I went to the North German Lloyd this morning and looked up my old friend Ernest Gartner. How familiar the names of the old streets looked to me.

Walking through Knochenhauser Str., I came to the corners of the Wegensende, Papen, and Pelzer streets, and here I found an immense building on which they are still making additions. It is divided into different departments, and I took the ladies into the Passenger Depot where they took seats in a neat little cozy corner with upholstered seats and tables for the accommodation of visitors.

I had to go to another entrance in the Grosse Hunde Strasse and upon an elevator to the Central Buchhalerei, where I found Gartner, just the same little fellow and just as “Zappelich” as of old. He is one of the oldest employees of the Lloyd and has been in their service for 47 years. When they had their anniversary, he received a medal from the senate and one from the Lloyd.

He came down with me and I engaged passage on the S.S. Barbarossa, the same on which we crossed the ocean, which sails on the 16th of October. So this matter has been settled. We decided to move to another hotel as they are building an addition to the Stadt Munchen, and I made arrangements at the “Berliner Hof” for us.

Hotel Berliner.
Owner: J. E. F. Bade
Station Square No. 8, directly opposite the station.
Completely new.
Reasonable prices.

Gartner and wife called in the afternoon, and we all went to the depot to call for Dr. A. J. Nast and wife. In order to be allowed to enter the platform where the train arrives, you have to take a 10 d. (2 1/2 cent) ticket which you can get off an Automatic Machine.

The train arrived at 7:20, and we took the company to our hotel, where we all had supper together, that is Nasts, Gartners, Rev. Burkhardt, Rev. Gruenewald and we three. We had a delightful chat and went to bed at a late hour.

My dear boy:

I certainly had a hard time to get away from Neuss. They wanted us to stay over Sunday, and we all wanted to stay, but I had made all arrangements for our reception at Bremen and, besides, I did not wish “to wear our welcome out.” So we departed at 10 o’clock in the morning.

Cousin Theodor and his wife, Else, went along as far as Dusseldorf, where we had to change cars, and they saw us off. We have a very pleasant ride and good company, took dinner in the Speisewagen, for which we had to pay 75 cents a person and which consists of four courses. When we reached Hemelingen, I knew that we were near Bremen and, presently, the steeples and houses loomed up in the distance. I felt like shaking hands with everybody.

Paul Gruenewald and Armine were at the depot and received us with smiles and roses. What a change in the size of the station, it loomed up large, and the large “Bahuhofsplatz” has shrunk in size on account of the increase in the size of the station and the erection of many other large building, such as the Museum of Natural History, which is now being enlarged, and the many hotels. Street cars, too, which, 40 years ago, were not in evidence, take up part of the room.

We walked to the hotel and, after a short chat, we took a walk along to the Bahnhofstrasse, past Hillmann’s Hotel, unchanged in appearance and the old Heerdenthor, but there was no “Wache” there, or no “Wach heraus!” was called when we passed up the Sogestrasse, past the old Liebfrauen Kirche, and here I could see the great changes which had taken place since I left.

The old Borsengebande has been removed, and, in the Platz, now stands the equestrian statue of Emperor Wilhelm I in bronze with his back to the portal of the old Rathaus.

And here, around the corner, in front of the Rathaus, the old fellow still stands, as of old, “Roland der Riesae am Rathaus su Bremen,” a colossal figure in stone, 18 ft. high, erected in 1404 on site of a still earlier figure in wood, a symbol of municipal jurisdiction and the palladium of civic liberty. In his left hand, the giant bears a shield with the imperial eagle, and a naked sword in his right, and here he has stood and looked down upon generations for over 500 years—what is 40 years compared with 500?

Bremen.
City Hall passage.
[with the statue of Roland, who, according to legend, was a Breton paladin and nephew of Charlemagne, who fell in the fight against the Saracens in the Pyrenees.]

Here is the old Marksplatz, but oh, my, how it has shrunk in size and does not look by half as imposing to me as it did some 50 years ago, but it looks familiar.

There stands the old Schuttering (Chamber of Commerce), erected in 1538. Right near to it, the new and imposing “Bose” (Chamber of Commerce), new at my time, and the Cotton Exchange erected in 1900.

They are pulling down the old city hall, and a beautiful building is to be erected in its place, which is to be in keeping with its surroundings. I think that this market place is one of the finest, if not the finest, in Germany, as are the beautiful old architectural buildings surround it.

We walked to the Domshof, an extensive platz, and I saw the new courthouse, also the beautiful Teichmann Bunnen (Fountain), representing a mariner and mercury [sic] in imminent danger of a shipwreck, while a nymph strives to pull the boat under.

The Domsheide with the statue of “Gustave Adolf” looked very familiar. The Kunstterverein Building, the new Port Office, a fine building in Renaissance, the Law Courts in German Renaissance (with statues and the X Commandments adorning the outside) are near to this place, and we gave them a fleeting glance, expecting to see them again before we leave.

It was raining, and we decided to return to the hotel. Down the Obernatrasse, which has entirely new buildings and has been widened, we reached the Ausgari Kirche erected in the 13th century and, opposite to this, the old Krameramthaus, or Gewerbehaus, as they call it now. This was erected in 1619 as a guild-hall of the cloth merchants and has a beautiful and well preserved facade in sandstone.

Here Father preached his first sermon after his arrival in Germany, from America, as missionary to Germany of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1849.

We walked along the Ausgarithor Strasse and past the old Wache, along the Georgestrasse, until we reached the old “Traktathaus,” where once upon a time I served my apprenticeship in the book concern and where now are offices. The old chapel is still in use, and I expect to see it Sunday.

We returned to the Courtescarpe and, walking along the Stadtgraben (moat), we reached the Heerdeutor and our hotel. A light supper and to bed.

Bremen. City Hall.

Editor’s note: Hermann’s out fishin’ . . . well, more likely eating and napping, definitely not writing today.

When I awoke this morning, it was raining, and it has rained ever since. I took the electric car over to Dusseldorf, a 20 minutes ride which took me across the beautiful Rhine Bridge build in 1896–98, which spans the stream in two arches. The gate way at each end are very fine, the central pier bears a gigantic lion, the cognizance of Dusseldorf.

Düsseldorf.
Rhine Bridge.

We passed some nice monuments, and I went into the Kunst Halle which on the façade has a fine mosaic “Truth as the foundation of Art.” I saw some good modern pictures, among them E.V. Gebhardt’s “Christ”; W. Nicodemus.; P. Janssen’s “The monk and the peasants before the battle of Worringen”; Lenbach’s “Prince Bismark”; a good marble group by C. Janssen, “Women Breaking Stones”; and others.

Düsseldorf
Art Hall and Bismarck monument

But I have seen so many pictures that I concluded to spend the short time which I had at my disposal at the Gewerbe Museum (museum of Industrial Art), and I am not sorry that I did so. A better built and arranged house for this purpose than I have seen so far.

I was especially impressed by the large flat sky lights of Leaded Glass which measure about 55 x 65 feet each and which are carried, as I was told, by the regular iron structure built for the purpose. Above it, in triangle form, the divisions are in broad Tea Iron of at least 6” width and the subdivision of 2” width. One of them must weigh at least 18,000 lbs., if not more.

The glass itself is common cathedral in pale amber and milky white shades, giving an excellent light for the main floor and the galleries surrounding same. The collections include textile fabrics, lace, embroidery, binding, pottery porcelain, work in iron, and wood carving. Of the latter, there are some beautiful specimen of treasure boxes, desks, work tables, etc.

There are also a series of rooms fitted up in the Old German, Flemish, Oriental and other styles. What a pity that our manufacturers cannot have the opportunity to see these glorious old works.

Of glass, I saw some specimen fragments of Roman Work made in the year 1 to 300 after Christ and Egyptian Glass mosaic made 1300 years before Christ and say, the old fellows understood how to make mosaics better than we do nowadays. Whenever I see these nice collections, I regret that I cannot pick up something to bring home for our building. I saw some fragments of an old window which I would like to have for us to show off with.

It kept on raining and, as I knew that Else would have a fine dinner for us, I concluded to go home and hope for better weather tomorrow. While I am writing this, it is still blowing and pouring down, and it feels good to sit in Theo’s study, which is fitted up in good style with a fine collection of arms and fixtures and furniture of antlers.

He has placed a box of good cigars at my disposal, and I am “Disposing.” This will be my last from Neuss. We leave on Friday at 10 a.m. for Bremen and hope to get there by 3:20 p.m.

Gruenewald has engaged rooms for us at the Stadt Munchen, and you will hear from me from there. I am sending my mail by slow steamer or rather at the 2 cents rate so they may come a little later, but I find that I have sent out over 200 postal cards by this time and I must economize.

Ta ta, Papa

Neuss Church of St. Mary and Rheinland Insurance Building

Rested all morning and took a nap after the sumptuous dinner and, after coffee, we all went down town, and the ladies went shopping while Theodor and I, with the children and their grandmother (a fine aristocratic lady), took a walk through the beautiful city park which is laid out like our Tower Grove Park, but more artistic.

They have fine landscape gardens and each city seems to take pride in adorning the parks with beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees. A Park Wagon called for us, and we spent a nice evening together.

Neuss, Münster. [The Minster-Basilica of St. Quirinus]

My dear boy,

At last we have found a “Haven of Rest.” The weather is not favorable for drives or sightseeing, and it is almost like in autumn. Raining and blowing, so we stay at home and gather new strength for future work.

The Fritsch family treats us royally, and Else (Mrs. F.) takes pleasure in making dishes of which we have never heard. She is an excellent housekeeper. Theodor is a busy man, and I take as little of his precious time as possible.

We took in the Muster, or Wuirinus, Church, an interesting building in the transition style begun in 1209. It is a basilica with naves and aisles and above them run galleries. There are some peculiarly shaped windows in this church. One of the towers is crowned with a statue of St. Quirinus, the patron saint of the town, who was probably a Roman soldier. Little Theodor, aged 5, was with me, and he would not go into the old crypt, which dates from the 11th century.

Neuss, Münster.
[The Minster-Basilica of St. Quirinus]

I went to church with Theo in the morning, and, in the afternoon, we took a ride in a Park Wagon to Schloss Dyck, the chateau of Prince Salm-Reifferscheidt-Krautheim. I give you the full name in order that you may know what a load some of these Princes have to carry with them, just in the name alone.

The grounds are beautiful with beech trees old enough to be your grandfather. It took three of us with extended arms to span one of these old fellows. Fine boulevards of trees, forming grand gothic arches. It was fine and we enjoyed it very much.

We returned to town passing through old quaint villages. Neuss itself is quite an old town. It is mentioned as a Roman fortress in the annals of the Batavian war, under the name of Novesium. It has a population of 30,500. Theo tells me that some years ago they excavated an old roman grainery of storage room for the Roman army, and he had some of the wheat which is more than 2000 years old.

Neuss
Obertor
[13th century, last preserved medieval city ​​gate]

Her mother is a very pleasant lady, and we are having a good time together. They are anxious to please us, and we have to eat and drink to please them until we cry “enough!” He has a fine garden with two men to keep it in good order, and you may know how I enjoy it.

Well I must close, I expect to leave here on Wednesday and I am glad that I have caught up with my correspondence. We all send love to you.

Dad

No rest for the tourist. I went to the bank at 9 o’clock to get the necessary wherewithal and, at 10 o’clock, we boarded the train for Neuss. At 11:41, we reached Cassel, where we would have stopped, but Richard Jacoby telephoned to us that he had to go off on a trip.

Cassel, formerly the capital of the Electorate of Hesse is, since 1866, the seat of governmentof the Prussian Province of Hessen Nassan. It lies on the Fulda, formerly the summer residence of the Electors of Hesse. The chateau was occupied by Napoleon III when a prisoner of war in 1870-71.

From the train we could see this and the Riesenschloss, or Octagon, erected in 1714, the highest point in the extensive grounds 1360 feet above the river Fulda. It is a bold structure consisting of three vaulted stories, the highest of which is borne by 192 clustered columns, 48 feet in height. The platform bears an obelisque 98′ in height, surmounted by a colossal statue of Hercules in copper and 33′ in height.In the club, there is room for 8 persons.

A cascade from the Schloss down to the grounds reminds one of our cascade at the World’s Fair. They are 300 yards in length with large basins at intervals of 50 yards.On each side are long flights of steps, 842 steps in all.

Cassel-Wilhelmshöhe.
Cascades and Hercules monument.

We reached Neuss at 5:30 and were met at the depot by Else, the wife of Theodore Fritsch, cousin of your mama, who gave us a royal welcome and took us to their home which is surrounded by a large garden.

We met her mother, the widow of a Major Von Mienichreiter, a very pleasant lady. We have very pleasant rooms here which I need not describe as you “Have been there.”

Neuss
Marienborn [monument]

Goodbye Harz Mountains. We took the train at 9:38. Prof. Stroeter, Luella and the boys saw us off and I waved my American flag as a farewell to them.

We passed the well known station of Hasselrode, Steinerne Renne and up to the Freiannen. We took the same line which leads to the Brocken. Here our line diverged and, passing along pine clad hills and through fertile valleys with a constant change of scenery, we reached Nordhausen at 12:40.

This city of 30,000 inhabitants is situated on the south slopes of the Harz Mountains and possesses extensive distilleries. I well remembered having heard of the Nordhauser Schnaps 40 years ago.

We had an excellent dinner at the R.R. restaurant and took train again at 1:30, passing through Erfurt at 2:50. This is a very ancient city with 86,000 inhabitants and has several handsome Gothic churches and private residences of the 16th and 17th century, which I could admire only from the train. The town existed in the form of a fortified agricultural settlement as early as the time of the Boniface in 741, the English apostle of this district. It is wonderful to think of the age of this town, and to consider what had happened within the walls in the 1200 years of its existence.

At 4 o’clock, we reached Eisenach, a pleasant town with 32,000 inhabitants and the finest point in the Thuringian Forest. We went to the nearest hotel, the Grossherzog von Sachsen, and struck it very lucky for the proprietor told us that he runs the restaurant on the Wartburg too. He ordered a carriage for us at once, and we started sight seeing without any delay.

Passing through the old Stadtor (Gate) and past the Church of St. Nicholas, we saw the Statue of Luther, erected in 1898, also the palace of the reigning Grand Duke of Sachsen Weimar and a bronze statue of the great composer of church music Johan Sebastian Bach, who was born in the city in 1685. We also saw the house in which he was born and the Luther house where Luther is said to have lived with Fra Ursula Cotta when attending school here in 1498.

Driving through the heart of the city and up the Schlossberg road, we saw in the distance the Burschenschafts Denkmal, a round temple erected in memory of the German students who fell in the war of 1870, also a villa once occupied by Fritz Reuter, the well known writer of prose and poetry in the low German dialect.

We reached the old Wartburg, which is 1290 feet above the sea level and 565 feet above the city. It was founded in 1070 and was once occupied by the Landgraves of Thuringia and is now the occasional residence of the Grand Duke of Weimar. It is without doubt one of the finest early mediaeval secular buildings, existing and was restored in its original shape in 1847.

Wartburg castle

Mama took a seat in a cozy corner of the restaurant, and Emily and I followed the guide through the Burgtor, the Vorburg and the modern Mittelburg and reached the court of the Hauptburg. This contains the oldest part of the castle, the late romanesque Landgrafen Hauser Palas.

In the court is a very ancient cistern. The castle has been restored to represent its condition in the 12th century when it was occupied by the Art loving Landgraves and was the scene of the contests of the greatest mediaeval German poets.

Here, too, Martin Luther at the beginning of the 16th century found an asylum, and here the mighty struggle for religious liberty took its rise. Interesting reminiscences of the great Reformer, who was intercepted on his return from Worms and conducted hither by his friend the Elector, are still preserved in the Ritterhaus in the Verburg, and we were shown into a room, which has undergone little alteration, which contains Luther’s table, footstool, bookcase, letter, his chair (on which both Emily and I sat for a few minutes) and an excellent portrait of the Reformer by Lucas Cranach, also portraits of his parents. Here, as “Junker Georg,” he zealously worked at his translation of the bible from May 4th, 1521 to March 6th, 1522.

The well known ink blotch on the wall, left there by his throwing an ink bottle at the devil when he sorely tempted him, has been carried away, together with the plastering, by souvenir fiends and is not renewed.

Martin Luther’s room at Wartburg

In the Landgrafenhaus, we visited the Elizabeth Kemante room decorated with beautiful mosaics from Oetken’s designs and executed by the Roxdorf firm, also the Elizabeth gallery adorned with frescoes from the life of St. Elizabeth, who lived in 1207 to 1231. She was a daughter of an Hungarian King and wife of the landgrave Louis of Thuringia, a very benevolent woman who constantly gave to the poor.

Elizabeth Kemante’s room.

Her husband was opposed to this and one day when she had bread for the poor, he asked her what she was hiding under her apron. She told him roses, and when he asked her to show the to him, the bread turned into roses! She was made a saint by the pope. We also saw the old chapel, effectively restored with windows of 1319 mural paintings and an old pulpit in which Luther stood and preached.

The Sangersaal in which the traditional Sangerkrieg or contest between the great minstrels of Germany is said to have taken place in 1207 contains a mural painting by Schwind representing that event with portraits of Wagner, Kaulbach, Liszt, Schwind etc. The “Tannhauser” Opera by Wagn er is baased on this tradition. The raised platform is adorned with arabesques and figures of the minstrels and quotations from their ballads.

By special order of “mine host” of the hotel, the Burgvogt showed us the rooms which Emperor Wilhelm II occupies when he is here for a few days hunt. In the first, the former living room of St. Elizabeth, we saw quite a collection of ancient hunting utensils, cups, etc. In his work room, we sat down on the chair in front of his desk and made believe we were one of the chosen ones. In his bedroom, which is very plain, we admired the ancient furniture. The kitchen is a marvel, everything reminds you of ye olden times as the rooms are fixed up with old fixtures and ornaments. It was quite a privilege to get a peep at these rooms.

We finished with a grand dinner in the restaurant, consisting of Wiener Schnitzel, etc. The W.S. is enough in itself, the etc., is just a side show.

We walked home along the beautiful footpaths through the woods and reached the hotel at 10 o’clock.

I spent the morning in our room writing, but, after dinner, we took the train to the Steinerne Renne where we arrived at 3:15. We had to ascend a pretty steep path through beautiful pine woods.

The last quarter-hour was especially steep and rocky, walking along a narrow pass which was quite an undertaking for Mama, but she was in good condition, however, and, after about one hour and a half, we reached the summit where we sat in a restaurant around a big flat rock which served as a table, and we all enjoyed a cup of hot coffee.

The scenery was very romantic, the mountain brook Holzenne rushing down over and past immense rocks in a narrow gorge. The slopes on each side are strewn with immense boulders and altogether it is very picturesque.

Steinerne Renne
[“stone running”]

Sterne Renne

He told me that they are laid up for three months and that they will make their first trip on Oct. 14th (my birthday), so we may leave on the day if we can get a good cabin.

We spent the evening packing, and the ladies did some washing and ironing and went to bed at one o’clock in the morning.

Schierke in the Harz mountains.
Village street.

Climatic health resort of Schierke in Harz.
Village road.

We took another run over to Schierke and saw Adolf and Max, had a pleasant time with them and took dinner together, a walk through the woods while Mama and Cousin Max took a nap.

Schierke.

We walked over to Stroeter’s and spent a pleasant evening. Tomorrow we will rest in the morning and take a climb in the afternoon.

All well and happy, Your Dad.

Schierke in Harz.
Sanatorium

This has been a great day for us. We arose at 5 o’clock and took breakfast at 6, and at 6:30 the park wagon called for us and the united Stroeter family. We had a pleasant ride to Rübeland, a Brunswich valley lying in the valley of the Bode.

Rübeland in Harz. Hermann’s cave.

We here went into the Hermann’s Höhle (cavern) where we saw some wonderful formations of stalactite. It took us 3/4s of an hour to go through this cavern, which is illuminated by electric light.

After a cup of Bouillon, we rode on to Treseburg, a village beautifully situated at the confluence of the Bode and the Luppbode. We selected a nice spot on the banks of the Bode and had a regular American picnic lunch.

We left Mama and Mrs. Stroeter with the wagon to follow us by another road, while we took the foot path along the Bode. This is, without doubt, the finest road in the Harz Mountains as far as scenery is concerned. It is strikingly wild and picturesque.

Bodethal.
Hexentanzplatz u. .d. Hirschgrund.
[rough translation: a gorge in the Bode Valley]

Chute at Rosstrappfelsen.

The name (horse’s hoof point) is derived from an impression in the rock resembling a gigantic hoof print, left there by the horse of a princess, who, when pursued by a giant, is said to have leaped across the valley.

Of course, there is a restaurant near by and, although I would have loved to linger on this spot which I remembered well from my last visit 41 years ago, the inner man had to be refreshed, and the weary limbs called for a rest.

From the veranda of the Inn, we had a grand view of the beautiful village of Thale and the fertile country surrounding it. We found Mrs. S. and Mama on the spot and ready to join us in taking refreshments.

Thale in Harz.

At 6 o’clock we left for home. We passed through beautiful beech woods which look as if they had been swept clean. All brush and broken wood is removed by poor people, who are allowed to enter the woods on a certain day in the week to gather the broken and decayed wood which they take home and save for winter use.

Along the roads are cherry trees which belong to the community, and the cherries are sold on the trees to an enterprising dealer who has them picked and ships them. Little booths are erected along the road where the pickers bring the fruit and where we could buy them “fresh from the tree.” Of course, we bought.

The Linden trees are now in full bloom, and the air is scented with the delicate odor. The Linden is a beautiful tree. We admired the fields, which are laid out in parcels and look like a huge quilt, no weeds, for the labor is cheap enough to allow them to keep the fields clean by pulling the weeds. Just think of it! You can see rows of women working their way along a field pulling weeds, and I have never seen such fine wheat, oats, barley, rye potatoes, beets, in long strips, in even rows and free of weeds, as I saw here.

We passed through Blankenburg, a town of about 10,000 inhabitants, situated on the slope of the hills and commanded by the lofty ducal Schloss.

Blankenburg in Harz.
Town Hall.

North of this town, we could see the Regenstein, a precipitous sandstone cliff, 245 ft. above the plain, on the side of which a castle was erected by Emperor Henry the Fowler in 919. It was captured by Wallenstein in the Thirty Years War and demolished by Frederick the Great. You can still see the vaults and embrasures which were hewn in the rock.

Blankenburg at Harz.
Grandfather.

Passing through several other villages, we reached home at 9:30 and tired enough to go to bed.

Greeting from Rübeland. Hermannshöhle, the Forest.

This morning we arose in time to ascend the Brocken, the highest point in the Harz Mountains (3745 feet). We took the train at 9:15 and climbing up gradually and passing Schierke on our way, we reached the summit at 12 and stepped out into a cloud, so that we could not see much of the top and nothing of the surrounding country.

Greeting from the Brocken Railway. (On the cleft in the rock.)

We consoled ourselves with a good dinner and took a look at the Tower, which commands an extensive view in clear weather, but we consoled ourselves with the fact that an unclouded horizon is a rare thing up here.

Greeting from the Brocken Railway. (in Eckerloch)

Several grotesque blocks of granite have received the names of Devil’s Pulpit, Witches Altar, etc. Tradition points out this spot as the meeting place of the witches on Walpurgis night (the eve of May day), and they are reported as coming up here riding on brooms. Goethe mentions this in his “Faust.”

Brocken with Devil’s Dance

We were glad to get under shelter, i.e., into the train, by 2 o’clock and return in time for supper. To bed early, as we intended to arise early tomorrow.

I went to a genuine German Erbanunstunde, which is held by the earnest Christians of the Staats Kirche (church of the state) after the regular service in a small hall.

Prof. Stroeter read a few verses from the Bible and explained them, after which several of the audience offered up a short earnest prayer and, after the singing of a song, were dismissed. No ceremony of any kind, but very impressive and refreshing and blessed by God the father.

We took dinner at the hotel and supper at Prof. Stroeter’s.

Greeting from the Harz Railway.
[Editor’s note: “Jlfelder-Thal.” seems to be untranslatable.)

Took train for Schierke, where we arrived about 11 o’clock and found Cousin Adolf Jacoby waiting for us at the depot. He reminds me of Uncle John, for he has a good deal of his mannerism. He had been in America and Australia in his early youth, “roughing it,” and he certainly is an old bachelor and no mistake.

He is called the “Groschen Onkel,” because he delights to give his nieces and nephews and those he loves a ten Pfennig piece (called a groschen) and, sure enough, gave Emily and Mama each a 10 Mark (gold piece) for he said, “I am so delighted to see you that a 10 Pfennig isn’t good enough for you, so here is a 10 Mark, but you will get the 10 Pfennig too,” and he did give them each a 10 Pfennig later on. To me, he kept giving cigars.

Max, who is staying here on account of his broken health, was in good spirits and seems to enjoy our visit. He lost his wife lately and is very much broken down as he has suffered from asthma from his early youth. We had a good dinner with them, and Mama and Max each retired for a nap, while Adolf, Emily and I took a walk around Schierke.

The station lies about 300 feet higher than the village, which is a great health resort. The Bode River runs along here, and the scenery is very fine. We returned in time for coffee and found the two much refreshed by their nap.

We walked to the depot through the grand old pine and beech woods, very pleasant, and Adolf kept up a continuous talk in which he mentioned you again and again. He speaks very highly of you, but thinks we both ought to have kept him posted regarding our coming to Berlin, so that he could have been better prepared.

Home in time for supper and to bed in good time.

Schierke v. d. Mauseklippe
[Mauseklippe translates to “mouse cliffs”; not sure what “v. d.” stands for.]

This is a beautiful place and we are within 1/2 block of Prof. Stroeter’s home. I telephoned over to Adolf, who is with Max in a Sanatorium in Schierke, about an hour’s ride with the cars from here.

We took dinner at Stroeters’ and celebrated the third anniversary of John L. Nuelsen, Jr.’s birthday. He is a lively and smart little chap. Luella is here with her three boys and expects to stay until Sept.

After a nap, which seems to be one of the necessities in this country, we walked through woods up to the Harburg, where we took coffee, another necessity. There is a Bismarck monument up on this mountain, and we had a fine view from the platform in front of the monument.

Wernigerode on Harz Mountains.
Villas on Kreuzberg und Jägerkopf with Harburg and Armeleuteberg.
[“Our home,” handwritten note with arrow.]

Berlin. Monument to Bismarck.

Hermann III called with two boxes of candy, and we three took breakfast together at the hotel. After an affectionate “tip leaving farewell,” we rode to the depot, where we were met by Hermann II with two bouquets of roses.

A pleasant ride of four hours with no change of cars brought us to this place where we were met by Prof. Stroeter. We took a carriage to the hotel, which is charmingly situated on the hill, within a block of Prof. Stroeter’s home. Pleasant corner room on the first floor called Parterre [ground floor].

We had a very good dinner and afternoon coffee at Stroeters where we met Miss Esslinger, daughter of Rev. Esslinger, and Luella Nuelsen with her three boys. We all took a walk up to the Schloss of Count Stollberg Wernigerode, which is high up on a hill and has been renovated of late. It looks very picturesque and we can see it whenever we step out of the house.

Wernigerode (Harz).
Bollhasental and Castle.

More in my next, it is time to go to bed.

Berlin C.,   National Gallery {now known as the Old National Gallery]

This morning we went to the Royal Porcelain Factory, which proved of great interest. We had a good guide who explained the manufacture of china to us. I envied them their fine kilns which are built up of brick and look as new and clean as if they had never been used.

They have a tester for the different degrees of heat, which has been invented by some professor. It is a combination of chemicals made into a cone, the point of which bends over at the desired degree of heat. He says that the “Tpm Zeitung,” Dreyse Str. in Berlin, N. W., are the agents for it, and I believe we ought to give them a trial. If you wish to do so, I can write to Herman III, who will attend to it.

I went to the Potsdam Bahnhof to get my ticket for Wernigerode. We travel third class now, as it is cooler in summer and very clean and satisfactory, especially on through or express trains. All the better class people such as merchants, professors, etc. travel that way now, and it has given us good satisfaction. For this reason I do not intend to buy a trip ticket, but I will buy my ticket from city to city.

Dinner at the Rheingold where you can get a big dish of vegetables for 35 Pfennigs (9 cents) and a dish of good meat for 86 Pfennigs (21 cents). Total 30 cents for a good meal. These are the standard prices. They have a beer restaurant, and you have to buy a glass of Munchener 30 Pfennigs (7.5 cents), while at the Wine Restaurant a bottle of Mosel or Rhein Wine costs from 47.5 cts. etc. up.

Cousin Hermann II, who is now in Greifawald and who is the son of Dr. Heinrich Jacoby, called at the hotel with flowers and candy for the ladies. He is another old bachelor of about 52 years and very entertaining.

I went downstairs to see the porter about something and saw him out in the street gesticulating. He told me that the Kaiser [Wilhelm II] had just passed, so I walked up to the corner and, seeing a cabby, asked him whether he could drive past the emperor, so that I could get a good look at him, and he said, “Of course.”

I jumped into his cab, and it was worth the price to see the way he dodged other vehicles and gradually forged to the front. At a cross street, we were stopped to let a number of vehicles and pedestrians pass, but we reached the “Wachs” near the palace before S.M. (Seine Majestat, His Majesty) as the Berliner calls the emperor “for short.”

I had a good look at him—he was on horseback with a general on each side and accompanied by his youngest son, who was in citizen clothes. Numerous men on bicycles rode around him, and the cabbie told me they were detectives!

We rode all around him, and I poked my head out of the window, and we looked at each other. We were both so astonished over the sudden meeting that we forgot to salute.

Our Imperial Family
[Kaiser Wilhelm II and family}

Mama and Emily and I went to meeting and took supper with Hermann II and III at the “Rheingold.” Home in time to pack up, which is always a pleasant hour’s work.

Dear Boy,

This morning we went to the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniss Kirche, a beautiful edifice in the late Romanesque style with a lofty tower erected in memory of the late Emperor in 1895. It took four years to build it, and it cost about 2.5 million dollars, of which amount the majority was donated in Memorial Windows, mosaic decorations pulpit fixtures, etc. Just like in America

The entire interior decorations are in glass mosaic, a beautiful gray or rather mouse colored marble with white streaks and oak wood. No painting at all. The mosaic work was done by Puhl and Wagner of Rixdorf near Berlin, and it took them three years to execute the order. I understand that a very pretty mosaic Barbarossa (about 7 x 10 feet) cost the donor $25,000 mark, or $6200, say $100 a square foot. They use a good deal of gold and mother of pearl in the mosaic work, and the execution is excellent—the faces are fine!

You can see that the entire work was in the hands of an artistic architect and was planned every detail even the minutest. Baurath Schwechten is the name. The altar window was made by Linnemenn of Frankfort. The mosaic pictures on the walls have all been designed by well known artists. There is one “Jesus of Bethany” by Prof. Sesliger, which is especially fine. Another, “The entrance into Jerusalem,” is very good too.

But the prettiest nook is in the lofty vestibule where the “Hohenzollern” are shown, including the present Emperor. The staircase from this vestibule to the galleries is very graceful, the balustrade and the panels are made of copper. Everything connected with the building has been “Made in Germany.”

From here we went to see the Charlottenburger Brucke, which has been completed lately and cost several million marks. It has at each side immense bronze figures, one of Frederick I, the splendor loving king and one of his consort Charlotte.

We, that is, Mother and I went home for a nap, but later on I went with Herman to see some of the Old Berlin. The old Molken Market, where the second hand shops were carried on in former days and entering through a very narrow passage, we came into a narrow street called Am Kroegel, with houses more than 500 years old.

From the Old Berlin, on Krögel Street.

Here in the old Hausvogtei, “Theo. Reuter, an author of stories in low German” was confined for quite a while on account of his revolutionary ideas. A boy acted as guide and in a sing song voice told us the entire story explaining that one street looked just like the narrow streets of Venice, except that the water was lacking.

An old sun dial, old signs, and the very narrow and dilapidated stairs are ample proof of the age of the houses and, in spite of their unsanitary conditions, they are still inhabited, bringing a rental of $2.50 a month for two rooms (no bathroom or modern improvements).

This was one of the grandest days. We have been at Sans Souci, and it is certainly one of the prettiest spots we have seen. We took the car to Potsdam, passing through a very pretty part of Berlin. At Potsdam, we took the Electric (as they call the street cars here) to Sans Souci.

Potsdam-Sanssouci
Castle Sanssouci with the monument of Frederick the Great.

We first of all went into the mausoleum of Emperor Frederick III, a basilica supported by nine columns of Labrador marble with an altar niche built like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Upon the altar, which rests on four eagles, is a beautiful statue of Mary at the corpse of Christ (Pieta) made of Carrera Marble. To the right and left are the sarcophagi of the two young princes, Waldemar and Sigismund, both sons of the Emperor, one with the bust of the young prince and the other with a rising angel beautifully worked in pure white marble.

In the center circle are the beautiful Sarcophagi of Emp. Frederick III and his consort, Victoria. The entire floor is worked in violet and black marble. The windows have wonderful coloring and show the initials of the two departed with their mottos, “without fear and constant” and “faithful and firm” also “Dieuet mondroit.” [God and my law]

A heavenly peace dwells in this resting place and invites you to worship. The Friedens Kirche being closed for repairs, we stepped through the Green Gate into the park of Sans Souci.

Frederick William I started a vegetable garden here in 1714 to which he added a little chateau. Frederick II converted the unsightly hill in the back of the garden into a vineyard built into six terraces and niches, which can be covered with glass. At the top of the hill, he built a chateau which was finished in 1748 and which is called Sans Souci (Free of Care). At the foot of the hill, the park was laid out.

Frederick William IV improved this park, and many new statues and gardens were added under his reign. The present Emperor has brought out the beauty of the paradise, and he continues to make improvements.

We passed the “Drakevase,” the Hermen Column and the two Sphinxes, who seem to guard the path to the prettiest view of the park, and reached the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, the creator of Sans Souci. In the back of this is the large Fountain, 130 feet in diameter, with a stream thrown to a height of 117!

The groups surrounding the basin represent the four elements and some well known mythological ladies and gentlemen such as Juno, Diana, Apollo, Merkur, and so on. In the back of this, steps led up to the chateau, and the entire view makes a most charming picture.

To give you an idea of the value of these statues, I mention a bust of Porphyr, which is at the foot of the terraces and was bought in 1742 for $25,000. If you had not read about it, you would pass it on for that many cents or even less.

Turning to the right, we came across another batch of the old gods, each on a bust and hiding among the green bushes, seemingly well aware of the fact that their time had passed by, and no one thinks of worshipping them. A beautiful iron gate stands out prominently from the green background of trees and bushes.

Almost hidden by bushes is the Muschelgrotte (shell grotto), in front of which is the statue of Frederick the Great as a youth. By an easy ascent, we reached the pretty chateau, in front of which there is a well-kept garden, surrounded by a balustrade bearing statues and vases with fountains, etc.

The rear of the chateau is very pretty, and the interior most interesting as it is left just about as it was when Frederick the Great occupied it. He was a great friend of the French writer, Voltaire.

We entered the Voltaire room, which has very pretty decorations in wood. In the dwelling room where he died on Aug. 17th, a beautiful marble statue representing the dying king in his chair, the questioning look in his eyes, is touching. The room is in gold decorations; the ceiling representing an immense spider web with a large spider.

Voltaire’s room, Castle Sanssouci, Potsdam

His library, which contains all of his books, mostly French and many of them Voltaire’s writings, is most wonderfully preserved. It is made of cedar wood and other door is a book case, too. It is impossible to mention all of the wonderful things which we saw here and in the park.

A short walk brought us to the Sicilian Garden, a creation of Frederick Wm. IV who had the Orangerie haus or (Conservatory for Orange Trees) torn down and a beautiful garden laid out, in the midst of which is a bronze statue of an arrow shooting youth.

A climb upward past a sleeping Ariadne, almost hidden by bushes, and through a beautiful gate made of rocks and crowned by an immense eagle fighting with a snake, made of copper, to the Historical Windmill with the pretty house of the miller. A high wall protects the foundation of the Mill and is overgrown by ivy and other climbing vines. It was built in 1736 and was kept in repairs by the Kings on account of its picturesqueness.

Sanssouci-Potsdam
Historic Windmill

Here in a very pretty restaurant we took our dinner. And now we ascended to the beautiful Orangerieshaus, built by Frederick Wilhelm to replace those torn down to create the Sicilian Garden. It consists of an imposing Main Building which is surmounted by two towers connected by a colonnade and two long corner buildings with high gates intervening.

In front of the Main Building are four statues representing Science, Industry, Architecture and Botany. In front is the statue of Fred Wm IV. In the niches are statues representing the 12 months and the four seasons.

In the garden in front are Astronomical Instruments which were adopted by the Prussians as a sort of souvenir of the little difficulty with the boxers in China. There are five of them—one a celestial globe, a sextant, two Armillarspheres and a Horizontalmesser. One of the Armillarspheres rests upon four dragons and has quite a respectable age, while the others are only 350 years old.

When I come home, I will tell you of what use they are to scientists, to me they are Chinese. A balustrade with two columns crowned by statues and several other statures surrounds the terrace and, leaning upon this, we had an excellent view of the terraces and wonderful arrangements of the gorgeous flower beds, fountains, etc.

Descending and passing a Zeus on a bust (there are lots of these old gods on a bust in this beautiful garden), we came to the Paradisegarten and thence to the Drachenhaus [Dragon House], built in 1756 in the style of a Chinese Pagoda.

Here we took coffee for Hermann’s sake who is a regular old Kaffe Schwester [coffee sister] and who can always find a convenient Kaffee Haus when his time approaches for a drink.

We had a look at the Belvedere built in 1769. It is a classic building with three balconies adorned by columns and many statues. Two large graceful staircases lead from the outside to the second story. The present emperor uses it as a Tea House and had it renovated. We walked long a narrow path, protected by a wall, from which we had good view of the vineyards and green houses where the fruit is raised for the emperor’s private use. He is so fond of it that it has to be sent to him when he is out of town.

Walking along a fine landstrasse adorned with four rows of immense Linden trees, we came to the Neue Palais which Frederick the Great built shortly after the Seven Years War in 1783. He wanted to show that his treasury was not emptied by the long war, and he also wished to give work to the artisans to help them. Anyhow, he was not stingy about it. It is a fine old palace, and William II, who lives here in summer, has managed to add considerable to its beauty.

In the rear of it are the commons with rooms for soldiers, courtiers, and the kitchen, the latter connect with the palace by a subterranean passage. Between the palace and the commons is a large court called the Mapke, where a military parade is held on the second day of Pentacost by the crack regiment the Lehr Infantry.

The emperor was absent but had left the keys so that we could see a few of the rooms anyhow. The emperor’s father, Frederick III, was born and died in this palace. The interior of the palace has more than 200 rooms. The rooms of Frederick the Great are left intact, the beautiful wall silk and tapestry has been removed and made by the same factory in Lyons who made the first ones. One room was made of Jaspis and adorned with large wall mirrors. Here small dinners are given, and 100 guests can be seated, while in another large room, 400 guests can be seated. The immense rugs are rolled up, and it takes 14 soldiers to handle one of these rugs.

The prettiest room is the shell room, which is decorated with shells and precious stones and minerals. Many of them are given to the emperor by friends, some of them by American admirers and, whenever there are enough accumulated, a layer of rock imitation is removed, and the precious stones and minerals inserted.

Here the Imperial family celebrates Christmas. Two large trees are placed between two immense columns for the Emperor and his consort and a tree for each one of the children, smaller in size according to their ages. The entire room can be lit by electric lights and is said to look like a fairy scene when all lit up.

The dance salon and many other rooms were shown to us and many valuable pictures, too, among them Rubens’ “Adoration of the Three Kings.”

We returned to Berlin by rail and had a walk through the beautiful Tiergarten. Took a bus to the Rheingold restaurant. You can ride a considerable distance in the buses for 5 Pfennigs, (1-1/4 cents). I read that in the month of May, 7.5 million of these tickets at 5 Pfennigs were used.

Well, I must close. I ought to have written and sent this some days ago, but we have been so busy sight seeing that we have not been able to do any writing. I will try to write the balance of our Berlin days by next Monday and mail it on that day.

Good bye for the present, I am writing this in Wernigerode, and, tomorrow, we will take the train for Schierke and see Cousin Adolf and Max. God bless and keep you. Dad.

King’s Square. Reichstags [German Parliament], Victory column

I had gone to our church in the Junker Strauss where Uncle Achard was the pastor for many years, but I came too late as their meeting started at 10 o’clock.

We walked across the Wilhelm Platz, one of the many nice squares in Berlin. It is adorned with states of six heros of the three Silesian wars of Frederick the Great. Schwerin who fell at Prague; Winterfeldt, Frederick’s favorite; Seydlitz, the hero of Rossbach; Keith, who fell at Hochkirchen; the gallant Zeiteb; and the old Dessauer, the victor of Kesselsdorf.

Berlin W.
Monument to Frederick the Great.

We took dinner in the Kaiser Keller and, afterwards, took a stroll in the Tiergarten and saw the monument to Lessing and the one to Goethe. We took coffee at Kessler’s old coffee house on Unter den Linden, which is one of the old landmarks of Berlin and formerly was the fashionable meeting place of the officers.

Supper at the Rheingold and to bed in good time.

Albrecht der Bär / Albert the Bear [the first Margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to 1170, also Duke of Saxony from 1138 and 1142]

This has not been a very strenuous day. I stayed home with Mama to attend to my correspondence, while Hermann took Emily to the old and new Museum. For a change we took dinner at Schultjeis on the Potsdammer Platz, one of the busiest corners in Berlin.

By a police arrangement you are enabled to cross the street in this and other busy places without danger of being run over. The vehicles on one side have to stop until a certain number of vehicles and cars on the cross side have passed. Then the policeman blows a horn, and the vehicles and cars on the cross side stop to let those who have accumulated on the intersecting street pass, and so it goes all day, and pedestrians have a chance to get across the streets, too.

We went to Wertheim’s to do some buying. This is the largest and best arranged store which I have ever seen. It occupies at least a block and is arranged in such a manner that the floors receive the light from immense glass roofs, so that very little is any artificial light is used.

There are summer and winter gardens in which you can sit for hours without being molested, as well as refreshment rooms where you call at the counter for what you wish to eat or drink and take it to a table and enjoy it without being disturbed by waiters.

The departments are distributed in galleries which surround a large square court which is the glass roof. The articles are all laid out or hung in such a manner that you can see them and the price is marked plainly. You have to call for a clerk, and the only drawback is that sometimes you have to wait quite a while before you can be waited on.

They carry a great variety of things among which I noticed several rooms filled with antique furniture, Oriental rugs and furniture. I bought the American Circus figures here for the Neuss children. I told Emily that you buy anything in Berlin, and she did open her eyes when the saleslady brought out the “circus” in different sizes. “Gerade wie in Amerika” (just like in America).

We took a stroll to the “Zelt” popular restaurants near the Tiergarten, so called (tents) from their original construction. Now they are nice buildings with large gardens, and the one we visited, the Kaier Wilhelm Zelt, had two bands of music which took turns in playing.

Leipziger Street

Mr. Grosse who married a sister of Rob. Baur’s wife, a Griesedick, called and took us all to dinner at the Kaiser Keller, a very fine restaurant with rooms fixed up in old style fixtures as a Rathstube, Schiffersaal etc.

We then took train to the Zoological Garden, which contains one of the finest collections of animals of the world. We were walking along from the car to the gate when a man jumped out of a restaurant and nearly fell all over us. It was Will K. Roth from St. Louis, who landed a few days ago and is a very homesick and nervous man. He went with us, and we listened to a concert and saw the monkeys and other wild and tame beasts.

For supper, we went to Ashinger’s, who also owns the Rheinhold and some 48 restaurants in Berlin. The one we went to on the Friedrich’s Str. has rooms in 4 stories, and all the windows are executed in fine Art Glass. Meals are very cheap here, and it seems hardly possible for the landlord to furnish them at such a low price, but they do it and get rich.

Everybody seems to be eating and drinking and listening to music all the time. Bro. Roth is very excitable, and I do not see how a trip like this can do him any good.

We went to bed in good time, and I must close this for it is time for me to go to bed. Good night and God bless you.

Kaiser Wilhelm on the command bridge.

Out bright and early. We took our usual walk up “Unterden Linden” to the Schloss opposite of which we saw the Nationale Monument to Emp. William I which is an imposing work representing the emperor on a horse led by the Genius of Peace.

At the four corners of the base are Victories and on the two principal sides are War and Peace. The monument is enclosed on three sides by a colonnade, ending in corner pavilions which bear colossal bronze quadrigae.

In the Schloss Platz is the Schloss Brunnen, a monumental fountain bearing a figure of Neptune, surrounded by figures representing the rivers Rhine, Oder, Elbe and Vistula.

On the South side of the Schloss Platz are the Royal Stables, where we were admitted at 11:30 and, together with about 70 people, we were shown around. We saw some fine horses each one in a neat stall, and matting lead all along the passages. In the second story, we saw all the royal carriages. The Krönungswagen (wedding and coronation carriage) stands in all its glory in the center of a large high hall. We were also shown the old sleighs and park wagons used by former Kings and Kurfürsten [electoral prince].

From here we went into the Zenghaus (arsenal), one of the best buildings in Berlin, begun in 1695. It is a square structure, each side of which is 295 feet in length, enclosing a quadrangle 125 feet square. Above the portal is a medallion portrait of Frederick I in whose reign the building was erected. In the court are very fine “Heads of expiring warriors” on the keystones of the window arches.

On the ground floor are weapons of all kinds, cannons of all ages, and many of them captured by the Prussians in their numerous wars. Also tattered flags and models of battle fields. On the second floor are some fine mural paintings of the important victories in the history of Prussia. They are in what is called the Hall of Fame.

From here, we went to dinner and home to rest up for the evening which we spent at Kroll’s. This formerly was one of the most celebrated gardens in Berlin. We took a late supper at the Rheingold and home to rest up for to-morrow.

Graf Zeppelin in Berlin

Up at our usual time, and while Herman and Emily went to the palace, which I have seen 40 years ago, Mama and I sat on a 6 pfennig (1 cent) chair in the Lustgarten and waited for the mounting of the guard and the music. The confounded leader played “Home Sweet Home,” with variations. Think of that—wouldn’t that jar you? It was even too much for the heavens, and it poured down. But we managed to get into the inevitable, rather “Always on the spot” restaurant for lunch.

Thence to the home of Bern. Frank, whose wife is at some watering or health resort. He has a very pretty flat and many of the old family heirlooms. We had a cup of coffee, strawberries and cream, etc., with him.

Walked by the house where Max lives, which is closed up as he and cousin Adolf are in the Harz. Took supper in the Siechen Kneipe, which was jammed full to overflowing. We sat right near to the place where you sat a year ago.

Home in good time and to bed.

Old Palace of Prussian King and German Emperor William I, the corner windows.

It is hard to get up and started before 10 o’clock, and that’s where you had the advantage over us, for I suppose that you were out and sight seeing by 9 o’clock.

We went to the “Dom” (cathedral), a huge structure in the Italian renaissance style built in 1894 to 1902. It is at the head of the Lustgarten, and owing to its lofty dome, is one of the distinguishing features of any general view of Berlin. It is about 400 feet in length by 262 feet in breadth.

Castle Bridge, Museum, Cathedral.

The Church proper, which is entered by the lofty Main Entrance, is situated beneath the dome, which is 102 feet in diameter. There are special galleries for the court, the ministry, the choir, and the magnificent Organ (of carved oak).

The windows are a “New departure.” They are painted and etched, and the necessary color effects are produced by three thicknesses of glass. There are no lead lines, but each window is subdivided by muntins, and each space seems to be about 2 feet by 3 feet in a sheet, no scroll of any kind, but just the picture.

The Nativity, the Crucifixion, and the Ascension. Above these three are Oriels in the center, one an angel holding up the Cup.

On the pews, I read the names of many prominent men and families. On the north side is a Memorial Chapel with monuments and sarcophagi and a staircase leading to the Hohenzollern Burial Vault to which the existing coffins (87 in number) of members of the reigning family are to be transferred.

We witnessed the “Mounting of the guard” in the palace and listened to the music which the accompanying band renders in the Lustgarten. We then went to Herzogs, a business similar to our Scruggs, V. & B., which was in existence when I was here 40 years ago, and we bought a white waist for each of us women (two). Lunch at another one of these Friedrichs Strasse restaurants, I think, Tucker, and a nap.

Dr. E. Miller called, and together we went to the Rheingold for supper and concert. This restaurant is beautifully decorated in the interior and the Kaisersaal is a wonderful place. Prices very reasonable. To bed in good time, i.e., before morning.

Editor’s note: Scruggs Vandervoort and Barney was a St. Louis department store.

Interior [Onyx Hall] of Weinhaus Rheingold, a large restaurant designed by Bruno Schmitz near Potsdamer Platz in Berlin-Tiergarten. [Editor’s note: Weinhaus Rheingold was destroyed in World War II.]

I spent the morning writing letters and we all went to the Friedrichs Strasse to one of the large Restaurants, I think, the Spatenbrau for dinner, took the car to Charlottenburg, which now is a part of Berlin. Here is a Royal Palace erected by the renowned architect Schluter in 1695, but not occupied by any member of the royal family.

Berlin C. Royal Castle. Palace Square.

The pleasant Palace Garden which was laid out by the eminent French landscape gardener Le Motre in 1695 is a beautiful spot. Passing through an avenue of pines, we reached the Mausoleum where Queen Louisa and her husband Frederick William III repose together with their second son, Emperor William the Great, and the Empress Augusta. The recumbent figures of the four executed in marble resting on sarcophagi are very impressive, and a blue dim light brings out the work in its full beauty.

We took the underground railway home. This road is partly underground and partly elevated. Wherever it is above ground, the iron structure is carried out in an artistic manner with pretty columns on the street corners and trees planted along the iron pillars. In this manner, the road is rather an ornament than an ungainly sight as it is in New York. They know how to do things in this country, and the government forces them to do them in such a manner that it improves the looks of the streets.

We took supper at Kempkinski’s, a well known restaurant fitted up in grand style where you can get the best for the least money. We had made an appointment with Bernhard Frank, a brother in law of Max, and he had reserved a table for us, which is necessary as the place is always crowded.

After supper we went into one of the many Berlin Restaurants where they have concerts up to four o’clock in the morning, but we managed to get home by 12 o’clock.

This Sunday and the glorious fourth. Herman Jacoby, son of Bernhard J. called, and placed himself at our disposition. We took breakfast at the hotel and all went to church service.

After that we walked to the Tiergarten and walked up and down the Sieges Allee (Avenue of Victory) containing 32 marble statues of Prussian rulers, erected at the expense of the German Emperor.

Berlin W., Avenue of Victory. West side.

We also saw the Berlin Roland and the Sieges Saule, 200 feet in height. It stands on a circular terrace which is approached by 8 steps of granite. The massive square pedestal is adorned with reliefs in bronze. Some mosaics illustrate the restoration of the German Empire. Above, in the flutings of the columns, are placed three rows of captured Danish, Austrian and French cannons, 60 in all. The summit consists of a capital formed of eagles crowned with a Borussia, 48 feet high. You can go up to the capital, 152 feet, but we did not attempt it.

Berlin. Victory Column.

We also saw the Reichstag Gebande (Hall of Imperial Diet) with an immense glass Dome bearing a lantern encircled with columns and surmounted by an imperial crown. The space for an inscription over the main entrance is still bare as the emperor and the Diet. could not agree on the wording of the inscription.

At the corners are four towers on which are figures typifying different industries and occupations of the German people. Above the door is a figure of St. George with the figure of Bismarck. The Brandenburg Tor which is at the west end of Unter den Linden and forms the entrance to the town from, the Tiergarten was erected in 1789. It has five different passages through the center, one of which the emperor alone is permitted to drive.

Berlin W. Brandenburg Gate.

It is surmounted by a Quadriga of Victory which was stolen by Napoleon I and taken to Paris, but subsequently brought back by the victorious German Army.

There are two fine statues at the head of the Tiergarten (which, by the way, covers 600 acres of ground right in the heart of the city). One of these is of Frederick Wilhelm III and the other of Queen Louisa.

Near the Reichstags Gebande rises the National Monument of Bismarck, colossal bronze figure of the “Iron chancellor,” stands upon a granite pedestal which is surrounded by four groups, Atlas bearing a Globe, Siegfried forgoing the sword, Constitutional Authority trampling upon Sedition and Statecraft seated on a sphinx.

We had a nice quiet dinner at the hotel and, while there, the two Miller boys (whom we met in Vienna) from St. Louis, who are staying here, called and took a cup of coffee with us. Together we took a walk to the Ausstellungs Park, where we enjoyed the music given by a military band.

Home in good time and to bed.

Berlin C. Overall view of the Town Hall Tower.

Berlin. Main portal of the Berlin art exhibition in the state Exhibition Park.

Dresden. Post Office.

Our last day at Dresden. I took Annchen to the depot at 10 o’clock and saw her off. She was so grateful for the nice time we gave her, but we enjoyed her company too. She is a very sweet and appreciative girl.

Our train left in the afternoon and we took our Henkersmahlzeit [Hangman’s meal] in the Drei Raben. Here is one of the mottos which I saw on the wall:
“Das Wasser ist zu jeder Zeit
Die groesste aller Gottesgaben
Mich aber lehrt Bescheidengeit
Man muss nich stets vom Besten haben.”
[Editor’s note: a very rough translation would be:
The water is always any time
The greatest of all divine gifts,
But teaching me modesty
You don’t have to always have the best]

We traveled in company of two ladies from Canada, and we arrived in Berlin in time, making only one stop on the trip of 120 miles and covering about 45 miles an hour, which I call very nice traveling.

We rode to the hotel and were welcomed by the outfit and shown two very nice rooms on the first floor facing a nice, quiet side street. Cousin Josef recommended this hotel to us, where he stops when in Berlin, and, as they had nothing empty on the third from my price three marks (75¢) a person, they gave us these rooms.

We are within a block of the “Unter den Linden” and our Ambassador (Dr. Hill) lives on the corner. I could not resist the temptation to take a walk out to the “Unter den Linden.” We are about opposite Cooks office and within a few blocks of the Brandenburger Thor.

Hotel National, Berlin NW.
Unter den Linden (Boulevard)
Russian Embassy

I wish to get this off, so I must close. There is a big bunch of mail here for us. Your Bremen letter and all the Berlin Poste Restante mail. Cousin Adolf is with Cousin Max in the Harz. The latter is very rich. Cousin Bernhard Jacoby’s son, Herman, is going to be our guide. You know him. I dropped him a line and I expect to see him in the morning.

Good Bye,     Dad

Dresden. View of Albert Bridge. Ministry [Department of the Interior].

The Protestant Krenz Kirche, which was burned down in 1897 and restored in 1900, has a very fine interior but proved to me a disappointment as far as the windows are concerned. They are a departure from the Munich style and seem to be an attempt to produce something like our drapery windows, but they are very flat, and some faces are dark and poor in their execution. Unfortunately, I could not get admission to the gallery to get a closer view of them. The wood carving of pulpit, pews, altar, etc., is especially fine.

In the rain, we took a drive to the “Grosse Garten,” and the girls went into the Lustschloss, a chateau built in 1680 where the Museum of the Saxon Antiquarian Society is now established.

Our dinner we took at the “Drei Raben,” which suits us almost as well as the Rath haus Keller in Munchen.

We bought a tie with the American flag for Emily and a ‘kerchief for me and beau for Mama, all with Old Glory.

Our supper we took in the Royal Belvedere Restaurant on the Bruhls Terrace where we listened to a fine concert by the best string band of Dresden under the leadership of Kapellmeister Olsen. It is the best we have heard and mama was carried away by it. As an encore, they gave “Das Meer Erglanzte in Abendschein,” [The Sea Shone in Evening Light] one of the songs I formerly sang, and it just touched our hearts.

Editor’s note: Much to my sorrow, I cannot find the lyrics for Hermann’s song. I also cannot determine what a “beau” might be—especially one with Old Glory printed on it. 

Dresden. Ref. [Reform?] Church. Landständ Bank. New Town Hall.

There are a good many Americans and English in this city, and I do not wonder at it as it is, in spite of its size, a very quiet and beautifully laid out city. Aside of this, you have the galleries and good music.

I went to the Dresden Bank to get some money and met a man who mentioned that some people are hard to please and that he had met a man from Columbus, Miss., who seemed to be very much disgusted and wanted to get back to good old Miss. Of course, I asked him the name and he said Lathrop, I think. I guess Aunt Sophie knows him. He said it looked as if the Mrs. was running things!

I had heard from Grace that one of our Barbarossa people, Mr. Harry Jack, was down with the typhoid fever at Dresden, and, as I did not have his address, I went to the Police headquarters, who gave it to me in a minute. Everybody who enters a city or village in this country is registered, and you can easily locate a man. They told me that he left on the 22nd, and this proved to be the case when I called at the house where he had stopped.

Nothing doing at Cooks when I called. The girls, Emily and Annchen, went to the gallery, Grune Gewolbe, etc., and joined us at the Drei Restaurant where we had a good supper, for very little money. You can get a dish of good meat for 25¢ and vegetables for 7 1/2¢ a dish and plenty of it.