that it looks empty, but it has beautiful fresco paintings a fine bronze front made in 1321.
Right near it is the Franciscan Church and St. Peters, behind this is the Burial Ground of St. Peters, the oldest in Salzburg, very quaint and very interesting, and, in the center of this, the oldest church.

We saw Mozart’s house in which the great composer was born in 1756, also his statue. We drove through the Neuther, a tunnel 450’ long, hewn in 1765 through the rock of the Mouchsberg which brought us to the suburb of Riedenburg with pretty villas and gardens.

At the market, we bought some fine black cherries which we all enjoyed and, at six o’clock, we landed at the Imperial Palace and listened to the chimes which played a choral and, after this was finished, we could hear from far above us from the old fortress, the organ which is set in motion by a mechanical device.

We took a look at the Mirabell Schloss erected in 1606 by Archbishop Wolf Dietrich and its garden laid out in the old French fashion with fountains, marble statues, etc.

By the time we drove home, it began to pour, and we were glad to stay home. After a good supper, we went to bed. We will hardly be able to see very much as it continues cloudy, and to-morrow being Sunday and Pentacost and Monday a holiday, too, with crowds on the cars and crowds of excursionists, we may miss the best part. However, we are happy and satisfied.

More next time
Your Dad.

We had a good breakfast, and we met an American lady who told me that she intended to visit the Chiemsee on her way to Vienna, so I asked her to join us, which she gladly did.

We took leave of our hotel people in the usual manner and found a good compartment in the train. At Prien, 56 miles out of Munich, we left our train without further ceremony.
It is a nice arrangement in this country that you can interrupt your journey at any point where the train stops, your ticket is punched as you leave the station through a gate, and you keep your ticket until you reach your destination.

You cannot cross the tracks so they have tunnels under the tracks, and you descend to them by a wide flight of stairs and ascend on the other side or on whichever track your train is standing. Signs with arrows and names of the cities show you just where to go. They are great on sign posts anyhow, and it is hard to lose yourself.

A steam tramway brought us in eight minutes to Stock, the landing place of the steamers on the Chiemsee, and, after a quarter of an hour’s ride, we were landed on the Herren-Insel, we took tickets of admission to the Schloss for which we had to pay 75¢ a person, but it is worth it.

At the Restaurant we stopped for dinner and then went through the grounds of the old castle and through the woods to the new palace called “Schloss Herrenchiemsee.” This fine palace was built in the style of Louis XIV by the crazy King Ludwig II after the model of Versailles, but not completed as his money “Gave out” (and no wonder).

In front of the west façade are ornamental water works with the basins of fortune, fame, Latona, etc. We entered a pillared vestibule, and I made an arrangement with the guide to take us by ourselves—usually they await the landing of a boat and the collections of some 20 to 25 persons.

In this manner, we had him all to ourselves and he allowed us many privileges, so that Mama could convince herself of the grandeur of things without hearing the usual “Hands off.”

In the vestibule is an enameled group of peacocks as a symbol of beauty and, from here, we entered a court paved with black and white marble, and, crossing same, we came to the magnificent staircase richly adorned with imitation marble, stucco and paintings.

Ascending this, we entered successively the Room of the Royal Guard, decorated in the blue and gold, “The Antichambre,” decorated in lilac, “The Salon de L’Oeil de Beeuf” decorated in green, with an equestrian statue of Louis XIV, and from here into the Chamber de Parade (call it the Guests Bed Chamber) an imitation of Louis XIV Bed Chamber at Versailles adorned in purple and gold with a lavishly gilded bed and most wonderful furniture and brocade curtains. The furnishing of this room alone is said to have cost $750,000.00 (gee whiz).

There were many more rooms which I cannot possibly describe. You could hear constant exclamations of delight. It was like a fairy tale or like being in an enchanted castle, and the climax was reached when we entered the “Hall of Mirrors,” 245 feet long and illuminated with 35 lusters and 2,500 candles.

The 17 high windows are covered with white curtains and, in the 17 door panels opposite to the windows, are mirrors, 30 feet high on both sides are grand candelabres, 44 of the mad of brass and heavily gilded and at least 12 feet high, in between these immense vases for the reception of orange trees. Where ever the curtain was drawn aside, the landscape, as seen through the large open window, pictured itself in the immense mirror opposite, and you may imagine the effect.

On the ceiling, beautiful paintings and in some places reliefs of cupids blending into the painting in such a manner that you could not tell which part is relief and which part is painting.

Other chambers followed, the royal Bed Chamber with a bed in which the unfortunate King slept but 23 times, the Study, Dining Room with a table which can be sunk underneath the floor, set with eatables and raised to the guests, a Bath Room large enough to be called a swimming pool, etc.

I have a book with pictures of this wonderful palace which stands here partly finished, a monument to the poor mortal who created all this without being able to enjoy it.
We strolled back to the landing and went into a “Gasthof” at Stock for our coffee and cake and back to Prien in time to catch our train for Salzburg.

Here we were received by rain, and we had to go to bed without even a glimpse of the city as the hotel is near the depot on the outskirts.

This may be called a day of shopping. It has been drizzling all morning, and we stayed in doors and took a car to Rath haus Keller, where we enjoyed a fine dinner.

After dinner, we walked around and looked into shop windows, bought useful and ornamental articles, among which was a hat box, and home in good time. Concluded not to go out so that we might enjoy to-morrow’s visit to the Chiemsee, so we went to bed in good time.

This is our last day in Nürnberg, and I went to the Germanic Museum, which is in a suppressed Carthusian Monastery, a gothic structure started in 1380 and enlarged in the 15th century with a church and two cloistered courts.

It is one of the finest collections in Germany, and I regret that I cannot spend days in it instead of hours. It contains the best collections of stained glass from the 12th to the 16th century which I have seen, and I wish that our men could visit this wonderful collection once a week. I know that I would enjoy it.

There is also a fine collection of wood carvings among them, the so-called Nürnberg Madonna, a fine statue carved in wood, full of life. Beautiful old furniture, among this a sumptuous ebony bedstead inlaid with alabaster, a goblet made of a cocoanut [sic] with beautiful carving. Peasants, costumes, peasant’s room from Tyrol (1500) Cologne, Switzerland, Nuremberg, etc.

It is impossible to describe even a part of this grand collection which is the more interesting because it is distributed in the old cells, chapels, and passages of the old monastery.

I had promised to meet the ladies at the Bratwurst glocklein where they had gone to eat some Sauer Kraut and wurstle, but time passed so quick that I gave it up and just “Lost myself” in this old town, coming across new sights at every turn of a corner, which cannot be described on paper, and so I have collected quite a number of pictures as a memento of this fine old Burg.

I must not forget to mention the St. Sebaldus church dedicated in 1274.The exterior of this church, which was restored in 1894, is distinguished by an unusual wealth of decorative sculptures, the Last Judgment, The Ten Virgins, Death, Burial and Coronation of the Virgin, all dating from the 14th century. The Bearing of the Cross, Entombment and Resurrection, by the celebrated sculptor Adam Kraft, is one of the most important of his works.

We enjoyed a good dinner and took affectionate leave of each other at six o’clock. We took third class again and had very nice traveling companions. At nine o’clock, we reached München and were received with the usual scrapes and bows and smiles at the Hotel.

Emily and I started out sight seeing and landed in St. Lorenz Church, the finest in Nürnberg. It was begun in 1246 and additions were made up to 1477. Above the west portal is a beautiful rose window, and the north tower has a roof of gilded copper. In the interior are numerous tablets with epitaphs of patrician families and a fine brass candelabrum by P. Vischer.

The finest work of Art is the receptacle for the host (the Ciborium). It is beautifully and elaborately executed in stone in the form of a tower 65’ high enriched with many sculptures of scenes from the life of Christ. The top of this tower is bent like a bishop’s staff. It rests upon three kneeling figures of the sculptor Adam Kraft and his two assistants, who worked seven years on this work of Art. Just think of it! Where would we get our pay nowadays if we had to work for seven years on one piece of work.

The windows are fine, too, one, the Tucker window was made in Zurich 1601, another, the Volkamer window, representing the genealogy of Christ, was made in 1493, and another, the “Kaiser fenster,” which was put up in 1881 in memory of the 84th birthday of Emperor William I, blends beautifully with the old ones.

In the afternoon we took a car and ascended to the old Burg Hügel. We were admitted to the Kaiserburg (Imperial Castle) founded in the 11th century and enlarged by my old friend Frederick Barbarossa (on whose back we came across the ocean). It is the common property of the Bavarian and Prussian Royal families.

An old venerable lime tree which stands in the court is said to have been planted by Empress Kunig in 1020. It died in 1893 having reached quite a respectable age.

We were taken to the old chapel, which is the only point of interest in the old palace. The Royal Apartments were fitted up in Gothic Style in 1854 and contain some very nice tile stoves. The ceiling, where prepared for repairs, was discovered to have some old coat of arms painted by a pupil of Durer’s in 1520.

From the balcony, we had a fine view of the city and environs. We saw the beds in which the King and Queen sleep when they pay a visit to N. and a tablet gives the names of the royal personages who have slept in these rooms, from Emperor Henry II in 1012 up to King Wilhelm II last year, I believe.

After we left the old palace, we went to look at the deep well; near the water are two subterranean passages of which one leads to the cemetery and one to the heart of the city.

We also looked at the parapet where two hoof-shaped impressions are hewn into the stone to show the spot from from where a captive robber Knight Eppeleiin von Gailingen leaped across the moat and gained his freedom. He was to be hanged for his misdeeds and asked the privilege of riding his horse around the courtyard before his execution. This was granted and he escaped.

This incident gave rise to a sarcastic proverb, “The Nürnbergers hang no man, unless they have caught him.”

From here we stepped into the five-cornered Tower in which we saw a large collection antiquities and implements of torture, among them the celebrated “Iron Virgin,” a hollow figure made of iron with iron spikes inside. Into this the victim was placed, and it was closed on him—when the two halves were closed together, the spikes penetrated his eyes and other parts of his body. The mutilated body was dropped into a receptacle below and ground up into small pieces.

The young lady who showed us around called our attention to a certain article which was last used in 1786, and I said to her, “Why, you were not present at that time!” Whereupon she promptly answered, “No, indeed, else I, too, would be among the antiquities.”

We now descended into the old city, passing Rauch’s statue of Durer and an attractive statue of the Madonna made in 1482, also Durer’s House in which there is a collection of antique furniture and many copies of his paintings.

We went into the Rathaus [town hall] which has a very tasteful bronze fountain in the interesting old court. The Great Hall on the first floor has some fine fresco paintings from Durer’s designs. The ceiling of the long corridor in the second floor has a relief in stucco representing a tournament held in the city in 1446. The room in which the civil marriage ceremony is performed has some very pretty modern stained glass windows.

In the evening, we went to a garden and listened to a concert given by a military band. I had quite a chat with one of the band and gained some information regarding their time of service, etc.

I wish that I had Miss G. here so that I could dictate all that I have to say of to-day’s happenings. As it is . . . [Editor’s note: missing text]

We took a walk into the old town in the morning, and Emily and I went into the Frauen Kirche, which was erected on the site of the synagogue. It has a beautiful façade with rich sculpturing. On the west portal is a curious old clock known as the Männleinlaufen with moving pictures of the seven German electors around the Emperor Charles IV, who sits on a throne. We waited to see it work at 12 o’clock and it certainly was worth seeing.
In the church we saw a fine Mausoleum with a relief of the Madonna of Mercy erected in 1495 and a fine winged picture on a gold ground, one of the finest pictures of the Nurnberger School of 1450.

I discovered an iron gate leading to a circular stair case which I ascended and found myself in the choir gallery where I saw some old stained glass windows with armorial bearings of many Nurnberg families. One of them, with the year 1516 on it, was a little broken, and I found a piece of the glass embedded in dirt on the window sill which I adopted as a memento.
From here, we went to see the old house in which Hans Sachs the shoemaker and poet lived in 1495–1576, also the bronze stature of this great man.

We took a look into the “Heilige Geist” Kirche, a gothic structure erected in 1331. The windows look modern, and, as the church was restored in 1902, I suppose that the windows were worked over. There is a little fountain with the figure of a Dudlsackpfeifer (Bag pipe blower), which looks very odd.

The Synagogue, built in 1869 in the Moorish style, is quite an imposing building. We also had a look at the Tugendbrunnen fountain with numerous figures in bronze executed in 1589. Six female figures represent Virtue, and the water pours out of their breasts, a very peculiar old fountain.

The Nassauer Haus, a fine old gothic building erected in the 15th century has a very tasteful Erker (oriel) a gallery with coat of arms and corner turrets.

After a good dinner we entered “Our automobile” which was waiting for us and took us to Heroldsberg. We passed through woods and reached the village in half an hour.
Up to the Schloss we had to walk, and it would have been a profanation to ride in a modern vehicle up to this castle, which has been in the possession of the Geuder family for 600 years.

This proved to be one of the most interesting afternoons which we have spent since we reached the old country. Imagine us standing before a grand old door with iron ornamentations and knocking for admittance.

The door was opened by the “Burgfraulein” herself, and we stepped into a large hall with two round columns supporting the ceiling and with coat of arms, antlers and old pictures adorning the walls.

We were lead up to the stone steps worn down by ages of use. I must mention here that the Schloss has been in the possession of the Geuder family for 600 years and that with it was connected the jurisdiction of the district, so that the possessor was also the chief judge.

In the basement is the old room of torture with the old instruments of torture, and on the second floor is the room where the culprits were taken before the Baron to be judged. On the ceiling of this room is a bas relief in plaster representing “Justice with the scales.”
So as we ascended the stairs, we could not help but think of the thousands who had ascended and descended before us, some for joyful occasions, others for sad occasions.

At the head of the stairs, we were received by the Baroness, a fine old lady of 70 odd years who at once made us feel at home.

The walls in this reception hall are in wood with ornamental carving and I was astonished to hear that the daughter of the Baroness has done all of this work. She studied at Zurich and she is gradually restoring the interior of the Schloss.

As we stayed but a few hours, it is impossible for me to mention all that I saw or to do justice to the wonderful effects produced by the “Freün” (this is the title given to a daughter of a Baron) in her work of restoration. Even in the windows she has introduced old coats of arms surrounded by roundels, and I could not but wonder again and again at what she has accomplished. At the same time she has restored the garden, which is laid out on the old Versailles style in terraces with a nice “Karpfen Teich” at the bottom.

In the sitting room we saw wonderful old furniture and pictures of the ancestors, one of which is made by a master and has been at exhibitions.

Every where we could see the effects of Miss Geuder’s work of love, and it was a rare treat for me to sit there, surrounded by these wonderful old pieces of furniture and converse with a wonderful young lady on modern art and its effect upon the old.
I was shown a glass goblet with coat of arms and dedication etched in the glass in a manner which is unknown at the present time. This goblet was given by one of the Hohenzollern princes or king to a Geuder in acknowledgment of a service rendered and it is prized highly by the family.

I also was shown the room of the Freün, which she has fitted out entirely in rococo style, doing the wood carving and decorating on the walls, as well as on the furniture, herself and producing a marvelous effect.

From here you have a fine view of the surroundings and as the Schloss is situated on a hill you can look down upon the tiled roofs of the village and over to the fine old church in which the bones of the ancestors rest and where they have a special box opposite the pulpit.
We took tea and had a Bavarian Backwerk, the name of which I cannot give, and a very modern and good cake, another accomplishment of the Freün, so you can see how many sided she is.

Lenchen will return here when we leave and will occupy that pretty rococo room with the beautiful view.

This really was an afternoon of romance as I felt as if I had been taken away from all modern and every day affairs and allowed a peek at “The way I would like to live.” And after all we had to part and again we descended the old staircase and down through the garden passed the lake to the inn in the village where our modern vehicle was waiting for us.

Half an hour later we reached our hotel and after a good supper we went to bed. We are all well and expect to leave for Munich and Salzburg this morning.

Love to all,
Dad

{Editor’s note: A few days later, Lenchen sent Hermann a postcard. Bonus points to any reader who can decipher/translate the text. 

This is Sunday, and I went to hear a German Methodist preacher in one of our churches of which we have two in this city.

After the service, he accompanied me home to get acquainted with Mama and Emily. Tante Lenchen had gone to Heroldberg to see her friend, the Baramin von Geuder, and her daughter, the Freun von Geuder, who lived in an old Schloss at this village.

She came back and brought us an invitation for to-morrow afternoon, which we of course were glad to accept as we have heard so much of the Schloss and its inhabitants.
In the afternoon, we went to the Stadtpark and heard some music and we were glad to spend the evening at home as we have so much to relate to each other.

We went out early in the morning and bought a new hat for mama and walked around a little. After dinner we took a car and rode around the old town twice, and I went into the old town to the market and looked at the Schoene Brunnen, a fountain erected in 1385 and restored in 1903 according to a colored drawing of the original which has been preserved since 1541.

The gothic pyramid, which is 63 feet high, has numerous figures of celebrated men of all ages, emperors and Bible characters Christian, Jewish and Pagan worthies, also Moses and the seven prophets. Evangelists, Church Fathers, etc. There is a bronze railing of wonderful execution around it. The Neptune Fountain is another fine work of Art. It is a copy, as the original was sold to the Russian Emperor and now graces the Peterhof near St. Petersburg.

We arose this morning and after breakfast we went across the street to the depot to take the train for Nürnberg. We all parted reluctantly from München. It is a beautiful city and so “Gemütlich” which word is hard to translate. Everybody seems to be on good terms with everybody else. It is quite a university town, too, with some 5,000 students and it is interesting to to see them in their various caps and colors.

We had a very pleasant three hours ride in a third class car which we found to be clean and just as attractive as a second class compartment except the seats which have no cushions. We had the compartment all to ourselves, and we decide to try third again on through trains. This was the train from München to Berlin and Nürnberg the first stop.

We passed through Ingolstadt Solnhofen, where they quarry slate of which much is exported to America, we passed some very pretty Castles and Chateaus and reached Nürnberg in good time.

At the depot, sister Lenchen received us, and it is hard to explain to you the feeling which overcame me when I embraced her after a separation of thirty-six years. She has changed but little in her general appearance and mode of speech and actions. We had a delightful time ever since we met.

We found this hotel to be nearer to the American Hotel than any which we have been at. We walked up to the old Burg and took a refreshment in the Bratwurstglöcklein. This little restaurant adjoins an old church and is mentioned as early as 1519 and some say it was build in 1400. It has been the favorite resort of all celebrated Nürnberger such as Alb. Durer, Hans Sachs, Martin Behain, the explorer and the numerous artists who made Nürnberg famous.

We also took a look at the wonderful old town walls and fortifications, which are a very interesting feature of this quaint old town. There were some 300,000 inhabitants in the town and, in spite of modern progress, it is still mediaeval in appearance, and it has on every corner, especially in the old town, the old buildings, which suggest to you the wealth, importance and artistic taste of the good old city of the Empire. The early history of Nürnberg is closely interwoven with that of the Hohenzollern family.

We ascended the Burg Huegel (Castle hill) a sandstone rock on the N. side of the town on which stand the Imperial Castle, the remains of the small Burg graves, castle, and the two municipal edifices. The Burg graves Castle, the oldest building in the town, dates back to the 11th century. We did not visit the interior as it was rather late in the day.

After supper we had a good chat about olden times and happenings and went to bed in good time.

Editor’s note:  Gemütlich connotes “genial,” “comfortable,” “cozy.”
Nürnberg in English is better known as Nuremberg.

 

This is “Himmelfahrt Christi” and a big holiday here, no one working and most of the stores closed. They are big and I believe they have 22 of them in the year. We went to “High Mass” at the Frauen Kirche and the music was grand—mixed choir, string band and the big organ combined to make a music which reached from the immense vaulted ceilings and sometimes the grand church seemed filled with music.

Most of the worshippers come in, stand around, say their prayers and go out again, it is a constant going and coming. As it was very cold in the church we left early and attended “High Mass” in the Basilica of St. Boniface. This is an admirable imitation of an early Christian Italian basilica of the fifth century. It was completed in 1850 and has some 60 columns of gray Tyrolese marble, open timbre roof with gilded beams. There are some very fine frescoes and 35 medallion portraits of the popes.

We could enjoy the music here because we found a nice sunny spot and a good seat. The folks went home, and I took a look at the Justiz Palast (Courts of Justice) and I could not help making a comparison with our Four Courts. This is an imposing building in baroque style of architecture with an immense central hall with a high dome of glass, beautiful iron doors with art glass the scrolls being made not by using lead, but by inch-wide iron.

Upon my return to the hotel, we all went to the Rathaus Hof (Courtyard) where we enjoyed the music made by a Regimental Band. They played Schuman’s “Ave Maria,” and I shall never forget it.

We followed this up with a good dinner in the Rathaus Keller and on our way home we saw a Schaum Torte in a confectioner’s window. I could not resist the temptation of buying some for our supper, and I was not disappointed in my anticipation of enjoyment of this, my favorite pastry of my youthful days.

I went over to take a look at St. Paul’s a new church with very pretty modern Art Glass windows. At the Loewen brau, where we went to hear a band play, we met one of our Barbarossa fellow passengers, a Prof. Goulding from Ann Arbor, Mich., and we were glad to meet again and exchange our traveling experiences.

Editor’s note: Himmelfahrt Christi means Ascension of Christ. A schaum torte comprises baked meringue layers filled with fruit and topped with whipped cream. (No wonder Hermann remembers it fondly.) 

This has been a great day for us. We had engaged a guide, Mr. Knoblauch (how is that?). And he took us first of all to the Maximilianeum, founded by King Max II for the instruction of the royal pages and other students. A broad circular approach ascends to the façade, which rises in two series of arches on a lofty terrace. From here, we had a fine view of part of the town, the river, the beautiful Maximiliantrasse with the monument and the Gasteig Promenades, a lovely picture.

In the Max, we saw three large rooms, thirty large oil paintings, illustrative of momentous events in the world’s history from the “Fall of Man” to “Washington at Yorktown.” The “Construction of the Pyramids” by G. Richter is painted in such vivid and life-like colorings that you really feel as if you are looking on at an actual scene of life in Aegypt [sic].

Deger’s “Resurrection” is the one which we have copied for windows, and the picture of Henry IV at Canossa Popes and “Luther at Worms” brings to you the man who by God’s will shook the foundation of this power.

While Mama and I sat in the beautiful garden which surrounds the Bavarian Nationale Museum, the guide showed its contents to Emily, and we then took a cab to the Rathaus to hear a concert which, however, did not materialize, so we had to satisfy ourselves with a good dinner in the Keller, which was excellent.

We next visited the Schack Gallery, a collection of pictures bequeathed by Count Schack, the poet, to the German Emperor, who at present is erecting a beautiful building for it. It is now in the old residence of the Count and contains choice modern works by Genelli, Schwind, Feuerbach, Bocklin and Lenbach and some fine copies of the great Spanish and Italian masters by Lenbach and others.

The count helped young artists to continue their studies and, in this manner, was the instrument to bring out their talents for the betterment of the world.

We took a run over to the establishment of Mayer where I was shown the manufacture of church windows, which was quite interesting to me. They had some fine cartoons, designs and windows to show.

From here, we went to the Hofbrauhaus, or Court Brewery, where the state brews the beer for the court and others—mostly for others. Here we saw, in the cellar, many tables surrounded by good Bavarian citizens and their family and, in the yard, there was in the center, a large tank in which every one could rinse out his mug, and many large kegs stood around on which they could place their mugs, but no chairs to sit on, and here the “Thirsty ones,” stood by the hundreds and crooked their arms to admit the immense mugs to their lips and to empty them of the brown contents.

Up stairs in a large hall with seats for a thousand, we tried a “Liter” ourselves and pronounced it good. We now went to the German Museum with a collection illustrating the achievements in science and the technical arts, a most wonderful collection.

In the basement is a complete coal mine illustrating the various ways of mining with full sized figures in wax of miners and with supports, etc., taken from mines and brought here to illustrate the right and wrong ways of supports, also the lights used in former years, and the ones in use now, as well as all of the latest machinery used in connection with mining.

On the next floor is shown the formation of the earth, also specimens of rock by which the professors prove that München once upon a time was nothing but a glacier. And now we saw, in succession, so many wonderful things that I find it difficult to count them up.

The art of painting from the beginning to the present day illustrated by full size machinery which could be set in motion by pressing a button; the same of the manufacture of cotton goods, agricultural machinery, photography showing how a picture is sent by wire, telegraphy, all the different chemical experiments so that we stepped into a cabinet and could see our hand on pocket book shown by the Roentgen Rays.

Colors, and how they are made and produced, were shown by a sort of net of wires which could be followed to their origin. Agriculture and agricultural implements, from the early beginning to the present day ships, and how they were made, showing a large model of Wilhelm II and also a long cut-section of this grand steamer, air ships, art glass from its earliest day to the present. Filled up to overflowing, we went home.

We arose in good time and went to the Old Pinakothek (Repository of Pictures). This building is about 500 feet long and 90’ wide, and it has, on the top story, 24 statues of celebrated painters. It contains about 1400 pictures, arranged in periods and schools, which can be studied by lovers of Art and students as you can get the maps from the custodian, just as you get a book at the library, only you cannot take them out of the room.

Of the celebrated pictures which I saw here, I will mention only a few, such as Holbein’s “Annunciation.” Durer’s “The Four Apostles,” two in each picture, the panel with S.S. Mark and Paul is the finer. Rembrandt’s “Abraham’s Sacrifice,” a studio copy, and many fine ones of Rubens.

We next went to the Palace (Alte Residenz), where we were shown the Festsaalban, containing the halls for festive occasions. The Ball Room, two Card Rooms, a Banquet Hall, rooms with pictures of Charlemagne and Barbarossa, also the Throne Room.

The Kingsban, the apartments on the ground floor, are adorned with the magnificent Frescoes illustrating the Nibelungen by the well known painter Schnoor, 19 large paintings in five rooms.

Among the visitors were two Bavarian peasant women in their home costumes, big crinolines, the shoulder padding supported by wire frames and rich ornamented waists and belts, short skirts and hair braided in many strands but flat.

We took our dinner at the Rathaus Keller and, say, that’s the place to get a good dinner, and including the “Must be ordered bottle of wine.” It cost us only 50¢ a person, “Tony Faust is not in it.”

I took a peep into St. Michaels (Hofkirche), erected in 1583, and adorned with a St. Michael in bronze. It contains the monument of Eugene Beauharnais, once Vice King of Italy. It is by Thorvaldsen and, of course, fine. I then went to the Christliche Verlagshaus and bought a few pictures, and home.

In the evening we went to hear the Tyroler singers, and they were fine, better than at the World’s Fair.

Editor’s note: Tony Faust‘s was an elegant restaurant in St. Louis, and the World’s Fair that Hermann refers to was the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also called the St. Louis World’s Fair. 

We went to the depot at 10 o’clock and took the train for Starnberg, where we took a boat and rode out on the lake as far as Possenhofen, where we went on shore and took a walk through the woods to Feldafing, where we went to the hotel and took our dinner on a veranda overlooking the lake.

This is a beautiful lake, about 12-1/2 miles long and from 1-1/2 to 3 miles wide. Its banks are covered with villas and parks and, in the distance, we could see the mountains.

We had forellen (trout) for dinner, fresh caught in the lake. At about 2 o’clock, we returned to Possenofen, resting on the way in the woods to listen to the birds and to sing our songs. We then enjoyed a ride of about 3 hours crossing and recrossing the lake to make a landing at different points where passengers embarked and disembarked.

We also saw the Memorial Chapel erected near the spot where King Ludwig II went into the lake, and where he and his physician (who followed him to rescue him) were drowned after a violent struggle.

Home in good time passing a number of advertising boards, most of which were put up by the different breweries of which there are 22 here? The Hof-Lowen – Pschorr – Spaten – Hacken, Franciscaner and many other “Brau.”

When we reached home, we found your nice letter of the 5th, which is pretty quick time. Yes, we received all of your letters and glad to get them. We cannot write as many postals as we would like to write as it takes too much time.

No good strawberries here as yet, but we all enjoy the fine asparagus. Ta, ta, more before we leave, all send love. Will write a postal to Mrs. Humphrey now.

Dad

I am sorry to say that we arose too late to go to church at which the principal mass is at 9 o’clock, and we will have to wait for the next chance on Himmelfahrts Tag, next Thursday.

I went with the guide to look at the National Museum. This most wonderful collection of historical works of Art is arranged chronologically in 48 rooms, showing the development from prehistoric times to the present day, representing Germany with special reference to Bavaria.

In the historical section, each room reflects in its fitting up the period to which its contents belongs, and this has reference, too, to the various original ceilings from many different centuries, brought here from old castles, monasteries, peasants homes, etc.

On the other hand again, the architect had to build each room in conformity to the architectural style of its interior fittings, and, sometimes, he had to build special alcoves or ceilings to hold an important decorative object. At the same time, he had to take the exterior into consideration, and when I tell you that he succeeded in skillfully blending the forms of the various styles of architecture, you will understand what an herculean job he succeeded in performing in a satisfactory and artistic manner. His name is Gabriel Seidl, a very suggestive name of München (seidel is same as “Glass with a handle for beer).

I can only touch on some of the many objects we saw beginning with the rooms in the basement, fitted up like the old time torture rooms, also many showing the peasant room interiors of the olden time, a collection of old carriages, leaden coffins from a vault in Lauingen the former residence of the Dukes of Bavaria.

On the ground floor we saw specimen of flintage, consisting of weapons, utensils, and ornaments dating back to 1400 before Christ, to the older and later bronze age up to 900 before Christ, the earlier iron period to 400 before Christ, and the later iron period to the Roman period. Passing through the 48 rooms on this floor, we saw the works of Medieval Art from the early Christian period to the present day as shown in paintings, wood and stone carving, stained glass and beautiful objects in ivory, bone and precious metals, continuing on through these rooms we saw the gradual development from Romanesque to gothic and on to renaissance and modern art.

On the first floor we saw in 35 rooms, special collections, such as Seals of German sovereigns, tins with work of the 16th century, fine Brussels Tapestry, Cpinst [sic] Metals from the Roman period up, laces and embroideries, costumes of the 16th and later centuries, toys of the same period, trophies of the chase and ornamental guns, hunting knives, boar spears, stoves made of tile, insignias, goblets and tools of Munich and other guilds, porcelain, and, last but not least, the rooms fitted up with the personal belongings of some of the Bavarian Kings—Max I (d. 1790), Louis IX (d. 1868), and Max II (d. 1864)—and the state bed and wonderful pieces of furniture of the luxury-loving and mentally unbalanced King Ludwig II, who committed suicide. A wonderful collection of objects made and carved out of ivory, which was started many years ago by one of the Kings and is constantly being added to by the present ruler.

I wandered home and in the afternoon we went to the Austellungs Platz to hear a good concert.

We purchased tickets to make a trip around the town and started at 10 o’clock in a large open bus with four horses. We had a good guide, who explained everything to us, and he also put in some good and some very stale jokes.

This is a wonderful city, laid out to please the eye, and it has such a wealth of galleries, museums and fine churches that we cannot possibly see but a small part of it. It is a very old city, founded in 1158 by Henry the Lion, and it has now about 540,000 inhabitants. It is the center of Art, the German Athens.

We enjoyed our ride very much and took our dinner in the Rath haus Keller under the Rath haus. The new Rath haus is a handsome gothic edifice, which was completed in 1905 and has an equestrian statue of Prince Regent Luitpold.

By the way, we saw the old gentleman, who is more than 80 years old, while we were stopping in front of the Luitpold Restaurant this morning, and he made us a very profound bow, which we of course returned.

Say, that Luitpold Restaurant is a beauty, wonderful rooms fitted up in grand style.

Well, after dinner, we walked around looking at the buildings, the shop windows and the people. We also went into the Frauen Kirche, the land mark of München, and its cathedral. It is 320’ long and 118 feet broad, and the vaulting is 108’ high, erected in 1468, and has two immense towers 318’ high. The windows, each 65’ high, are filled with fine old stained glass of the 15th and 16th century.

Here is an old Turkish flag captured in 1688 at Belgrade. The monument of Emperor Louis the Bavarian, who died in 1317, is a fine catafalque in dark marble with figures and decorations in bronze. Four Knights in bronze on the corners guard the tomb. There is a spot in this church from which no one of the 30 large windows are visible except the grand window behind the altar. The wood carving of the high altar piece (Coronation of Mary), the choir stalls, the archbishops throne, and the pulpit is wonderful in its execution.

I called at the P.O. and received Brother Becker’s letter of the 27th (rather late) and glad to hear from home. (Hope Rags has returned with the usual amount of burrs.)

We went home and took a snooze as we intended to go out in the evening and see some of the München life. About 8 o’clock, we started out and walked over to the Bamberger Hotel Concert Hall. Here we found crowds of people enjoying their “Braune” and listening to the songs and music of a Tyroler troup.

We had a very enjoyable evening and Emily struck up a chat with a young “Son of Mars” who explained some of the songs and music to her. Of course we had to “Drink with the Munchener,” and this time it was “Spaten Brau.” Home in good time and glad to get to bed.

We arose early this morning and enjoyed the scenery once more as far as it could be seen, for it was cloudy and drizzling.

At 12 o’clock, we went to the depot and, when the train came in, we were fortunate enough to secure a compartment with three seats, and we enjoyed the excellent lunch which Mr. Kayser had provided. As to the scenery, we could not see very much, but what we did see “Looked good” to us, being so very different from our American prairie. Some nice castles and quaint looking old villages and the many different shades of green in the fields and woods were very pleasant to the eye.

We reached München about 4:30 and our hotel, the “National Simmen,” a very good and inexpensive place. After a good supper, we went to the hall of the “Lowenbrau” where we listened to a good concert by a military band and saw the genuine München life. Hundreds of men and women in a large hall drinking the “Grosse Braune” and eating “Pretzel,” which a girl carried around on a stick, 2-1/2¢ worth being tied up on a string and slipped over the stick and dealt out to the ones who had the money and the appetite. Mama enjoyed the music immensely, she declares it to be the best she has every heard.

Editor’s note: “Grosse braune” (large brown) is a large coffee, black with a bit of milk and steamed like espresso. 

We arose in good time. I intended to start to-day for Munich, but could not go without having seen the Glasmalerei and Mosaic Anstalt and, as I had a letter from Tante Lenchen in which she informs me that it will suit her just as well to meet me in Nurnberg, after I have finished Munchen, I decided to stay another day.

I saw a “Chimney sweep” for the first time since I left Germany, and he looked just as black as of old with his ladder and brushes and ball weights. I also noticed that many of the people here have cute little pet dogs, many of them “Dachsel” which they lead on chains or straps.

Say, ask Mr. Lapotka whether he knows what a “Schwemme” is, we used to call it a “Kneipe” and it looks funny to see signs up “Zur Schwemme.”

I also noticed that many men here wear the green hats with feather and tourist costume of short breeches, thick socks, shoes with heavy soles and, if they go climbing, they have a knapsack on their back. I believe people enjoy going out and “Up,” and you see many a father with a little fellow of 6 or 7 years dressed in tourist outfit climbing up the mountain. They have the time to do it too, for I see that the banks are closed from 12 to 2 o’clock, which gives a fellow a good show to do a small mountain, eat a lunch and back in time for the opening.

We had a good look at the Tyrolese Glass Painting and Mosaic works, and I was very much interested in it.

Emily and Mama went home, and I went over to look at the cemetery, where there are some fine modern sculptures. I then admired the grand buildings of the Hospital, Law Courts, etc., and kept wandering around, looking into the “Herz Jesu” Kirche a modern church and at the very many interesting show windows and home in time for lunch.

It is raining this afternoon and, as we have seen so much of Innsbruck, we stayed in doors. There is a nice garden connected with this house and we can sit on a veranda and order and consume Tyroler wine, which we did to-day for a change

Just now Dorette’s two postals reached us (say, sister mine, it takes a two cents stamp to carry a postal to Germany, else we have to pay an additional 2¢ here in spite of your 1¢. I say this not on account of the few cents, but so “Others” may benefit by it.

I certainly was glad to have another “Lebenszeichen” from St. Louis and I shall drop Tante D. a postal from Munich. And now I must close. I am sorry that I could not stay longer here, but it is time to say “Next.” So no more from Innsbruck. We take the train at 1 p.m. to-morrow, and we expect to reach M. at 4 p.m. With much love,

Dad.

Editor’s note: Schwemme and kneipe roughly translate to “pub” or “watering place” and Lebenszeichen means “signs of life.” 

Up and ready to go out, Mama is OK, and we have planned to go to Schloss Amras and possibly Hall afterwards. More in my next.  Dad

Wednesday, May 12: We arose in good time this morning and took our breakfast at 8 o’clock. We then went to the Innsteg station to go to Schloss Ambras, but, upon learning that the train would not leave until 12 o’clock, we decided to go to Hall instead. We had a beautiful ride through Muhlan, where we stopped at a Gasthaus to await a through train. I ordered 1/4 Litre of Tyrol wine for which I had to pay 22 heller (4-1/2¢) and which contained three small glasses. It is something like our Missouri red wine.

Heard a genuine live Koo-koo in Muhlan. We had a fine view of Ambrast and its cable and, passing the Kalvarienberg, which once upon a time had a castle, we saw two pretty little villages, Ruin (!) and a Thaur with their neat churches. On the road we passed a Prayer station every little while. Heiligkrenz and Absam, two more villages in the valley, were passed and, after a ride of about half an hour, we reached Hall, a quaint old Tyrolean town of 6200 inhabitants.

We ascended to the top of the city by stairs leading us through narrow streets and low passage ways underneath houses to the old Rathaus, which in 1406, was given to the city by Duke Leopold. The battlements on the wall have the coat of arms of the city in mosaic.

We next stepped into the Pfarr Kirche, built in 1352, with a grand old portal under which some very old tombstones showing figure of a Knight in stone, all worn out from walking on it. On the walls of the church some very old carving and iron work, and we walked back to the Haltestelle and took the little steam car back to our starting point, the Innsteg.

In the afternoon, Emily and I started out for Ambras, we took the steam train, which gradually winds its way up the mountain and affords us a fine view of the upper and lower Inn valley. The Schloss erected in the 13th century owes its fame to Arch Duke Ferdinand, husband of Philippina Welser, daughter of a wealthy Patrician of Augsburg. He had it reconstructed in 1563 for his wife.

In two large room there is a fine collection of arms and armour and another fine room is the Spanish Salon 140’ long which has beautiful doors and ceiling of interlaid wood. Besides this we were shown the bath chamber and dressing room of Philippina which reminded me of the Baptistry in a Baptist Church, in the other rooms there are collections of old furniture “Kachel oefen,” objects in metal, ivory, etc.

From the balcony, we had a fine view of Innsbruck and the mountains surrounding it. We found that we would have to wait two hours for the next train, so we walked it to Wilten and took the electric from there to the Maria Theresienstrasse, and from there we walked home, a pretty well tired out pair.

I guess Mama worked too hard yesterday for she is not well and has to stop eating, which is a bad sign. So I went out alone and saw the St. Jakobs Church, which has a fine picture of the Virgin by L. Cranach, and from here to the Landes Museum where I saw some very fine cartoons in sepia by Karl Von. Blaas, 1815–1893, in Vienna, one especially, the “Sermon on the Mount” has a fine grouping and a beautiful Christ.

I could not find any of his pictures or cartoons in the art store, and I shall try again in Vienna, although the Art Dealer told me that he had never seen any copies of his pictures. I saw some very fine old weapons and old windows, also implements of torture and old Tyrolean costumes, etc.

The Franz Defreggers pictures of the war scenes of the Tyrolean emancipation war of 1809 are especially fine as are Unterberger’s pictures of Amalfi Porte di Capri, etc.

Home for a good dinner and, after that, Emily and I undertook our first long walk to the Berg Isel. There is where the Tyroleans fought their battle with the French and where the Hofer Monument is. We had a grand view from here over Innsbuck and the surrounding country. We strengthened ourselves with a Pilsener and then marched on to Leopold Monument, which is on the road to Garberbach and the Stephans Brucke. A three-hours trot seemed enough for the first venture, but it certainly gave us an appetite for more, and we shall try another to-morrow.

Your letter of the 29th reached us to-day, which is pretty good time, I think. Glad to hear of your attempts at the garden, and I hope you will succeed. Trouble about my letters is that I can seldom find a scale to weigh them, and so I have to guess at it, but I will try and franc them sufficiently after this.

Mother has been sleeping all day, and I hope that she will sleep herself well and go with us gain to-morrow. I hope that you will have no trouble with Tutsie and that she will come down and out all right. I must close for to-night, as I am tired and ready go to bed. It is raining now, but I think that it is only a shower. I like this place, but the house is cold, and we have to have a fire in the room.

This morning we arose in good time with the determination to see something of this city, and we started down from our mountain on the carriage road, while usually we go down a road which winds in the zig zag through the hotel garden.

We passed the St. Nicolaus Church and went in to take a look at it. It has modern windows, no doubt by the Tyrolese Glass Painting Co. It is a pretty modern gothic edifice with the outside front wall covered with mosaics.

The little cemetery behind the church attracted our attention and we went in to look at it. It has the graves very close to each other and is surrounded by covered porticos under which the bodies are buried, and, on the back walls, of which the memorial tablets and oil paintings are placed. The crosses made of wood, some of iron, some of marble are small and very neat and before each one of them is a little bed of flowers making in its entirety a very pretty picture.

We crossed the little foot bridge and, going along the Chotek Allee lined with pretty residences, we stepped into the Kirche zur ewigen Anbetung, where we found some very fine pictures, one especially above the altar has a fine figure of Christ, also good mosaics, but the Church is so dark that you do not get a good view of them.

We next went into the Kunst and Gewerbe Austellung, where different stores of Innsbruck exhibit their wares and we bought some Tyrolean wares.

On the Margavethen platz, we admired the Rudolfsbrunnen commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Union of Tyrol with Austria. I took a look at the Landhaus and admired in the Landtagasaal some pretty frescoest [sic] windows.

The Anna Saule, erected in 1706, commemorates the evacuation of Tyrol by the Bavarians and French in 1703. The Triumphal Arch, erected in 1765, is a fine piece of architecture.

We now went into the older part of Innsbruck, where we saw some very old houses curiously decorated on the outside, old, too, one of them the “Trautson” house, built in 1541, has very curious coat of arm and ornaments. The prettiest one is part of a palace built in 1500. It has a gilded copper roof, covering a balcony, and it is called the “Goldenes Dachl.” It is covered with some 3400 gilded plates. The ornament of the first balcony consists of graceful coat of arms, the second shows in relief dancers, besides this there are frescoes on the gable.

We also saw the Giants House, this was built in 1490 and given by the Grand Duke Sigismund to his court giant. A statue represents this giant. We closed the morning with the Hof-Kirche (Franciscan) erected in 1552 in compliance with the “Will of Emp. Maximilian I” (who died in 1519) for the purpose of worthily enshrining his monument. This occupies the center nave. The Emp. is represented in a kneeling picture (in bronze) on a massive marble sarcophagus, surrounded by 28 large bronze statues of his contemporaries and ancestors in the guise of torch bearers and mourners.

Among these the figures of King Arthur of England and Thodorich King of the Goths, are particularly fine and attributed to the famous Peter Vischer of Nuremberg. On the sides of the Sarcoph. are twenty four (24) reliefs in marble representing principal events in the emperor’s life. It is enclosed by a graceful iron guard with gilt leaves and coat of arms.

The Princes Pews is a fine old piece of work in wood. Andreas Hofer, the liberator of Tyrol from the misrule of the French in 1809, is buried in this church and has a monument with his statue.

We had a good dinner when we reached home and started out again at 3 o’clock and took a look at the old town. We went into the Goethe Stube [room] in the “Goldmen Adler.” In this old hotel, Emperors and Kings stopped, so did Goethe and Heine, and Andreas Hofer made from a window a speech in which he accepted the leadership. He was shot by the French and buried in Mantova.

When we came down to breakfast, we found your nice letter of the 23d on our plate and glad to hear from you, sure enough. I now feel how wrong it was of me not to write to every town while you were over here. Your letter had been forwarded from Venice all right.

You see we are some days ahead of our time, which is good, as Tante Lenchen wants us to meet her at Nurnberg, so I shall leave on the 15th or later if she says so. This will not change our time very much, and N. is out of our way anyhow from Heidelberg or Stuttgart.

You are right, I am getting used to the tipping and, in Florence and Venice, we found them more like gentlemen in their demands for tips. By this time, I can laugh at them when they ask me for more. The fellow who punched our tickets at Venice pointed at our (new) suit case and said “Too large,” I laughed at him and told him in English, “To kindly let me be the judge of that,” he hesitated, but I insisted on having my tickets so he punched them, and I put ten centesimi (2¢) in his outstretched hand. You ought to have seen the look in his face. I gave him the laugh, and so ended the Italian tipping business with the odds on my side.

We had a letter from Grace saying that on account of the rain, she went to the hotel near the depot and to call on her upon my arrival, so I called her up yesterday morning and heard—that she had left.

Well, this is more than I can understand. You could not pull me away from here before my time is up. I had another letter from her from Munich, and I guess she will do the rest of the trip “A la American.”

Say, I bought a mountain cane for Emily, and she likes it. Mama and I went to the Hofburg Garten this morning and came home at dinner time with an appetite for four. This afternoon, we stayed in to catch up with our correspondence. To-morrow we start sight seeing.

Tell Mr. Lapotka that I feel like buying one of those little hats of velvet (or corduroy) with a feather in it so that he can see that I was here. The costumes worn by the men and boys are certainly unique. Good bye, all send love.

Dad

Saturday May 8

Of course our first walk was to the P.O., and we received your postal of the 28 from Memphis. Hurrah for you! I am tickled and I know Bro Becker gave an unusual long whistle. Well, I knew that you could do it. You say Augusta, where the dickens is Augusta? I know, but the one in Georgia.

 

We haven’t gone to see any sights, the good old mountains are enough for me, and I often stop and lean up against a house and look and look and drink in the grandeur of God’s works. Innsbruck for me. And so “Gemutlich,” and such a fine and pleasant host and such good eating, genuine German and home like and no crowd of tourists around you, just six of us, as far as I can see. You have no idea how good the 12 heller (2-l/2¢) Austrian cigar tastes to me while I sit in the garden and look down upon this grand panorama.

Emily climbed 1000 feet higher with a young lady from Denver who arrived today. They have struck up a tourist friendship, and tonight we sang American songs. But cold, that is, in the house, outside it is sunshine and warm, but these cement built houses certainly hold the cold. We have to ask for a fire (extra) in our room. Well, it’s all right anyhow.

Editor’s note: Apparently today Hermann chose to simply admire the beauty around him without any commentary. 

We arose at 5 o’clock, as we had ordered “our gondelier” for 6:30 and, after a good breakfast and a very affectionate farewell from our host, we departed with regret. We found a good home at Rev. Conte’s, and he and his wife and four daughters certainly understood how to make strangers feel at home.

We had no difficulty with our gondolier, he took us by way of the Grand Canal and through many small ones to the depot, and we had an opportunity to look once more at the old palaces and churches, which we passed on our way. At 8 o’clock, our train started and, at about ten, we arrived at Verona, where we changed cars without difficulty. We now became aware of the fact that this is the route for the German Tourist, for all around us we heard nothing but German, and it certainly sounded good to us to hear the RR officials address us in German.

At Ala [sic], a custom house officer passed through asking whether we had anything to pay duty on and, upon our saying no, he passed right on without looking at any of our suitcases.

We passed through Trent, an old town founded by the Etruscans and, once upon a time, the wealthiest town in Tyrol. From here we passed through some very picturesque scenes. At Salurn, our attention was called to an old Burg situated above the little city on an apparently inaccessible pinnacle.

We enjoyed our lunch, and as we passed along we were treated to fresh surprises at every turn of the road. At Botzen 87 steer [sic], we entered what is known as the Brenner Pass, the lowest pass over the Alps (5,000 feet above sea level) and one of the oldest Alpine Routes, once used by the Romans and rendered practicable for wagons in 1772. The RR opened in 1867 and is one of the grandest works of its kind. It has 30 tunnels and 60 bridges.

We ought to have stopped at Betzern for a few days, as we have been assured since we are here, by fellow travelers, that it is still grander than Innsbruck. We now passed many old and new Burgs and an old Benedictine Nunnery (235 feet) high on the cliffs, once upon a time (in 1685) a baronial castle. We passed through a narrow defile, called the Sachsen Klemme, where the Saxon Troops under the French General Lefebore were defeated by the Tyrolese in 1809.

At Stertzing we saw a genuine Tyrolean town with picturesque old buildings, arcades, balconies and turrets along the back of a swift mountain stream. The grand old snow covered mountain, some 1,000 feet high and more, seemed quite close to us, and, in some places, we could have played snow ball if our train had stopped long enough.

At one place, we ascended on the north slope of a mountain by a curved tunnel 840 yards long and gradually rising some 600 feet, we emerged in an opposite direction and could see the track which we had passed and the town of Gossensass far below us. We had by this time crept up to a height of 4500 feet and, at Brenner, which is the watershed between the Black Sea and the Adriatic, we saw at the RR station a Memorial to K.V. Etzel, the builder of the Brenner RR.

Not far from this station we passed a lake of deep green color and, after this, we felt that we were descending, passing through many tunnels, and we could several times see the mouth of the tunnel above us out of which we had just come. The Muhlbach Tunnel, 2900 feet long, having been passed, we emerged into a beautiful valley with a brawling river far below us.

At about 8:30 p.m., we reached Innsbruck and found the hotel carriage waiting for us at the depot. This town, 1880 feet above the sea line, is the capital of Tyrol and has about 4500 inhabitants. It is charmingly situated on the Inn [river] and is said to be the most picturesque town among the German Alps. In every direction the eye is set by striking groups of bold and fissured limestone mountains towering above the cultivated slopes of the valley.

We had a delightful ride through the old town and, gradually climbing up the mountain, we reached our hotel, which is certainly one of the prettiest spots I have ever been in. While writing this in our room (with a fire in the tiling covered stove), I look out upon the hotel garden with its fruit trees in full bloom and the grass in its virgin green, the Inn about 50 feet below us, the city with its church steeples, the cultivated mountain slopes beyond it, and the tree-covered mountain with their peaks of snow. We wonder that the Tyroler likes his country. An excellent supper with a pot full of good tea (extra) and to bed in good time.

Well, this is our last day here, and the sun has come out in full splendour to bid us farewell. Grace and Miss M. left yesterday morning for Innsbruck, but we were not ready to go. I hung around home until 11 o’clock and then went to the P.O. but found no paper or letter. The papers always take longer to come than a letter, and you must figure on this.

We have had a delightful stay with these people, and I wish that I could find more such nice “Pensionen.” Your letter of the 19th reached us on the 3rd, and I think that I mentioned this in my last letter. I wonder whether they will reach you all as I have “no copy” of them. Tomorrow, 8 a.m., we leave for Innsbruck, four days ahead of our time.

Ta ta, Dad

May 5 Venice

Afternoon, we wrote some postal, and Mama took a snooze. We then took boat for the Gardens at Lido where, at present, the International Exhibition of Art is held. After all the old pictures, it was a relief to see some modern pictures. After paying admission we were admitted to an inner part of the garden and found several separate houses, one for Belgium, one for Bavaria, etc., but the largest one, the Italian one, contained the finest selection. We returned home in good time to prepare for our departure.

Today we have set aside to view St. Marco, the church of the patron saint of Venice, whose bones are said to have been brought by Venetians from Alexandria in 829. It is a Romanesque brick Basilica built in 830 and rebuilt after a fire in 976. In the 11th century, it was reconstructed in a Byzantine style on the model of the old church of the Apostles at Constantinople and decorated in a lavish, almost oriental, magnificence.

The edifice, 250’ x 170’, is in the form of a Greek cross with equal arms covered by a dome at the end of each arm. The foremost arm is completely surrounded by a vestibule covered with a number of smaller domes. Externally and internally, the church is adorned with 500 marble columns, mostly oriental with capitals in various styles of architecture. The mosaics are wonderful, and you can get an idea of their number and size when I tell you that they cover 45,790 square feet. Figure that out at $10 a square foot, and it makes you wish that you had a job like that on hand. They date from the 10th century and periods between the 12th and 16th century and give us an idea of the early aptitude of the Venetians for pictorial composition.

The church is beautiful in its coloring brought about by glass, transparent alabaster polished marble and lustrous gold. Over the principal portal are “Four horses in gilded bronze 5’ in height,” which are among the finest of ancient bronzes. They probably once adorned the triumphal arch of Nero and later that of Trajan. Constantine sent them to Constantinople whence the Doge brought them in 1204. Napoleon carried them to Paris in 1797 and Emperor Francis restored them in 1815, so you see they have traveled some.

In the Vestibule, three red slabs in the pavement commemorate the reconciliation between Emp. Barabrossa and Pope Alexander III effected here in 1777 by the Doge Ziani. The mosaic in the different dome vaultings represent scenes from the of Testament: Creation, Fall, Deluge of Babel, etc. The interior impresses you by its noble perspective and the magnificent decorations. The pavement of marble mosaic dates from the 12th century. On the right and left of the approach to the high altar are two pulpits in colored marble supported on columns which came from Constantinople. On the screen are 14 statues representing the Virgin, John the Baptist and the 12 apostles. In the Sacristy are mosaics of ornamental scroll work which I would like to have on our office ceiling. The High Altar stands beneath a canopy of verde antico. The Pala d’oro enameled work with 1600 Jewels on plates of gold and silver, executed in Constantinople in 1105, forms an altar piece. Behind the altar is a second altar with four spiral columns of alabaster, two of which are translucent and are said to have belonged to the Temple of Solomon. The bronze door leading to the Sacristy shows reliefs of the Entombment and Resurrection of Christ and was made by Jacobi Sausovino. It seems funny to find the name of Jacobi on this artist’s work, and I feel as if the works bearing my names belong to me, and I ought to claim them.

We next went into the Treasury of the Church where we saw beautiful Byzantine book covers, as well as the Episcopal Throne of the 7th century and an altar front in beaten silver of the 14th century. There were also valuable articles made of Turquois, rock, crystal, and agate, a chair of one of the Doges in which we all sat down for the fun of it. A very pretty statue of St. Marc in solid silver is another valuable piece of Art. We also saw the Doge’s ring, which he cast into the Adriatic once a year symbolizing the wedding of Venice to the sea. They took the precaution, however, to throw it into a net, so they could fish it up again. A rose bush of beaten gold looked good to me.

We next went home and decided to spend the greater part of the afternoon in a gondola, which is much easier than walking around. The weather was favorable and, while we crossed the lagoons, the sun came out and was welcomed by all of us. He cast his rays upon Venice and the snow capped mountains in the distance, and it made a beautiful picture, never to be forgotten.

Before we left the Grand Canal, we went into the modernized palace of the Hebrew Franchettia and saw the grand marble staircase, which is a wonder of beauty. What a pity that he does not live in this grand palace.

We also went into the S. Maria dei Miracoli, erected in 1481–89 under the superintendence of Pietro Lombardo, which church is richly encrusted with marble, both within and without. The quadrangular domed choir is peculiar as it is 14 steps higher than the nave, on the right and left are Lecterns as they had them in the old Christian Churches. The sculpture around these, and around the windows, is executed in the most delicate tracery work, and here again I came across work done by Jacobi-Lombardi brothers and other old statues and paintings.

We now rode out past the Insane Asylum to San Lazzaro in Amenian Monastery founded in 1716, where a monk received us. Passing through the beautiful garden, he took us into the chapel where I saw three windows made in Innsbruck. They had a service, and so I could not go near to them, but it was good modern work. Byron studied Armenian in 1816, and they show his ink stand and pen, also his signature and those of King Edward and Queen Alexandria. Their library contains about 30,000 volumes, and about 2,000 Armenian manuscripts. The have a modern printing office and from here they spread their literature in the Armenian language all over the world.

The ride home was fine. We took it easy and let the gasoline launch of Princess Lititia pass us without enjoying her, for we certainly enjoyed the scenery more than she did.

After dinner we took a stroll to the point where the Grand Canal joins the Giudecca Canal and listened to the singing. Many gondolas surrounded the center one, which was decorated with Venezian lanteriana and where the singers had their stand. It was a beautiful moonlight night and of course we all “raved” about Venice.

 

We started out at ten o’clock and visited the Doges Palace. It is said to have been founded in 814 for the First Doge (or President) of Venice. It has been repeatedly altered and rebuilt.

The gothic exterior, lined with small slabs of colored marble, had two pointed arcades of 107 columns, one above the other. The upper arcade is remarkably rich in execution. From here, the Republic caused its sentences of death to be proclaimed. On the corner are sometimes groups of sculpture, Adam and Eve (obedience), Solomon’s judgment (justice) and Noah’s fall (temperance). The large portal built in 1438 has some fine reliefs and statues. In the magnificent court are two wells in bronze made in 1559.

We ascended the Giants Stair Case, at the top of which are the colossal statues of Mars and Neptune. On the highest landing of these steps, the Doges were crowned. In the court below us, we saw fragments of statues and ornaments from the Campanil, which are stored here to be replaced as soon as the new structure is ready for them.

We ascended the Golden stairs, once accessible to those only whose names were entered as “Nobili” in the Golden Book. From here we entered the apartments in which the Authorities of the Republic held their meetings and which retain much of their ancient splendors. In the Saladel Collegio, the ceiling is covered with beautiful paintings by P. Veronese, set into deep gold frames. The side walls have large paintings by famed old masters, and it would take too long to mention them, even the most celebrated ones.

From the window of the Ante Chamber to the Senate Room, we had a fine view of the tile-covered roofs of the Houses with the grand domes, steeples and cupolas of the churches in the background. In the paintings are shown many of the Doges in various attitudes to the Savior, such as being presented to Him by S. Marc, etc.

We next visit the Ante Room and the Chapel of the Senate and next the Room of the Counsel of Ten—here is a secret door which led to the Bridge of Sighs and the dungeons. In the ante chamber of the three Inquisitors of the Republic, we saw an opening with two sets of doors and separate locks behind which there is a box into which denunciations were thrown from the outside and which doors could only be opened by the three Inquisitors and the three heads of the Senate together. In this room is another secret door which leads to the Torture Room.

In the Room of the Great Council, we saw Jax Tintoretto’s “Paradise,” the largest oil painting in the world it is 71’ by 23’ and has a bewildering multitude of figures with some very fine heads. On the frieze are the portraits of 76 Doges, with a black space for one of them who tried to betray the Republic and was beheaded. We saw the old ballot box which was used by the Senate.

Passing through the Archaeological Museum Rooms in which the Doges formerly resided, we descended the staircase, and we crossed the Bridge of Sighs, which connects the palace with the prison. The prison is still in use while the notorious Riombi, or prisons under the leaded roof of the palace, were destroyed in 1797. We descended from the bridge to the Pozzi, a series of gloomy dungeons with a torture chamber and the place of execution for political criminals. In the latter there is a door opening on to a side canal through which the bodies were put into a gondola and given to the friends or dropped into the sea.

In the afternoon we went to the S. Maria della Salute, a spacious dome-covered church. It lies at the east extremity of the Grand Canal. It is overloaded with sculptural decorations on the outside and was erected in 1630 in commemoration of the plague. There are some fine pictures of Titian here, among them, “The Descent of the Holy Ghost.” The monolithic columns supporting the vaulting of the Choir were taken from a Roman Temple in Istria. In the Sacristy are some more fine paintings by Titian “St. Mark and Four Other Saints,” in fine coloring and good heads. Also “Cain and Abel,” “Abraham and Isaac,” “David and Goliath,” which are on the ceiling, show the master hand of this great painter. We took a gondola this afternoon and, as we were rather tired of sightseeing, we just took in the old buildings, narrow canals, pretty views, and the girls went into a mosaic factory. Home in good time for dinner and early to bed after enjoying a little motion song given by four orphans which Mr. Conte has in his charge.

My dear boy:

I am certainly glad that this is a day of rest and that I had an opportunity to go to church. I call at the hotel to see Grace and Miss. M. but did not find them. I then went to a Scotch Presbyterian Church and enjoyed a good English service. After dinner I called for Grace and Miss M. and brought them over to our rooms, and we had a social chat together.

We all intended to go out for a walk, but it was so cold, and would sprinkle a little now and then, that I took them home. We have to cross the Grand Canal on a ferry Gondola, which costs us one cent every time. After that Emily and I took a walk along the Canal and over to the Academy Bridge and the gallery, around the Jesuit Church etc., and went to bed in good time.

I engaged the daughter of our host as a guide. Her name is Anita Conte, and she knows the city like a book. She took us first to the Piazza of St. Mark for a general view of this celebrated square. It is enclosed by imposing buildings which appear to form one vast marble palace, blackened by age and the elements. The two or three storied palaces were once the residence of the nine procurators, the highest officials of the Republic after the Doge. The ground floors of these structures consist of arcades and contain cafes and shops. The piazza is the heart of Venice.

On summer evenings, all who desire to enjoy fresh air congregate here. A large flock of pigeons enliven the palace. Grain can be bought from peddlers, and it is fun to see them cluster around you to pick the feed from your hand. On a Clock Tower are two giants in bronze who strike the hours on a large bell, and we were just in time to see this.

The square Campanile (Tower of St. Mark), which collapsed in 1902, is now being rebuilt, the bronze statues which adorn the old tower have been mostly preserved and will be replaced.

We next visited the Rialto Bridge, which is 159 feet long and 72 feet wide, consisting of a single marble arch of 90-foot span. It is flanked by “Cheap” shops. It is on the site of the ancient city of Venice and is mentioned by Shakespeare in the “Merchant of Venice.” Our little lady guide showed us the “Scala Minelli,” which you probably did not see as it is in one of these narrow side streets. It is part of an old palace and is a curious spiral staircase in a round tower of lstrian marble, built in the year 1499.

We took a look into the Cloister of San Stefano, with some old frescoes, which is now occupied by soldiers. The Palace Tranchette, owned by a millionaire Jew, is said to contain fine windows and a staircase which cost him $25,000, a snug little sum for a staircase which he does not make much use of as he is very seldom “at home.”

Well, we had enough for the morning and went home for lunch. After lunch, we hired a gondola by the hour and went to meet Grace and Miss M., who are stopping at the Bauer but missed them. We went to the S. Maria Forinosa where we admired the far famed picture of S. Barbara by Palma Vecchio. It is fine, the shape as well as the diadem, and garments are all regal in their execution. In a little chapel upstairs, we saw a Madonna by Sassoferrato in which the child is especially fine.

From here we went to the S. Giovanni and Paolo. The church contains the monumental Tombs of the Doges, whose funeral service was always performed here. Here I saw some of the best sculptures in execution as well as in their grouping. On the one of the Doge Morenigo, it says on the sarcophagus in Latin, “From the spoils of his enemy.” There are fifteen statues in this. Another mausoleum, the one of General Bragadino, who defended a town in Cyprus and had to capitulate to the Turks, shows a picture (scene) of how he is being flayed alive by the Turks. One of the Chapels contains six immense tablets with reliefs in the bronze of scenes from the life of S. Dominic.

I saw some windows here which were made in 1814 to restore those that had been destroyed, also a fine picture of Christ with St. Andrew and St. Peter, by Roico Marconi of which I am trying to get a copy as it is such a good Christ face. I also procured a fine photo of the Birth of Christ, which is a fine piece of sculpture by Giovanni Bonazza on one of the mausoleums.

We then rowed through the Lagunes [sic] and passed the cemetery to Murano where we saw them make Glass Pitchers in fancy forms. Murano, a small island has been, since the 14th century, the seat of the Venetian Glass Industry, the followers of which were held in high esteem. We also watched them make pottery, and we bought a little vase as a souvenir.

Going home, we passed through innumerable little canals, and I was very much astonished to hear the buzz of a Planing Mill in an old aristocratic residence. It seems almost a pity to see these beautiful old palaces converted into hotels and warehouses. “Sic transit gloria mundi”? Well, I must say goodnight. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I am glad of it. A day of rest will feel good.

Dad.