LETTERS and DIARIES of Dorothy Dix
Dorothy
Dix (Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer)
Travel
Journal – 1926.
Transcribed
and Edited by Elinor Howell Thurman, 2002.
[Inscribed
on flyleaf:]
Dorothy
Dix
Her Book
Being
the veracious account of her trip during the summer of 1926
Left
Spent pleasant time in
July
17 [1926]
Sailed on the La France
which is a floating palace, with the food of demi-gods. Had an agreeable and safe
journey, minus any excitement.
Met two charming Richmond ladies of the old school, named Boykin who
looked & talked exactly as if they had come out of the covers of Lavender
& Old Lace - Also
two rather interesting young men, one named Sylvestre
Dorian who was coming to Paris to [word crossed out: study] start a fashion
syndicate, the other named Angely who was coming to
be on the Ass. [Associated] Press –
July
25 [1926]
Arrived in
July
26 – [1926]
Left at 8 a.m
for Montreaux - Wonderful day thro
Jul
28 – [1926]
Went for long motor drive – all around
July
29 - [1926]
Went up to Interlaken over [a] gorgeous
mountain road that crept up over the town of Montreaux
& then wound its sinuous way over hill & dale, past lush meadows with
cream colored cattle feeding, past picturesque cottages with their little over
hanging balconies, past gorgeous vistas of mountains rising tier on tier to the
skies - Arrived
Interlaken about 3 p.m in a cold drizzling rain. Went to
July
30 [1926]
Went on the long &
lovely excursion around Syringe [Schynige] Platte,
the Grindelwald & up to Murren
at the foot of the
July
31 [1926]
Left at 10 a.m. & had lovely all day
trip down the mountains, along the valley of the Rhone, & thro the Semplon Pass to Milan, which we reached at 6 o’clock –
staying at Continental hotel[.]
Aug
1 [1926]
Had a most interesting morning, driving
out to the cemetery where is the national Valhalla – also saw tombs on which
were photographs of the occupants below as well as those ornamented with life
sized busts of the deceased – went to the church S. Maria del Grazzie in which on the refectory wall Leonardo de [sic]
Vinci painted his famous Last Supper – to the Castello
Sforesco the finest medieval castle I have ever seen
– to the Church of St Ambroglio the oldest christian [sic] church in Europe & to the marvelous
cathedral that how often seen must always be a prayer to God in stone, and at
last to the station where we set forth at 1 P.M for Constantinople –
We left at 1 o’clock on Sunday and travelled during the afternoon thro’ lovely Italy – thro
Verona where Shakespeare hung Juliets balcony, &
wrote of the two merry gentlemen – thro the little town from whence Portia is
supposed to have set forth to save her husband by her wit, by Bologna where
they probably never heard of sausage & so just at dusk to Venice &
about 10 o’clock to Trieste[.]
The next day we rode thro’ Jugoslavia, nee Serbia[,] a rich farming land with corn
that would have shamed Ohio, about 3 times as much wheat as we raise per acre,
with herds of fat cream colored [word crossed out: horses] cows, pigs galore,
and more geese than I knew were in the world for it appears that here are
reared the fowls that make the pate de foie gras, & the meadows were white with birds - The country looked just like middle Tenn except that it was better cultivated, & that the
landscape was dotted with boys & girls, or old people herding the cattle,
or geese & pigs - No difference in
the attire of the people from the country [and] people in the U.S. except that
they were, if anything, better dressed – no khakki
[sic] overalls & no Fords.
By 3 p.m we were
in [word crossed out:
At about sundown we first sighted the
Aug
4 [1926]
From my window I can see the shining
waters of the Golden Horn, so called because they were fantastically supposed
to represent that
But nothing can take away the glory of the
mosques with their slender carved minarets reaching up into the blue sky like
visible tokens of mans aspirations towards God, & from my high balcony I
see them silhouteted [sic] against a sky of turquoise
blue, ineffably beautiful. Stamboul rises tier on tier of crowded streets across the
water, & the 7 towers built by Constantine hundreds upon hundreds as guard
houses [words crossed out: by which] on the wall he erected about the city to
defend it from the tribes of savage invaders from the north, stand still like
grim warders looking down upon the town whose rise & downfall they have
witnessed so often
We have gone to the mosque that is called
variously the Mosque of Mosaics because it has some of the first & finest
of Byzantine mosaics, dating back to the 4th century, & the
Mosque of Sorrows because the Moslems considered they had bowed the heart of
the Christians in grief when they turned this church into a Mohammedan Mosque
- It was the Byzantines, it seems who perfected
the making of mosaics whose art they had gotten originally from the Assyrians
& the Venetians, who still further developed them by putting gold leaf
between pieces of glass – near by this Mosque is the old wall, with its 7
towers built by Constantine, & a very interesting old cemetery with every
mans tomb stone surmounted by a fez & every womans
by a knob[.]
Went to the old cistern
of 1001 columns over an old reservoir that held enough water to supply the city
for a 39 year siege. Went to the
gorgeous Sulimeneh Mosque, whose floors are covered
with priceless carpets – one of which our guide, who is the biggest liar I ever
met, said was insured for $2 million dollars -
The courtyard of the Mosque was full of men having coffee under the
trees, & playing with their fidgety beads -
We joined them in both diversions[.]
Went to the most interesting museum of
antiquities I have ever seen - The
collection of sarcophegrus [sic] are particularly
interesting & that of Alexander the Great, made 3 centuries before Christ
is the most exquisite I have ever seen[.]
It has scenes in bas relief showing his fights & the marble is so
exquisitely carved that even the teeth of a dying horse show. The marble is tinted. This tomb is called Alexander the Greats not
because he was ever buried in it, but because it depicts incidents in his
adventurous career[.]
Across the way from this museum is the
first Turkish palace ever built – the blue Palace, faced with blue tiles the
secret of whose making is now lost. It
is full of beautiful pottery, & carved &
inlaid furniture & has exquisite rugs.
Went to St Sophia, one of the most famous
churches ever built - & whose beauty no tongue can describe - It was erected on
the site of a temple to Venus. It was
started by the Great
The dome is especially beautiful, being
poised as lightly as a soap bubble on four large piers, & it is the only
dome that has ever been constructed that can be seen from every part of the
church - Masses of gold mosaic, carvings
& gilding make the walls & ceiling rich & mellow – heavy, priceless
rugs cover the floor, & the pulpits are little gems of inlay work - At intervals on the outskirts of the vast
floor are little raised platforms where any preacher who can corall [sic] an audience is privileged to speak - & at
one end, near what would be an altar in a Christian church is an exquisite carved
lattice balcony where the Sultan & his household worshipped.
But the strangest sight in all that
wonderful place was an unveiled woman praying in the middle of the sanctuary,
instead of making her humble devotions hidden behind the screne
[sic] of the balcony[.]
It is not always that you have your dream
realized but the Seraglio is just as I have always imagined one to be. It is built on what is probably the most
beautiful site on earth – where a high promontory of land juts out into the water,
giving an unparelled [sic] view of saphire [sic] blue sea in three directions, with the piled
houses of the city across the way - We
entered thro a hughe [sic] ornamental gateway in the
outer wall of defense, drove up the steep walls of the bluff on a road shaded
by hoary cedar & cypress trees & dismounted before the gate leading to
the court of the Jannisserarys [Janissaries] - The
wall here is 15 ft thick & forms the walls of a guard house in which in
ancient times 50 guards sat armed to the teeth.
On the walls in glass cases are the hundreds of axes used in beheading
those doomed to death. The axes are
inlaid with damascene work which must have been a comfort to the victims. Within the gate is the vast stump of a tree
called the Jannissaries [sic] tree on which the
hanging mostly took place – especially of any Jannissary
[sic] convicted or suspected of treason. To this tree was also sent the heads that
were cut off – often on silver or gold platters - & which the families of
the deceased often redeemed at a great price.
On one side of an open court is the church of St Irene, the only
Christian Church that has never been turned into a Mosque & which contains
many interesting relics, among them some of the weapons of the crusaders &
[words crossed out: the bags chain] a few links of the chain that was stretched
across the Golden Horn & guarded it for nearly 1000 years[.] Here also are the bags of earth which in the
early days were sent to the Sultan in token of submission by stricken &
terrified provinces – The main part of the palace is occupied by a series of
audience rooms – one contains a great bed like structure – a gigantic 4 poster
with the posts sheathed with silver & ornamented with jewels & a fillagree [sic] canopy very beautifully wrought - It has a matress
[sic] covered with old brocade & on this divan the Sultan & his sons
sat when receiving foreign ambassadors – a fountain at the foot of the divan
was supposed to drown out the sound of the voices so those without listening at
the keyhole could not hear what was said –
The long building which were [sic] once
the armory of the knights & fighting men has been turned into a wonderful
museum - During the war certain repairs
were being made to the palace when in a forgotten cellar were found 400 cases
of Ming pottery & old Turkish ware[.]
These have been beautifully placed & furnish such a collection of
Ming faience as doesn’t even exist in
There is another gate called the Gate of
Felicity that leads to a lovely little French pavillion,
furnished in gay French furniture, & situated on the very brow of the cliff
overlooking the
Another room that was like an Arabian
Nights dream come true was the Sultans private sitting room – the floor covered
with gorgeous rugs – the walls of heavenly blue tiles, the doors & window
embrasures of mother of pearl inlay – the walls lined with couches covered with
brocades & embroideries set with precious stones – the brazier of exquisite
hand wrought silver & thro’ the barred window the sea [words crossed out:
seen thro] blue as a turquoise –
There were dozens of other rooms – one
long wing devoted to the harem – which is now being repaired - It seems the Sultan had one legal
wife, the mother of his heirs, & any number of concubines as each province
every year sent him 3 of its fairest bathing beauties - After 2 years residence in the royal harem he
married them to his viziers – at whom the ladies turned up their noses ever
after – considering they had made a distinct come down in life[.]
Scores upon scores of other rooms there
were – for here lived the imperial court for some 900 years, but it has not
been occupied for 150 years & is now kept just as a show place for
visitors[.]
What was once the great Hippodrome is now
merely a grassy park with the obelisk in the center & the famous bronze
snake column consisting of 3 intertwined snakes whose heads supported the
tripod of the priestess of Appollo [sic] at Delphi
Greece from which it was brought by Constantine[.] It is one of the most wonderful monuments in
the world.
A long & lovely ride up the Bosporus
into the
We staid at the Pera
Palace Hotel which was sky high as to price, but very comfortable[.]
Aug
7 – [1926]
Left in the morning via the Orient Express
– which is an express only three times a week, and ambled along so leisurely it
took us from Sat morning at 8.30 until [words crossed out: Tuesday Monday]
Sunday at 3 to get to Sophia – We passed thro’ the loveliest, fat farming
country, and saw many of the country women wearing their quaint native costume[.] But the
trip was very tiresome & made the more disagreeable to me from having
partaken not wisely but too well of half ripe melons. On the way up we were awakened in the middle
of the night by 3 Bulgarian officials who suddenly flashed their lights in our
faces – 4 dishevelled women more or less in the
costume of Sept Morn blinked back[.]
They jabbered – we shrugged our shoulders & said we didn’t
comprehend – more jabber – more shrug – then one man threw up his hands &
cried out in despair “These Americans! These Americans! These
Americans!” & slammed the door -
Afterwards we found out our passports werent vised [sic] right & that it was only as a great
courtesy extended to our nation that we werent sent
back to Constantinople.
We are staying at a very delightful hotel
with heavenly cooking right opposite the palace – a big handsome yellow brick
mansion set in fine grounds with the loveliest acacia trees, now in full bloom
– Sofia is at the foot of the mountains & I never smelt anything so cool
& bracing as the air. –
Aug
– 9 – [1926]
A day of adventure - At 10 we set forth in the best auto
the city could muster to go to the King’s summer palace 75 miles away in the
mountains - The auto was minus most of
its innards. It hadnt
had a spring in the last 10 years & carried no spare tire – the driver
saying that if it was Gods will we would make the journey without needing one
- No Turkish or Bulgarian cars carry
extras on the the [sic] same principle. The roads are the worst in the world but our
optimistic driver started out a clip that would have won a race on a fast track
- Rocks, ruts,
stones meant nothing in his young life & we went lickety
split over them, while every bone in our bodies were [sic] jarred from our
sockets & we held on to our false teeth with a death grip[.]
Apparently our chauffers
[sic] confidence in
In this region at a place called Kazanlik the finest attar of roses is made[.] They have 80000 acres under cultivation in
roses. We intended going there – it is
300 kilometers – but after our experience with the demon chauffer[sic]
we decided not to risk it.
Aug
10 – [1926]
Made
another abortive effort to reach the Kings summer palace, but there had been
heavy rains & the car skidded from side to side over the impossible road so
we gave it up & returned to town & the pursuit of Bulgarian embroidery.
Went to the Russian
Had great fun buying some bulgarian [sic] embroidery[.] The man spoke no word of English, I no
Bulgarian - He went into hysterics –
called in all his friends & nieghbors [sic],
& by means of pantomime we at last traded –
I never felt such air as this - It is so full of
ozone it makes you tingle. No wonder the
B’s are such scrappers[.] They would have to work off their pep some
way, & this climate would make a jack rabbit spit in a bulldogs face[.]
Left Sofia at five in the afternoon of Aug
10 on the de luxe & also the de slow for Belgrade
- Arrived at the pleasing hour of 6 A.M
& went to the Palace Hotel which is being repaired. In consequence of which we are domicilled [sic] on the 7 floor up to which we have to
walk, no lift running. But we have the
most wonderful view of the
Aug
12 [1926]
Took a drive to Toptshider [Topchider], a lovely
wooded park in which was the old summer palace of the King. It is now a public park, & a new palace
for the King is being built on the top of a high hill overlooking the
Went by boat up the river to Zimblin which used to be the frontier town of Hungary is
these parts, but is now part of Ugoslavia [sic]
- From the town the Austrians shelled
Belgrade in 1814 but as they run [sic] up the white flag at the first shot the
city was saved[.]
Went to the museum
which contains a most interesting collection of embroideries & figures in
native Peasant costume. Also
hideous & badly painted [word crossed out: pictures] portraits of the
various Serbian dynasties – an ugly looking lot of cut throat villains as to
the men & the ladies all in dire need of brassiers
[sic] –
One of our most interesting hours in
Belgrade was in the public market – a regular street fair – with hundred[s] of
peasant women in native costume – upturned skirts with embroidered hems – gay
embroidered aprons & head scarfs [sic]. I tried to buy one of these aprons but the
girls husband would not let her sell it – no good Serbian embroidery could be
bought as the women no longer make it for sale[.]
Aug
14 [1926]
Left at 9.30 a m for Buda-Pest[,] 223 miles distant[.]
Lovely ride thro’ the richest & most fertile country, with a record
breaking harvest being gathered in. The
R.R is a gov’t owned one & at every station the employees
were in uniform & also stood at attention as the train pulled out - At every station we stopped from 5 to 10
minutes & at some we staid for an hour & a half. These are evidently intended on making up the
time table for we arrived at Buda Pest on the dot at 7 & went to the most
delightful hotel, which seems doubly ravishing in memory of the awful one at
Belgrade - This
hotel is called the Duna Palota,
& is the old Ritz & it certainly is Ritzy - We had dinner on the terrace – a room with
real beds - & I almost wept as I saw it – a bath with hot water[.]
Aug
15-16-17- [1926]
Most delightful stay in Buda Pest - Went thro’ the fine
old castle started by Maria Theresa, the mother of Marie Antoinette &
finished by Francis Joseph. This has [a]
most commanding situation on a high bluff overlooking the
Went thro the magnificent Parliament
house, the handsomest in Europe – crossed the fine bridge of Chains, the first suspension bridge ever
built – drove thro the lovely park, & went to Margauten
[Margaret] island – a lovely green island in the midst of the Danube that
Francis Joseph spent much money in making an amusement park, & that is a sort
of Coney island[.] Went to the picture
gallery which is of only moderate worth, & by the reproduction of the
castle of Hunyadan Yanos
[Janos Hunyadi], the great Hungarian patriot after whom the table water is
named[.]
But mostly spent our
time counting our money. It takes
700 cronen to make a cent, & 24000 to get a glass
of beer – which has me permanently insolvent, not being used to dealing with
matters of high finance[.]
Aug
18 – [1926]
Left Buda pest at 9.30 & arrived at
Aug
19 – [1926]
Drove around the town, giving us birds eye
view of the beautiful streets, the old part of the city, the many monuments etc
- Went to the Cathedral of St
Stephens[sic,] one of the finest examples of gothic art in Europe. It has wonderful old stained glass windows
and an unique arrangement of altars – one being placed on each side of the
great pillars of the church - This with
the candles – the lovely gilding & painting gives an effect of great
richness when seen in perspective, & with the light filtering thro’ the
glorious windows - This church also has
a curious pulpit, the railing of the stair being carved with rats, mice,
snakes, & vermin typifing [sic] the spirit of
evil fleeing from the word of God -
Another interesting feature was the “servant girls Madonna” before which
many were praying - According to the
legend a maid was accused of stealing her Mistress’ ring - She prayed to the Madonna who inspired her to
paint this picture. Before it was
completed the ring was found & the girl exhonorated
[sic], & ever since whenever a “madchen” gets
into trouble she comes & burns a candle before this picture – which the
maid vowed to the virgin & which is considered so sacred it is protected by
a wire netting. Still another
interesting feature of the cathedral is the “giant” door at the oldest part of
the building. It seems when the
foundations of the cathedral were being laid they came upon the giant bones of
prehistoric animals which were tho’t to be the bones
of giant men & suspended over the door for many years –
Went to the bare, gray old capuchin church
in whose [word crossed out: vaults] cript [sic] are
the sepulchers of all the Hapsburg family from 1619 down to the present day
- There generation after generation of
kings & their consorts & their children sleep in their iron & lead
coffins[.] Foremost is the massive,
ornate bronze sarcophagai [sic] of Maria Theresa
& her husband surrounded by their children – only one[,] Marie Antoinette –
being buried elsewhere - Marie Christina being buried in the Christine [Maria
Christina was buried in the Church of St. Augustine – see entry for August 21]
- Here also lie the mortal remains of
the ill fated Maximillian & of Marie Louise,
& her pathetic son L’Aiglon & here lie side
by side Franz Joseph & his murdered son & wife[.]
Drove out to Schonbrunn,
once the favorite country seat of the Emperors of Austria, but now the city has
grown around it until it is virtually a suburban ritual. But any way it is a noble pile of buildings
set upon the backgrounds of a green forrest [sic]
& lovely gardens. The furniture has
been allowed to remain intact & it is virtually as it was when it was the
favorite abiding place of Franz Joseph.
There are miles upon miles, it seemed, of gorgeous state apartments, the
walls being hung with priceless Gobelin & Flemish
tapestries – or picture[s] depicting the dead & gone victories of Austria,
or commemorating the hour of triumph of some king or queen who has been dust
& ashes for centuries. Many of the
rooms are pannelled [sic] in Chinese lacquer – one
room in particular has the entire wall space covered with Chinese, Japanese
& Persian paintings, each set in ornate frame, in a wall pannelled [sic] in mahogany - Some of these pictures are said to be 1000
yrs old. They were gifts to [words crossed
out: the King] Maria Theresa of Austria but the setting of them cost $2,000,000
–
There was also an interesting room – in
whose marquetry floor was an inner circle that by
touching a spring, caused it to descend to the lower floor where food was
placed upon a table, & it shot up again -
This was used when [word crossed out: secret] matters of state were
discussed which it was desired no one should hear – or perhaps when some
amorous king or queen entertained some secret guest - Here in a Chinese pannelled
[sic] room the ill fated Napoleon 2 loved & died –
In the plainest room in the palace was a
black iron bed on which Franz Joseph slept & on which he died – a lonely
old man whose wife [words crossed out: & child] had been murdered – whose
only child had died a shameful death, & whose kingdom lay in ruins about
him –
Near by, overlooking a dream of a garden
were Elizabeth[’]s apartments hung in red brocade but not better furnished than
any well off American womans bed room & lacking totally
that acme of luxury – a good bath room.
Aug
20 – [1926]
Spent the morning going thro’ the city
palace which since the war is used as a museum, the proceeds of which go to the
disabled soldiers - Went thro room after
room with walls hung with rich tapestries, & with treasures in pictures
& cabinets of Buhl [boulle], & marquetry, & mosaic but there is nothing of outstanding
interest in the palace – all it has is its memories of former splendor where
the proudest of the proud, the haughtiest of the haughty, the richest of the
rich peacocked thro these white & gold rooms,
& plotted, & intrigued, for royal favor, & were eaten of every
jealousy, or puffed up with pride at the frown or smile of a man who is now a
pinch of dishonored dust - It was only
these ghosts I saw in the empty, echoing rooms thro which trooped trippers
& clodhoppers, & country bumpkins, who for the price of 14c could look
their fill on the shell of royalty[.]
[The following paragraph has been crossed
out:]
Of all the riches in the treasury – the
crown of Charlemagne, the imperial regalia, the famous blue white diamond, the
immense riches in jewels that belonged to the crown nothing remains - All are gone & nobody seems to no [sic]
whither, tho there are those who say Zita took everything that wasnt
nailed down[.]
Aug
21 [1926]
Went thro the Treasury where are the royal
regalia – the crown of St Stephen & the crown of Austria & Hungary,
resplendent with jewels – also various jeweled orders, & jeweled ornaments,
among them being an amethist [sic] & an opal as
large as an egg - The crown of
Charlemagne & many of the crown jewels, among them the famous blue white
diamond[,] have been spirited away but Charlemagnes
swords & many jeweled [sic] encrusted swords still remain to dazzle the
eyes of the commoner as well as the coronation robes –
When Austria became a republic it took
from the church all over the state their finest vestments & ornaments so
the collection of ecclesiastical garments is a marvel to behold – robes stiff
with gold embroidery & sewed with jewels, & gold & silver & gem
studded vessels for the mass - Another
interesting thing was the cradle of gold bronze & mother of pearl in which
the infant L’Aiglon slept, & which had an eagle
at its foot & golden bees swarming over it –
This palace is now only a museum whose
proceeds go to the invalid soldiers, & in it are cheap little shops where
you can buy postcards & jim cracks[.]
Maria Theresa started the splendid museum
of the fine arts & housed it in a gorgeous building furnished within in
many colored marbles[,] ornamented it with wreaths & arabesques in gold
bronze - There is a fine collection of
pictures but they are not nearly so interesting as the wonderful collection of old
armor & weapons - & the rooms full of Austrian handicrafts, glass,
china, carvings[,] all sorts of objects of virtue & bigotry as Mrs Parkington said[.]
Went to the church of St Augustine, plain
& homely without, but beautiful Gothic within. It has a marvelous altar & carved choir
stalls & pews in bunches of six, the ends, the front & back of these
being massive of carving. It has also a
wonderful tomb by Canova, one of his greatest work[s], built for Marie
Christina, a daughter of Maria Theresa.
According to the legend she was about to marry a prince of Spain, but on
the eve of her marriage her mother sent her to pray by the tomb of her father
who had died of smallpox. She contracted
the disease & died - The monument
represents the spirit of art, & the poor with bowed head[s] entering her
tomb to lay their tributes at her feet[.]
In this church is a plain little chapel
- The Loretto
chapel & out of it opens a small closet, bare & without ornamentation,
& with 2 plain deal shelves. On these
are a dozen or more dingy looking sealed jars of silver, tarnished until they
seem as dull as pewter - They look like
the jars on any cellar shelf, but each contains the heart of one of the
Emperors of Austria - It being the
custom to remove the heart as soon as an emperor dies & place it here,
while the body is buried in the Capuchin church.
Aug
25 [1926]
Left at 9.30 for Munich – a lovely all day
trip thro green farming lands, past picturesque country homes, thro’ stately
pine forrest[s] [sic] – a country that looks much
more Swiss than Switzerland looks like itself -
At 5 reached Salzburg & crossed the German frontier - Arrived at Munich at 9 o’clock[.]
Aug
26 [1926]
A busy day[.] First a drive thro the picturesque old part
of the city, then thro the new one – thro’ the beautiful parks, past the houses
where the aristocracy used to live & where the rich profiteers now live,
past the big, plain ugly yellow house where the crown prince now lives[,] past
the splendid mansion of Richard Wagner crowned with many statues, & so
on[.] Went to the Glytothek
which is the long German name for a museum – a fine collection of pictures with
2 exceptionally lovely Murillos. Then to the palace, one of the finest in
Europe. The outer reception rooms are
covered with fresco paintings [word crossed out: from] which Wagner is said to
have set to music & from which he derived the plots of his operas - Upstairs there are acres of the most
marvelous floors of marquetry I have ever seen – the
walls were covered with wonderful tapestries, there were priceless tables with
tops inlaid with lapis & precious marbles, but the most interesting thing
was the throne room with a raised dais of crimson [word crossed out: marble]
velvet, & on either side of the long aisle leading up to it hughe [sic] figures of Bavarian kings & queens of the
long ago. Another interesting thing were
2 large rooms covered with the portraits of beautiful women. It seems King Ludwig had an eye for feminine pulchritud[e] & whenever he saw a pretty face had it
painted - & kept the picture –
Went to the grave of the Unknown Soldier –
a big clumsy square of stone – lifted on pediments – around it are the names of
the 30,000 Bavarians who fell in the war –
Aug
27 – [1926]
Went down to Oberammergau – a 3 hr trip on
the fast express – a beautiful, & picturesque little town in the Bavarian
Tyrol - Everything centers around the
passion play given every 10 years – Went to the big bare theatre & saw the
“props”[,] the cross on which Christ & the thieves are crucified[.] The mechanical helps are poor - & after
the Christ has remained 20 minutes on the cross he has to be massaged to bring
his arms to life again - The theatre
seats 3500 people & the village grows rich on it - The people are nearly all woodcarvers - Saw Anton Lang, a beautiful man who really
does look like the pictures of Christ.
He says that in the crucifixion scene he is “hanged like a picture” by a
belt around his waist, but in spite of this the strain on his arms is so great
that in the 20 minutes he is on the cross he nearly faints[.]
Aug
29 [1926]
Had a wonderful drive across the mts to the castle Neuschwainstein
[Neuschwanstein], that the crazy Ludwig built on the
foundations of what had been a royal shloss [schloss] – a sort of watchtower. When we arrived at the foot of the mountain
on which the castle is built we found we would have to walk up, so we panted
and blowed the 2 miles which stick up end on end –
The castle is built in replica of an old
feudal mountain stronghold, of gray granite & is perched like an eagles
nest on a crag that juts out on three sides of a [word crossed out: deep]
chasm, hundreds of feet deep thro’ which thunders a mountain stream[.] From its balconies & windows you command
a view that sweeps for miles over valleys & the adjacent forrest [sic] covered mountains, & you look down on
tall trees growing on the side of the great rock on which the castle is perched
–
Within it is a dream of magnificence gone
wild - The doors are of pollished [sic] wood covered with arabesques of hand
wrought work, every piece of furniture & the wood work are masterpieces of
carvings – the columns that divide & ornament the rooms are of marble
banded with gold set with semiprecious stones.
The draperies are of brocade that would stand alone, woven with Ludwigs heraldic devices -
The seats of the chairs & divans are of gold embroidered velvet or
tooled leather - Everywhere are the blue
& white lozenges of Bavaria & the Swan – a silver swan being installed
as a recepticle [sic] for water in his wash basin
- This castle was only finished in 1896,
& its cost was so great it was the cause of Ludwig being declared insane by
his subjects & incarcerated.
He was a great devotee of Wagner &
every room is painted with scenes from the W operas[.] There is a balcony, giving upon a court where
they say he used to try out the voices of the singers he would summon from
Vienna & Berlin, before he let them sing in his great salon –
Aug
29 – [1926]
Went to the pleasant green park that used
to be a royal hunting ground & that has now been opened up as a park. At night went down to the great Hofbrau House where for hundreds of years good Bavarians
have nightly assembled for steiners - Saw whole family parties drinking from the
same stein, that was often refilled, & nibbling hughe
[sic] slices of horseradish[.]
Aug
30 – [1926]
Pleasant trip of 3 hrs over to
Nuremberg[.] Spent afternoon in getting
a birds eye view of the city – the quaintest place I have ever seen, old houses
of archaic architecture with rows of tiny windows with little roofs over them,
that looked like blinking eyelids rising tier on tier on the roofs[.] Had a funny sputtering guide who said
everybody of any importance came from Nuremberg – the man, a sailor[,] who made the first globe & showed it to
his friend Columbus who came here to see it, & who from it got the idea of
going around the world, Albrect [sic] Durer, Hans
Sachs, Adam Craft the Master, & so on -
Went to the old cathedral where Martin Luther stopped & preached on
his way to Wurms to testify to the faith that was in
him, & that has been a Protestant church for centuries, but for some
unknown reason the protestants left the lovely altars & carvings & the
exquisite holy of holies that Adam Craft carved to win his wife, the daughter
of a rich man - The legend says that the
father told Adam that if he would carve higher than the church that he might
have the girl[,] so he carried his exquisite creation up to the very roof then
bent it & ran it along a beam -
There is also a quaint pulpit with a rat [word crossed out: carved] with
a pretzel in its mouth carved on the banister[.] This commemorates a miracle when a priest,
unjustly accused of a crime was put in a cell without food, to die of
starvation - When they came to take him
out he was found alive & well, a rat having brought him a pretzel every day
–
Went thro’ the quaint home of Hans Sachs
& saw the cobbler [sic] bench at which he worked while making shoes, and
where he, no doubt, composed the first 2 acts of Minnesingers - [word crossed out: By] Over it was a
candlestick & a glass globe of water that reflected the light down on his
table - Saw Albrect
[sic] Durers house – very handsome & beautiful
- Saw a fountain with a half dozen
bronze ladies with water squirting from their breasts, second only to the Mannekin Pis. Went to the tower of the old Schloss, with its deep well, built in mediaeval times to
supply the garrison in times of siege - Saw the horrible instruments of torture of
which there is a big collection.
But most interesting of all is just the
town itself with its old, old houses, & it was comforting to know that
there is a law preventing any old house from being changed. When it is restored it has to be rebuilt
exactly as it was[.]
Sep
1 [1926]
Motored to Rothenberg about 40 [miles]
thro fields of new mown hay where women were swinging a scythe along with the
men & even tiny girl children were raking up the grass. Went thro the picturesque villages where each
house had its pile of rotting manure ornamenting the front door way &
smelling to heaven, past a mediaeval castle on a hill which we were told we
could buy for $25,000, & so at last to the quaintest old town I ever saw
except Carcasonne [sic] - Not a new house has been built in it for 300
years - & the fronts of the houses bear enchanted plaques stating that such
& such a King, or grand duke once slept within its walls[.]
For Rothenberg was once a “free city”[,] a
place of importance whose ruler used to make his young men soldiers - & bid
them to his friend the Hohenzollern when they needed fighting men[.]
They fought once too often it would
appear, for the Austrians conquered them, & the Austrian general ordered
the 6 leading citizens shot. While the
gentlemen were being rounded up he was offered a cup containing 4 litres of wine to drink.
Being a teetotaler, & having a sense of humor, he offered to spare
the victims if any man would drink the wine at a sitting. The 2nd Burgomaster volunteered
& neatly accomplished the job & this historic incident is perpetuated
in the clock when at 12 every day for hundreds of years 2 windows have flown
over [open] & the figures of the general & the master drinker have
popped out, bowed to each other & gone thro their little stunt –
Sep
2 – [1926]
Pleasant trip to Prague, thro a lovely
& picturesque country. Passed thro Pilsen where the beer of blessed memory is made[.]
Sep
3 – [1926]
Ride around Prague – chief object of
interest the queer old Jewish cemetery where the Jews are buried 10 deep &
stones overlap each other, & the quaint old synagogue where the orthodox
still hold service. It has an enormous
banner given them for their services in the 30 years war, but which was made so
big they could only hang it up in the church.
It couldn’t be carried. Went up
on the hill to the Church of St Augustine where there is an enormous silver
memorial to some saint whose name I have forgotten, but who was celebrated by 2
tons of solid silver - This church is
still being built, but in the old part are some wonderful mosaics made of the
many precious marbles found in in [sic] this country
- The old palace of the Bohemian kings
is also being restored[.] Passed the old
bridge where the heads of the traitors used to be exposed –
Czechoslavia
[sic] seems very happy & prosperous & is the only country we have seen
that seems to like republicanism[.]
Sep
5 [1926]
Left at 9.30 & arrived at Dresden about
2 where we are staying at the Palast [sic] Hotel
Webber.
Sep
6 [1926]
Had a fine ride about the city which has
lovely suburbs with comfortable houses set in the midst of much handsome
shrubbery & beautiful parks. There
are several splendid bridges that cross the Elbe & on the further side on a
wooded heigth [sic] are many fine castle-like
residences near the hotel, almost across the street in fact, there is the
beginning of the great palace call the Zwinger that
is now a collection of museums. The one
containing the art collection is noteworthy as this is the finest art gallery
in Germany[.] It has a great number of
masterpieces, among them being Raphaels beautiful
Sistine Madonna[.] It has also the
Magdalene with the skull & the exquisite pastel of the Dutch girl which the
Baker Cocoa uses as an advertisement.
The “Green Vault” is the treasure
house where are gathered together [word crossed out: all] the jewels & bric a brac of generations of saxon [sic] kings[.]
There are dozens of little cabinets made of precious woods, &
marbles & inlays, of gold & silver & pearl; knives & forks & spoons with handles
made of branches of coral – queer carvings & inlays of every description –
a great piece containing 136 figures representing the court of an Indian
rajah[,] every figure perfect, & every one made of solid gold & jewels
- & most amazing of all the royal regalia such a mass of diamonds &
emeralds, & rose saphires [sic] as it is
impossible to imagine[.]
Went to the opera one night & heard The
Tales of Hofman [sic].
Motored out to the Bartei,
a queer rocky formation from which we had a magnificent view of the Saxon
Switzerland[.]
Sep
9- [1926]
Left for Berlin[,] arrived at 11 - Had lunch & went for ride around the city
- Out Under [Unter]
den Linden, and to Charlottenberg, the beautiful
house built for the Empress Charlotte -
Here in an exquisite mausoleum are buried Queen Louise & her husband
& Queen Amelia & hers - The tomb
of Amelia, representing her as lying asleep on her couch is one of the
loveliest statues I have ever seen - The
windows of the mausoleum are of blue glass & throw a weird light upon the
marbles. Went thro the Tiergarten, an exquisite park & out the avenue of
victory built by the Ex-Kaiser which has a golden winged statue of Victory at
the end & along the avenue statues – 37 – of the Hohenzollern family, the
Catholics on one side & the protestants on the other –
Sep
10 [1926]
Lovely day - Drove in auto thro the city & Tiergarten past Charlottenburg to
the landing place on the river Havel from which one starts for Sans Souci - The scenery
is beautiful as the river widens out into a lake bordered with fine country
seats that run down to the water which is alive with pleasure craft - We alighted at Pottsdam
[sic], & took motors which drove past the barracks once occupied by the
crack military regiments, & the handsome houses of the officers, & the
Garrison Church filled with the flags Germany has taken.
Sans Souci is
the splendid summer palace built for Fred [sic] the Great. It is a gorgeous one story structure with
many rooms in it reminiscent of Voltaire who was his great friend &
frequent guest - Voltaires
own room, designed by Fred’k has raised decorations
showing a stork which is supposed to indicate Voltaires
love of travel, a parrot, because he bathed so much, a fox for his slyness,
& a squirrel because he was so dainty about his food - The grounds are beautifully landscaped, &
each of the many terraces is lined with grape vines, figs, oranges, peaches etc
growing behind glass.
“The New Palace” near by also built by Fred’k was his winter home - It is a magnificent structure whose most
interesting features are the 3 female figures supporting a crown[.] These are Mme de Pompadour, Elizabeth of
Russia, & Maria Theresa of Austria – the 3 countries, dominated by women,
who fought against Fred’k & to whom, he
sardonically said, he owed his victory.
The late Kaiser made this palace his
summer home, but there are no relics of his stay as he claimed all the
furniture as his personal property & they were sent to him last Nov. In one small room is a small door in a wall
thro which a servant passed his morning coffee to the Empress who served it
herself.
At the end of the rose garden the Empress
is buried n a small pavillion [sic] which used to be
her favorite lounging place[.] No one
else lies beside her – her son who committed suicide being buried in the Peace
Church by his grandfather & mother.
Went to the Friederich
Museum which has fine collections of old masters & to the Dom, the splendid
church in which the Kaiser worshipped – The handsomest & most interesting
thing in Berlin to my thinking is the magnificent monument built by the Kaiser
to his grandfather, William[.]
Sept
14 [1926]
Went to Hanover, the capital city of
Hanover – a pretty old city with nothing of particular interest in it[.]
Sept
15 [1926]
Motored to Hildesheim, a very interesting
& quaint old city that has many interesting old houses carved & painted
in gay colors that go back to the 15 hundreds -
Each story of these houses[,] & some of them are 6 or 7 stories
high[,] juts out beyond the one below it.
The old church is quite picturesque & has sunk until its windows are
almost on a level with the ground.
Sep
17 – [1926]
Went to Cologne thro Essen, & the big
manufacturing centres - Everywhere acres of factories, & forrests [sic] of smokestacks & armies of working
people. Essen is where the big guns were
made during the war[.]
Sep
18 [1926]
Lovely drive thro Cologne which is a
splendid old city – The old part with its remnants of Roman walls, for it was
one of the outposts of the Roman Empire, is very picturesque, the new part with
its lovely villas smothered in flowers very prosperous. The cathedral is
beautiful – pure Gothic & next to the one at Milan in loveliness, I think.
Bought cologne that smells like all the
gardens of Araby.
Sep
19 [1926]
A Heavenly day – Indian summer [,] drove
up the Rhine – past old feudal towers & ruined castles, each with its
legend - A full moon came up & added
its touch of glory just as we passed the rock on which the Lorelei sat &
sung [sic] her song of enchantment - & in the dusk we could almost see the
mice devouring the wicked bishop in the tower to which he fled[.]
Sep
20 – [1926]
Lovely drive in the morning all over &
around about Wiesbaden. Went to the bath
house & saw scores of fat men & women taking the cure to the
accompaniment of music & flowers – after lunch mounted our faithful train
& made the 57 minute run to Frankfort[.]
Had interesting drive thro city – the old part much like Hildesheim with
gaily painted houses jutting out from story to story until they almost touched
across the street[.] Saw the red brick
house with iron barred windows where the Rothschilds
used to live - & the palace where the head of the family lives now - In the 12 century the Jews bought the city
from Cologne & made it a free city.
Ever since it has been the headquarters of the Jews & the money
center of Germany[.]
[This
is the last entry in the journal.]