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.