Monday, April 28, 2008
Dresden Visit
April 26, 2008
A lazy Saturday in Dresden. We awoke to find a line of tourists opposite our hotel where one can see the “Green Vault” of the Royal Palace with its jewels. It is obvious that many Germans from both east and west are coming to Dresden to admire its beauty and to appreciate all the buildings which are being renovated. To think that the Frauenkirchen, one of the most important churches of Europe was allowed to remain a burnt out hulk throughout the entire period of the GDR seems such a shame. Now it has been restored, and since 2005 it is open again. Where possible the renovation placed the old stones back where they had been before the fire and bombs of 1945. So while the whole church looks light and clean, one sees blackened portions where the old stones were reset. It is a powerful magnet so that surrounding the church are all manner of vendors, buskers, hotels and restaurants. It is the heart of the old and rebuilt Dresden. We strolled through an open market where white asparagus was in profusion along with herbal teas, cheap leather purses and any manner of food stuffs.
It was a perfectly beautiful sunny warm day and it seemed that we were the only people speaking English. There are tons of tourists, but mostly German with their dogs and/or their children. Older couples with their married children and grandchildren; young ‘hip’ kids with blue or pink or punk hair; elegant women in heels (god knows how they walked on the cobblestones without breaking their ankles); it was so festive and in many corners were street musicians – violinists, trumpet trios, a hurdy-gurdy organ; a saxophone; an accordion. We just ambled through it all, taking pictures, absorbing the atmosphere and loathe to go inside any building because the day was too beautiful to leave the sunshine. I had my daily ‘fix’ of a bratwurst which is available at any corner similar to the way we offer Sabrett’s in New York city. An eight inch, grilled sausage slathered in good german mustard with a hard roll, does it get any better than this? Especially if one is drinking a fine pilsner and staring out at the Elbe as the steamboats go up and down tooting their whistles as they leave the docks. Just as the boys kept comparing what they were seeing in different countries to that which was familiar in Germany, so I too am comparing things. Bob put it exactly right when he said that it reminded him of Boston Mass.: sitting by the Charles River looking over to MIT with boat shells being sculled down the river, people walking leisurely arm in arm, sitting on the grass, relaxing in the early days of warm spring. We listened to the Angelus at six p.m. as all the bells rang out, we listened to those at the Frauenkirche where the large dome on top acts as a ‘bell’ with its resonant deep tones, and surrounding it are four smaller cupula with bells as well. A nice ending to our touring day.
April 27, 2008
Sunday morning and again the crowds are lined up across the street as the bells remind everyone that it is Sunday. We were up and out early wanting to spend the day doing a more detailed tour of the city. At the main information center, located in an old guard’s quarters, we picked up an MP3 walking tour in English – 12 euro for the day - with two headsets connected to the machine we headed out. It was a perfect way to leisurely enjoy the sites without being driven by a person who we may or may not understand and who may or may not give the right information. The voices of the guides on the machine are those of two historical men: Herr Pöppelman and Herr Semper two architects from the 1600’s who are responsible for many of the old buildings. At each stop we would get the history of the building, its purpose, how it survived the war, and what its current purpose is. Sometimes the history was more than we needed but it was certainly a wonderful way to walk in the sunshine, stop, listen and learn. The city was jammed with every manner of tourist and there was a running race along the Elbe where we noted many men, but very few women sweating their way along the route. We stopped for the proverbial bratwurst and beer (for me) while Bob tried a Dresden speciality – potato soup with sausage which he quite enjoyed. This time it was in a lovely little restaurant in the shadow of the Frauenkirche on a cobblestone street that leads down to the Elbe. We sat watching people, as people watched us – a mutual examination. One can definitely tell that we are not German, simply by our dress and our shoes….we don’t even have to open our mouths. They may not sense we are American, but they know we’re not German.
None of the tour took us inside buildings though, which we wouldn’t have wanted to do, but one could always turn off the machine and go inside if one wanted…which we did just once …. At the Semper Opera house. For seven euro a piece we joined a group of about 20 people. Since the tour was in German only, we were provided a written guide in English which we could use to follow along, so to speak. What a magnificent restoration they have done. I could imagine Walter, who loved opera, coming with his family to hear opera here. Unfortunately the tickets were sold out while we were here, or we would have gone to a performance as well. I could discern from the bit of German I caught that the acoustics are considered to be excellent with every piece of wood or decoration designed to make the sound so perfect that if someone crinkled a piece of paper in the orchestra, one could hear it to the highest tier. There was one beautiful ceiling painting of Persephone in one of the outer lobbies and I wanted to get a postcard for Jessica, but unfortunately there were none. It is also the first time that a building was designed to reflect its purpose inside. Prior to this the exterior of the buildings would mask the real purpose for the goal of aesthetics. We walked out of this elegant, baroque, ornately painted structure with its 2 ton chandelier and sat in the sunshine to have a coffee and to get the beginnings of a sunburn. Then Herr Pöppelman and Herr Semper led us over to the Zwinger ‘complex’. The entire structure is built around an enormous courtyard with fountains and walk ways. Various wings contain painted art, porcelain, scientific instruments, armor and sculpture. Were it not such a gorgeous day we would have gone in, but we’ll just have to come back to give the Zwinger its due. We rather followed our walking tour outside, learning about each separate structure – its history and its purpose. Since it was literally right across the street from our hotel, we listened to the story of our hotel – once a baroque castle built for the favorite mistress of the elector of Saxony in the early 18th century – and then we turned in our headsets before ambling back to the courtyard of the Royal Palace for a coffee (where we sat next to a quartet of people speaking Greek), and a little rest, before considering dinner.
We ate in one of the wonderful restaurants within the hotel – I had to have asparagus soup – after all it was the season, and then grilled chicken livers on a bed of salad; Bob had fish soup and a rump steak with pepper sauce, which was good as the first time he tried it. And so to bed.
April 28, 2008
Our last day of official meetings. We took a taxi out to the State archives of Saxony in the Neustadt. It was our first chance to see the drearier, stolid buildings of the GDR. Our meetings were semi-successful in that neither of our hosts, Frau Fleckna and George ? spoke much English. We did learn that the purpose of the archives is to gather materials about the whole of Saxony from its earliest days to the current. They have over 40 meters of documents stored and they serve as a research organization. We learned that both our hosts had been working at the archives for over 20 years (he for 37), thus living through the GDR to the present. We asked delicately about changes and they were quite clear that the changes weren’t always positive. Things seemed to have been ‘easier’ in the days of the GDR, and young people were having difficulty finding good jobs. Both spoke of their own children who were mostly going into ‘automatisch’ – technology and computers – an obvious career choice. Frau Fleckna noted that she still goes to the west for shopping, and that many had left for jobs. So while the reunification may be 17 years in progress, there is still much to be done.
They both spoke of their love of Dresden and noted that people from Dresden are terribly proud to come from this city. It is, according to them, amongst German cities, one of the true gems along with Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich.
While we learned a bit about their institution, we both understood that this wasn’t exactly a match for the book, but we left it and after 30 minutes we parted ways politely in a mixed German/English way. As at all the institutions we’ve visited, we were given a lovely book on the diaries of an early Saxon king. It would appear to be the custom that if receiving a gift, there is one given in exchange. (All of which will be sent back as a package to the US since the weight alone would be a pain to carry for the next month).
Back in the cab with time to relax, and have lunch, before our next appointment in the afternoon. We were able to take a brief stop to see the inside of the Frauenkirche. Whereas during the week-end the lines were endlessly long, today we just walked in. It is an amazing reconstruction – all the gold, the pastel, the bright light, the splendor have been returned and one can understand why this stood as a important landmark of the city.
And what an afternoon we then had!!! Whereas the morning had been awkward and unrewarding, the afternoon was absolutely splendid. We met with Herr Friedrich Reichert, a historian with the City Museum and we had as translator Herr Richard Stratenschulte who is responsible for public relations/marketing and education for the museum. We were offered a wonderful plate of cookies to go with our coffee and while the museum was closed for the day, we met in the cafeteria where we chatted intensely for over two hours.
While it started haltingly as we each found our voice, once we got going it was a lively and very informative time. Herr Reichert were very interested in the entire Maron/Bondi family and told us that through Herr Brennan, the lawyer for the Marons, that they had received quite a lot of materials and information related to the Waldschosschen Brewery which was owned by the Bondi/Maron family. He disappeared for awhile and came back filled with information about the addresses and occupants of various houses owned by the Marons. He showed me on an old map where the streets would have been, but told us that all of it is gone as a result of the firebombs of 1945.
They were very delighted to receive the book, definitely want the photographs associated with the book and any other photographs or memorabilia I might have related to the Marons and Dresden. They told us about various books which we will want to locate which illustrate Dresden in the 1920’s and 30’s and of other books that show Dresden after the firebombing.
We learned so many small pieces of information that I think it’s worth putting in bullet form:
· that Klemperer, a Dresden resident, who had written the two volumes of his diaries, has had the diaries republished in a more complete format on a CD with a cross-reference to all people and places he may mention.
· That before the war, according to census data there were approx. 630,000 total citizens with declared 5,000 Jews (if one chose to call oneself a protestant, one wasn’t counted….like my family).
· The museum has been open for only 1.5 years and before that time, there was mostly GDR propaganda provided in the museum. Now they have to work to make the collection a true reflection of the city.
· We learned of Pieter Reichenbach, a Jew who was born in Dresden in 1920. They left in 1936 for Sweden and he in turn moved to London where he became a numismatist. He changed his name to Peter Rickenback and a few years ago returned to Dresden with his children and grandchildren to present them with a collection of over 2,500 German advertising stamps. These are stamps which were used not as postage but which represent advertising of restaurants, foods, beer etc. as well as propaganda.
· We learned that the street on which the Bondi/Maron Bank existed, Struvestrasse #5 no longer exists. It would have been off Pragerstrasse at the intersection of Struvestrasse and Victoria Strasse.
· We asked why so many of the buildings and statues were black. We had assumed it was dirt or the residue of fire, but we learned that it is simply the effect of age on sandstone. To clean the sandstone would be an act of futility because within 10-20 years it would be black again. As Herr Reichert said – come back in 20 years and the shiny Frauenkirchen will look exactly as black.
· As at every other meeting we’ve had, we were given in a token of exchange a lovely book published by the museum as well as a map of Dresden from 1928.
There was a rich and constant dialogue, interrupted with books brought down from the collection and at the end of two hours we felt drained and exhilarated at the same time. We will definitely want to come back to visit, to see the museum, and possibly to present materials associated with Dresden that belong in the museum rather than in our file cabinets, basements, and closets.
We ended our day at an Irish pub around the corner for a simple dinner before collapsing into bed.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Dresden & Leipzig
April 23, 2008 A lazy day in Brussels, chatting, catching up on email and moving down to the Bristol Hotel for one night, before having a wonderful Greek dinner with Manos and Mary at a local ouzerie.
April 24, 2008 Up at 4:30 a.m. an ungodly hour but our train was at 7:00 a.m. and it was one we didn’t dare miss. The Gare Midi is quite an eerie place that early in the morning. There are plenty of early workers de-training for their jobs in the city but there are plenty of odd vagrants and less than healthy looking folk. We gladly boarded our first class car on the DBahn train where we were greeted with typical German efficiency: a detailed train schedule printed with arrival and departure times that did not vary one iota the entire day; a gentleman offering us coffee; and a variety of papers – all in German or French. We settled in, caught up on some sleep, and off we went to Frankfurt where we changed trains to Dresden. I must admit that the worst part is the hauling of luggage – no matter how efficiently we packed, it’s still a pain to hoist it up onto the car, find a place to store it, and then repeat the process at the other end. While there were plenty of helpful folk, I want to travel like Daddy and have someone else do all this luggage-maintenance. Of course, because hauling of luggage is so painful, we suddenly learned that our train which was supposed to go directly to Dresden would drop us in Leipzig where we had to move to another portion of the train, and while we were then supposed to go through New Dresden, we’d go directly on to Dresden Hauptbahnhof. I would normally not be surprised by changes, but this is German efficiency – so the only excuse I could find was the presence of security folk all over the platform and two armed security folk on our car as we re-boarded….could all these changes have been to catch or confuse someone? We’ll never know, but that at least added some romance and excitement to an otherwise painful exercise in luggage moving. As we hauled our luggage out of the Dresden Hauptbahnhof into a sunny and warm plaza, what should greet us but a wonderful outdoor vendor selling spargel. If anything was going to remind me of mother, it would be that. Her idea of heaven was fresh, new white asparagus with béchamel sauce. The 8 foot, plastic portrayal of the two white asparagus were downright pornographic and the actual food sold in a variety of thicknesses was equally interesting. It was that funny little vendor which told me that I was finally in the hometowns of the family. I am really here in a town of which I’ve heard all my life, amidst things which I feel I should recognize. I keep having to remember that this is over 70 years later, and in any town things change, but here there was war, the GDR, and finally reunification which had an even greater affect on the landscape. I would look out from the train window as we headed east staring at fields that farmers had plowed, where cows grazed, where flowering trees were in bloom, and I was looking for…. I don’t know what …. A bunker, a gun tower, a Russian sign….it was just countryside, very European, but otherwise quite like Belgium or France. Somehow because I’m coming with heightened ideas and expectations I think that I should find this reflected in the landscape. Everything I’m looking at is being looked at in two ways: what would it have looked like then…and what am I seeing now. A taxi took us to our hotel in the old town. The Taschenbergpalais hotel is amazing. It is brand new, built on the site of its predecessor with only a marble staircase and some bits and pieces from the old. Totally renovated at many ($175) millions of dollars it is, according to the guide books one of the prides of the newly reunified Dresden. It is truly a palace and our room when we first saw it left us breathless. As Bob commented “ it is bigger than most people’s apartments in New York City”. We have a huge salon probably bigger than our livingroom at home with couch, two upholstered chairs, writing desk with WIFI connection and a large faux Japanese bureau in which is housed a stereo from Grundig with a variety of CD’s to listen to, a TV, and the requisite mini-bar; an entry way with its own powder room and coat closet, a huuuge bedroom with its own separate sitting room w/couch lamp; chair, and of course the huge marble bathroom and dressing room with his and her closets, shelves, drawers, etc.. The ceilings are over 20 feet tall, and the ‘salon’ and ‘sun’ rooms have arched windows at least 15 feet high. After the bellman had left our things we just laughed out loud. Now THIS was what it meant to travel like the boys in 1927. I took pictures galore because we figure that we’ll never stay in a room like this ever again. We’d been sitting so long on the trains that we simply left all of our luggage as it was and went out to explore old Dresden. Having been bombed to the ground during WW II, and having been ignored by the GDR, it is amazing to see what has been accomplished in the last 15 years of reunification. The center which has amazingly few cars has beautiful cobbled streets of Belgian brick which makes for challenging walking but allows the sound of horse driven wagons to ‘clip-clop’ in a wonderfully romantic way . Each of the restored buildings still has the patina of blackened stone which could be fire, and could simply be dirt. It is obvious that the GDR could have cared two hoots for these wonderful treasures. On top of many buildings there are some beautifully restored sparkling gold objects – a statue, a golden ball, a simple cupola – which looks brilliant in the sun. To go from the somber gray and rain of Belgium to the early days of summer in Dresden in this “Florence by the Elbe” makes us ambitious to walk – the goal being our first German beer. We walked towards the river and across the Augustus Bridge to a beer garden on the opposite side where young students, young parents and all manner of children and dogs were enjoying this warm sunny day. We happily sat drinking our Radeberger pilsner from a large glass watching the world go by and reminding ourselves that we were in eastern Germany a place we didn’t imagine we’d ever see. I keep wondering which of these older folk lived through the GDR and what they think of the changes and which of these young people came from the west to try a new life. In any case there will be plenty of employment for all as the old, dull grey square buildings of the GDR are quietly renovated or destroyed, and the original beauty of Dresden returns. This town will require a good deal of time to explore it all, take all the boat rides, visit the Meissen factory and wander through all the buildings. Obviously a return trip will be in our future. Me, who never wanted to see Germany at all am slowly realizing that all the people whom we see were born after the war and can’t be blamed for what went before. Unlike the 60’s when I still felt unsure, I sense now a different Germany and am willing to explore further. Too tired, and not terribly hungry, we decided to eat at one of the restaurants in the hotel where we had a lovely simple meal and retired to our suite to get ready for a very busy day tomorrow.
April 25, 2008 Of course, because we wanted a perfect day, we awoke to a rainy day. Damn. Off to Leipzig on the train -just under an hour. A trip which both Walter and Herbert did often in their youth. We was all set to explore Leipzig in the sunshine - but rain would have to do. Our first appointment was at the Simon Dubnow Institute on Goldschmidtstrasse which is associated with the Leipzig University. We met in the library with the head librarian, Grit Scheffer and with Dirk Sadowski. While our appointment had been with Dr. Kirchoff he was unavailable. We learned a lot about the institute which began in the 90’s once the GDR had passed and the study of Judaism was allowed. The institute is very focused on academic topics with many academics writing treatises of the place of Jews in Germany. It was not just Leipzig on which they focus, but the whole of Europe. It wasn’t obvious how the diaries which I was giving them as a gift would fit into their collection, but they saw it as a wonderful reference book if one wanted to understand how the young bourgeois of the 20’s and 30’s were able to move about. There seemed to be one scholar focused purely on passports and the ability of Jews to move about the world and he wished we had those original passports of two Jewish boys, but we didn't. We took a tour of the building which was primarily offices for scholars and a few displays of exhibits or books which they had created. We enjoyed the visit, were given some lovely materials to carry home, but sensed that this was just a wee bit too scholarly for our purposes. The best gift was a telephone directory of 1928 showing only Jewish residents, stores, and businesses of Leipzig. (I wondered why even then Jews were separted out from others). But in these directories I could find all the names and addresses of many relatives and friends - including my grand-parents who died during the war. The next visit was to be at the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum – the Museum of City History. Mrs. Christine Becker from the museum came over to the Dubnow to pick us up and guide us to our next appointment. She was a lively, amusing and delightful woman who pointed out sites along the way. We were right across from the original building of C.F. Peters music publishing(long time friends of the family); on Neumarkt, we took a picture of the Bankhaus Meyer where daddy and his father had their offices… which is fully intact but obviously is being used for other purposes; we wandered through the Mädler Arcade, past the famous statue of Faust whose foot, having been rubbed by passerbys to pure shiny brass, provides people a bit of luck. We wandered through the grounds of the university past the walls from the Middle Ages which have been restored and which now surround an outdoor coffee bar; I kept thinking, “here daddy and mother walked; here mother went shopping; here they had coffee”… eerie and moving. The museum itself was absolutely lovely, located in the old town hall with its high ceilings, and majestic rooms. The center of the entry hall had an entire diorama of Leipzig (3-dimensional model) made of paper and created in the mid-1800’s. The fact that this even existed after the devastation of war was impressive. The walls of the entry hall were lined with paintings of the Burghermeisters of Leipzig, each looking more serious and pompous than the next. We continued into the next hall where a dignified, gray haired gentleman sat quietly waiting for us at the opposite end of this magnificent room filled with glass cases holding silver and gold, a huge kachelofen. This was Dr. Volker Rodekamp, the director of the museum. And the next 90 minutes were pure magic. The four of us sat and talked about the role of the Jews in Leipzig and how it began with the trade fairs where they would come from eastern Europe to show their wares, but where, in the 1700’s they were still not allowed to own property. (Which allowed me to understand why in our family stambaum the residences were always outside of Leipzig). How they slowly gained access to that opportunity and became key to the business and culture of the city. We learned how many of the artworks were preserved because there was enough time before the Allied bombings reached this far east to move the most important objects out of the heart of Leipzig, We learned of the objects which were lost during the war including the blueprints of the original huge sculpture – the Monument of the Battle of the Nations. How recently an American claimed he had these blueprints and wanted over $200,000 to return them. Instead the government provided Mr. Rodekamp with enough money to stay in contact with the man while the FBI worked to locate him to ensure the materials would be returned. It never came to pass, and Rodekamp was skeptical how a simple American soldier could take what would have been huge volumes of paper without being noticed. We talked a great deal about the economy of Leipzig where unemployment is especially high and many people are on unemployment – worse than many other parts of the eastern zone. He told a wonderful story about a goblet that goes back to 1600’s which had been given to Saxony by the Swedes. When the King of Sweden came to visit Kaiser Wilhelm in 1908 the goblet was once more presented and they both signed and dated the goblet which they drank from. Recently, when the current king of Sweden came to visit, the museum once more presented this goblet to the king so that he may drink a toast from it, but he was unable to since all his food and drink are first given to a taster to ensure that nothing is poisoned. The King’s wife had no problem tasting from the goblet, and her name will be dutifully inscribed. And of course, we talked about the Leipzig of my family. Both Frau Becker and Herr Rodekamp had done a very touching thing – they had found in their archives pictures of the Meyer bank and had copied them and framed them for us. They told us that if we left all the addresses behind they would look into their archives and find as many of the photographs as they could to complete the collection. And Frau Becker who was very quiet through the interview promised to walk with us to as many places as she had time before she too had to return to the office. They both listened as I spoke of the goal of my trip, the reason for the book and my feelings which my parents had carried about the importance of Leipzig in their lives. It was true that for all the years mother spent in America, it was Leipzig where she left her heart. It was here that life was perfect, she was surrounded by family and she lived in the manner which she loved and which she missed for the rest of her life. In reading her memoires (very short but very sweet) it is clear that Leipzig was home and from 1937 to her death things were fine, but not the same. It would have been so wonderful to have been able to have her with us as we walked the streets and talked with various people. She would have filled in the gaps, known who lived or worked in all the buildings….but….it wasn’t to be.
Bob and I both walked away impressed with the both the warmth of our welcome, the care they had taken in preparation, and the time which everyone took to talk with us. I will never know exactly what Hertha Forrai told them over the phone, but it opened doors for us and made the entire day in Leipzig magical. After we left the museum, Frau Becker started the process of locating buildings important to the family. The first was the Romanushaus where my grandfather Breslauer (mother's father) had his banking business. It is totally restored and looks just as the early photographs which mother had. Then we went to a less cheerful site – Jacobstrasse – which is where my great grandmother, Hedwig Platky was taken when, as a Jew, she was ousted from her home. It seems that in Leipzig, rather than creating a Jewish quarter as they did in some towns, they rather set up Jewish houses where people lived 8-10 to a small apartment. It was from here that she was deported to a extermination camp. The building stands still, renovated, but there. Frau Becker explained that many of the houses after the war were rebuilt and their numbering was changed, so that while I had very specific addresses for all my family homes, I was not to assume that a building that was number 6 in 1930 would be number 6 in 2008. After a few more pictures together, she returned to the office and Bob and I continued our quest to find the homes of the family. Since Herr Dimter (a gentleman from Leipzig and a friend of Jutta Scott's brother) had taken many photographs already, my goal was simply to walk the streets and get a sense of the neighborhood. I wanted to see how close it would have been for my mother to leave her home and walk to her grandparent’s home a few blocks away or to cross the street and visit her future husband's home. While the area has changed considerably, it is still a quiet green neighborhood spotted with magnificent homes amidst modern GDR built garbage. A block from the heavily guarded American Consulate, the Music Conservatory continues to thrive. Many of the streets carry the names of famous composers, and I could imagine what a lovely neighborhood it would have been. Of all the addresses we could find, only my mother’s grandparent’s home still exists, and stands alone beside empty plots where other grand homes must have been. We aren’t even sure it is exactly the same house. It carried the same number, but knowing that renumbering had occurred, and seeing an open lot next door with a wrought iron fence around it we could imagine that that was the spot as well. Where my mother's childhood home had stood on Robert Schumann Strasse there was an open lot with a small poster announcing the arrival of a new building. Herr Dimter did a fine job so that between his photographs, and mine of the neighborhood, I think I have truly located the roots of the family. My next trip back will be to enjoy the town of Leipzig as a tourist, rather than as a person searching for family roots. And we will have to return because after all our house hunting and meetings there was no time to see anything else. We were foot weary after walking 6-8 miles on jagged sidewalks, emotionally weary and brain weary from all that we had absorbed. So we plodded back to the train station and caught a 17:51 ICE train back to Dresden. What a day. But if only we had had mother, or daddy, or Walter as guides. I have helped to close the circle, and I’m glad I could leave copies of the diaries in each down, but now there is so much more to explore and to understand about these two cities.
April 24, 2008 Up at 4:30 a.m. an ungodly hour but our train was at 7:00 a.m. and it was one we didn’t dare miss. The Gare Midi is quite an eerie place that early in the morning. There are plenty of early workers de-training for their jobs in the city but there are plenty of odd vagrants and less than healthy looking folk. We gladly boarded our first class car on the DBahn train where we were greeted with typical German efficiency: a detailed train schedule printed with arrival and departure times that did not vary one iota the entire day; a gentleman offering us coffee; and a variety of papers – all in German or French. We settled in, caught up on some sleep, and off we went to Frankfurt where we changed trains to Dresden. I must admit that the worst part is the hauling of luggage – no matter how efficiently we packed, it’s still a pain to hoist it up onto the car, find a place to store it, and then repeat the process at the other end. While there were plenty of helpful folk, I want to travel like Daddy and have someone else do all this luggage-maintenance. Of course, because hauling of luggage is so painful, we suddenly learned that our train which was supposed to go directly to Dresden would drop us in Leipzig where we had to move to another portion of the train, and while we were then supposed to go through New Dresden, we’d go directly on to Dresden Hauptbahnhof. I would normally not be surprised by changes, but this is German efficiency – so the only excuse I could find was the presence of security folk all over the platform and two armed security folk on our car as we re-boarded….could all these changes have been to catch or confuse someone? We’ll never know, but that at least added some romance and excitement to an otherwise painful exercise in luggage moving. As we hauled our luggage out of the Dresden Hauptbahnhof into a sunny and warm plaza, what should greet us but a wonderful outdoor vendor selling spargel. If anything was going to remind me of mother, it would be that. Her idea of heaven was fresh, new white asparagus with béchamel sauce. The 8 foot, plastic portrayal of the two white asparagus were downright pornographic and the actual food sold in a variety of thicknesses was equally interesting. It was that funny little vendor which told me that I was finally in the hometowns of the family. I am really here in a town of which I’ve heard all my life, amidst things which I feel I should recognize. I keep having to remember that this is over 70 years later, and in any town things change, but here there was war, the GDR, and finally reunification which had an even greater affect on the landscape. I would look out from the train window as we headed east staring at fields that farmers had plowed, where cows grazed, where flowering trees were in bloom, and I was looking for…. I don’t know what …. A bunker, a gun tower, a Russian sign….it was just countryside, very European, but otherwise quite like Belgium or France. Somehow because I’m coming with heightened ideas and expectations I think that I should find this reflected in the landscape. Everything I’m looking at is being looked at in two ways: what would it have looked like then…and what am I seeing now. A taxi took us to our hotel in the old town. The Taschenbergpalais hotel is amazing. It is brand new, built on the site of its predecessor with only a marble staircase and some bits and pieces from the old. Totally renovated at many ($175) millions of dollars it is, according to the guide books one of the prides of the newly reunified Dresden. It is truly a palace and our room when we first saw it left us breathless. As Bob commented “ it is bigger than most people’s apartments in New York City”. We have a huge salon probably bigger than our livingroom at home with couch, two upholstered chairs, writing desk with WIFI connection and a large faux Japanese bureau in which is housed a stereo from Grundig with a variety of CD’s to listen to, a TV, and the requisite mini-bar; an entry way with its own powder room and coat closet, a huuuge bedroom with its own separate sitting room w/couch lamp; chair, and of course the huge marble bathroom and dressing room with his and her closets, shelves, drawers, etc.. The ceilings are over 20 feet tall, and the ‘salon’ and ‘sun’ rooms have arched windows at least 15 feet high. After the bellman had left our things we just laughed out loud. Now THIS was what it meant to travel like the boys in 1927. I took pictures galore because we figure that we’ll never stay in a room like this ever again. We’d been sitting so long on the trains that we simply left all of our luggage as it was and went out to explore old Dresden. Having been bombed to the ground during WW II, and having been ignored by the GDR, it is amazing to see what has been accomplished in the last 15 years of reunification. The center which has amazingly few cars has beautiful cobbled streets of Belgian brick which makes for challenging walking but allows the sound of horse driven wagons to ‘clip-clop’ in a wonderfully romantic way . Each of the restored buildings still has the patina of blackened stone which could be fire, and could simply be dirt. It is obvious that the GDR could have cared two hoots for these wonderful treasures. On top of many buildings there are some beautifully restored sparkling gold objects – a statue, a golden ball, a simple cupola – which looks brilliant in the sun. To go from the somber gray and rain of Belgium to the early days of summer in Dresden in this “Florence by the Elbe” makes us ambitious to walk – the goal being our first German beer. We walked towards the river and across the Augustus Bridge to a beer garden on the opposite side where young students, young parents and all manner of children and dogs were enjoying this warm sunny day. We happily sat drinking our Radeberger pilsner from a large glass watching the world go by and reminding ourselves that we were in eastern Germany a place we didn’t imagine we’d ever see. I keep wondering which of these older folk lived through the GDR and what they think of the changes and which of these young people came from the west to try a new life. In any case there will be plenty of employment for all as the old, dull grey square buildings of the GDR are quietly renovated or destroyed, and the original beauty of Dresden returns. This town will require a good deal of time to explore it all, take all the boat rides, visit the Meissen factory and wander through all the buildings. Obviously a return trip will be in our future. Me, who never wanted to see Germany at all am slowly realizing that all the people whom we see were born after the war and can’t be blamed for what went before. Unlike the 60’s when I still felt unsure, I sense now a different Germany and am willing to explore further. Too tired, and not terribly hungry, we decided to eat at one of the restaurants in the hotel where we had a lovely simple meal and retired to our suite to get ready for a very busy day tomorrow.
April 25, 2008 Of course, because we wanted a perfect day, we awoke to a rainy day. Damn. Off to Leipzig on the train -just under an hour. A trip which both Walter and Herbert did often in their youth. We was all set to explore Leipzig in the sunshine - but rain would have to do. Our first appointment was at the Simon Dubnow Institute on Goldschmidtstrasse which is associated with the Leipzig University. We met in the library with the head librarian, Grit Scheffer and with Dirk Sadowski. While our appointment had been with Dr. Kirchoff he was unavailable. We learned a lot about the institute which began in the 90’s once the GDR had passed and the study of Judaism was allowed. The institute is very focused on academic topics with many academics writing treatises of the place of Jews in Germany. It was not just Leipzig on which they focus, but the whole of Europe. It wasn’t obvious how the diaries which I was giving them as a gift would fit into their collection, but they saw it as a wonderful reference book if one wanted to understand how the young bourgeois of the 20’s and 30’s were able to move about. There seemed to be one scholar focused purely on passports and the ability of Jews to move about the world and he wished we had those original passports of two Jewish boys, but we didn't. We took a tour of the building which was primarily offices for scholars and a few displays of exhibits or books which they had created. We enjoyed the visit, were given some lovely materials to carry home, but sensed that this was just a wee bit too scholarly for our purposes. The best gift was a telephone directory of 1928 showing only Jewish residents, stores, and businesses of Leipzig. (I wondered why even then Jews were separted out from others). But in these directories I could find all the names and addresses of many relatives and friends - including my grand-parents who died during the war. The next visit was to be at the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum – the Museum of City History. Mrs. Christine Becker from the museum came over to the Dubnow to pick us up and guide us to our next appointment. She was a lively, amusing and delightful woman who pointed out sites along the way. We were right across from the original building of C.F. Peters music publishing(long time friends of the family); on Neumarkt, we took a picture of the Bankhaus Meyer where daddy and his father had their offices… which is fully intact but obviously is being used for other purposes; we wandered through the Mädler Arcade, past the famous statue of Faust whose foot, having been rubbed by passerbys to pure shiny brass, provides people a bit of luck. We wandered through the grounds of the university past the walls from the Middle Ages which have been restored and which now surround an outdoor coffee bar; I kept thinking, “here daddy and mother walked; here mother went shopping; here they had coffee”… eerie and moving. The museum itself was absolutely lovely, located in the old town hall with its high ceilings, and majestic rooms. The center of the entry hall had an entire diorama of Leipzig (3-dimensional model) made of paper and created in the mid-1800’s. The fact that this even existed after the devastation of war was impressive. The walls of the entry hall were lined with paintings of the Burghermeisters of Leipzig, each looking more serious and pompous than the next. We continued into the next hall where a dignified, gray haired gentleman sat quietly waiting for us at the opposite end of this magnificent room filled with glass cases holding silver and gold, a huge kachelofen. This was Dr. Volker Rodekamp, the director of the museum. And the next 90 minutes were pure magic. The four of us sat and talked about the role of the Jews in Leipzig and how it began with the trade fairs where they would come from eastern Europe to show their wares, but where, in the 1700’s they were still not allowed to own property. (Which allowed me to understand why in our family stambaum the residences were always outside of Leipzig). How they slowly gained access to that opportunity and became key to the business and culture of the city. We learned how many of the artworks were preserved because there was enough time before the Allied bombings reached this far east to move the most important objects out of the heart of Leipzig, We learned of the objects which were lost during the war including the blueprints of the original huge sculpture – the Monument of the Battle of the Nations. How recently an American claimed he had these blueprints and wanted over $200,000 to return them. Instead the government provided Mr. Rodekamp with enough money to stay in contact with the man while the FBI worked to locate him to ensure the materials would be returned. It never came to pass, and Rodekamp was skeptical how a simple American soldier could take what would have been huge volumes of paper without being noticed. We talked a great deal about the economy of Leipzig where unemployment is especially high and many people are on unemployment – worse than many other parts of the eastern zone. He told a wonderful story about a goblet that goes back to 1600’s which had been given to Saxony by the Swedes. When the King of Sweden came to visit Kaiser Wilhelm in 1908 the goblet was once more presented and they both signed and dated the goblet which they drank from. Recently, when the current king of Sweden came to visit, the museum once more presented this goblet to the king so that he may drink a toast from it, but he was unable to since all his food and drink are first given to a taster to ensure that nothing is poisoned. The King’s wife had no problem tasting from the goblet, and her name will be dutifully inscribed. And of course, we talked about the Leipzig of my family. Both Frau Becker and Herr Rodekamp had done a very touching thing – they had found in their archives pictures of the Meyer bank and had copied them and framed them for us. They told us that if we left all the addresses behind they would look into their archives and find as many of the photographs as they could to complete the collection. And Frau Becker who was very quiet through the interview promised to walk with us to as many places as she had time before she too had to return to the office. They both listened as I spoke of the goal of my trip, the reason for the book and my feelings which my parents had carried about the importance of Leipzig in their lives. It was true that for all the years mother spent in America, it was Leipzig where she left her heart. It was here that life was perfect, she was surrounded by family and she lived in the manner which she loved and which she missed for the rest of her life. In reading her memoires (very short but very sweet) it is clear that Leipzig was home and from 1937 to her death things were fine, but not the same. It would have been so wonderful to have been able to have her with us as we walked the streets and talked with various people. She would have filled in the gaps, known who lived or worked in all the buildings….but….it wasn’t to be.
Bob and I both walked away impressed with the both the warmth of our welcome, the care they had taken in preparation, and the time which everyone took to talk with us. I will never know exactly what Hertha Forrai told them over the phone, but it opened doors for us and made the entire day in Leipzig magical. After we left the museum, Frau Becker started the process of locating buildings important to the family. The first was the Romanushaus where my grandfather Breslauer (mother's father) had his banking business. It is totally restored and looks just as the early photographs which mother had. Then we went to a less cheerful site – Jacobstrasse – which is where my great grandmother, Hedwig Platky was taken when, as a Jew, she was ousted from her home. It seems that in Leipzig, rather than creating a Jewish quarter as they did in some towns, they rather set up Jewish houses where people lived 8-10 to a small apartment. It was from here that she was deported to a extermination camp. The building stands still, renovated, but there. Frau Becker explained that many of the houses after the war were rebuilt and their numbering was changed, so that while I had very specific addresses for all my family homes, I was not to assume that a building that was number 6 in 1930 would be number 6 in 2008. After a few more pictures together, she returned to the office and Bob and I continued our quest to find the homes of the family. Since Herr Dimter (a gentleman from Leipzig and a friend of Jutta Scott's brother) had taken many photographs already, my goal was simply to walk the streets and get a sense of the neighborhood. I wanted to see how close it would have been for my mother to leave her home and walk to her grandparent’s home a few blocks away or to cross the street and visit her future husband's home. While the area has changed considerably, it is still a quiet green neighborhood spotted with magnificent homes amidst modern GDR built garbage. A block from the heavily guarded American Consulate, the Music Conservatory continues to thrive. Many of the streets carry the names of famous composers, and I could imagine what a lovely neighborhood it would have been. Of all the addresses we could find, only my mother’s grandparent’s home still exists, and stands alone beside empty plots where other grand homes must have been. We aren’t even sure it is exactly the same house. It carried the same number, but knowing that renumbering had occurred, and seeing an open lot next door with a wrought iron fence around it we could imagine that that was the spot as well. Where my mother's childhood home had stood on Robert Schumann Strasse there was an open lot with a small poster announcing the arrival of a new building. Herr Dimter did a fine job so that between his photographs, and mine of the neighborhood, I think I have truly located the roots of the family. My next trip back will be to enjoy the town of Leipzig as a tourist, rather than as a person searching for family roots. And we will have to return because after all our house hunting and meetings there was no time to see anything else. We were foot weary after walking 6-8 miles on jagged sidewalks, emotionally weary and brain weary from all that we had absorbed. So we plodded back to the train station and caught a 17:51 ICE train back to Dresden. What a day. But if only we had had mother, or daddy, or Walter as guides. I have helped to close the circle, and I’m glad I could leave copies of the diaries in each down, but now there is so much more to explore and to understand about these two cities.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Arrival Abroad
April 21, 2008 Our last full day at sea, and you can already hear in the surrounding conversations that people’s heads are moving on to the next phase of their adventure: a group of Brits are discussing whether the M1 or the A40 is the better way to drive north; others are discussing train and plane connections. Bob and I attended a lovely piano concert – an all Chopin performance with Anthony Hewitt. He truly is magical on the ivories and got standing ovations and many a “BRAVO!” from his enthusiastic audience. With my culture fix completed, I packed my bags and attached the special tags: we are Silver 2 (which defines when we’re allowed to disembark the ship tomorrow, and where we’ll find our luggage in the large warehouse at the dock). After dinner we will put the bags in the hall and magically they will be whisked away to await us the next day. While Bob did his packing I went off to the spa for a last beauty fix – a manicure. The young lady who was my ‘nail technician’ was a very Chatty Cathy with the name of Gemma. From her I learned that the individual staying in the penthouse of the ship is a “billionaire with three body guards who came aboard with 150 pieces of luggage”.(I can’t conceive of what one would want with that much paraphenalia, but I’m sure the porters got a handsome tip). Gemma related the life of a worker on-board which while it sounds exotic, is actually very hard work. They have no time off during their contracts, and in her case she works 10 hour days, 7 days a week. But since it is ‘free’ room and board she is able to save all her salary and at the age of 21 has already bought a house for herself in Spain. The spa being part of the Canyon Ranch franchise, was very ‘green’ with all products (and the containers in which they come) made from natural materials and recycled paper….I am asked to believe that the pigments in my nail polish are all natural herbs and such and the very glass in which the polish is housed is made from re-cycled objects and the design of the bottle was by Ferrari. Lah dee dah.
April 22, 2008 Bob is up on deck at 5:00 a.m. to make sure that the arrival of the ship in Southhampton goes smoothly. Today is a special day since all the Queens are in the port together – the QE2 is in wet-dock being fixed up, the QM2 is landing (us) and the new Queen Victoria (QV) arrived an hour before us. This evening, long after we’ve departed, they’re having a special ceremony as the QV and QM2 sail, with all three ships lined up for the last time they ever will be together. Soon the QE2, having sailed for over 40 years, will become a luxury hotel in Dubai. Finally at 10:00 a.m. “Silver 2” was called and we disembarked, found our luggage in the warehouse, went through customs and found Ian, our driver, who swept us off to the Lock N’ Store warehouse in Southhampton where we left our fancy duds and wintery coats which we’ll see next in early June. Ian then drove us straight to St.Pancras train station in London where the Eurostar now departs, having moved from Waterloo. The station is all new and sparkling with a W.H. Smith bookstore, a Pain Quotidienne (bakery & restaurant) and a Marks & Spencer fast food takeaway (a wee bit different from Amtrak). We were able to get an earlier train for Brussels and off we sent. Because we were in 1st class they gave us a fabulous lunch at our seat – it makes any airplane food in America (if you’re lucky enough to find any) look like spam. I had a quiche, fresh salad, apricot tart, hard rolls and, of course, wine…Bob’s entrée was Asparagus Risotto. Having had breakfast very early in the day, this was a welcome meal. As we sped to Lilles and on to Brussels it was a warm and sunny day and the fields and small towns we passed were showing early signs of spring – buds on trees, green fuzz on the fields, and many daffodils. In England there were very new lambs still be suckled by their mother and being quite frisky – unaware that they would soon become someone’s lovely meal with mint jelly. We are finally in Europe and I am now feeling quite excited – people speaking Flemish and French, everything looking just a wee bit different, it all makes me more attentive as I try to listen in on conversations, read signs and absorb all the sights and smells. Mary Castrinakis was waiting for us at Brussels Midi station. We piled our luggage and ourselves into her BMW and voila! – We are here! As always at their home, a lovely evening of conversation, fine food and a variety of wines to match each course which definitely put us in a sleepy state, ready to hit the bed for our first night on solid earth. Amazingly neither of us have felt any difference between sea and land which is a plaudit for the stabilizers of the ship which made life aboard as calm as life on land. For now our days at sea have ended and our days on trains begin.
April 22, 2008 Bob is up on deck at 5:00 a.m. to make sure that the arrival of the ship in Southhampton goes smoothly. Today is a special day since all the Queens are in the port together – the QE2 is in wet-dock being fixed up, the QM2 is landing (us) and the new Queen Victoria (QV) arrived an hour before us. This evening, long after we’ve departed, they’re having a special ceremony as the QV and QM2 sail, with all three ships lined up for the last time they ever will be together. Soon the QE2, having sailed for over 40 years, will become a luxury hotel in Dubai. Finally at 10:00 a.m. “Silver 2” was called and we disembarked, found our luggage in the warehouse, went through customs and found Ian, our driver, who swept us off to the Lock N’ Store warehouse in Southhampton where we left our fancy duds and wintery coats which we’ll see next in early June. Ian then drove us straight to St.Pancras train station in London where the Eurostar now departs, having moved from Waterloo. The station is all new and sparkling with a W.H. Smith bookstore, a Pain Quotidienne (bakery & restaurant) and a Marks & Spencer fast food takeaway (a wee bit different from Amtrak). We were able to get an earlier train for Brussels and off we sent. Because we were in 1st class they gave us a fabulous lunch at our seat – it makes any airplane food in America (if you’re lucky enough to find any) look like spam. I had a quiche, fresh salad, apricot tart, hard rolls and, of course, wine…Bob’s entrée was Asparagus Risotto. Having had breakfast very early in the day, this was a welcome meal. As we sped to Lilles and on to Brussels it was a warm and sunny day and the fields and small towns we passed were showing early signs of spring – buds on trees, green fuzz on the fields, and many daffodils. In England there were very new lambs still be suckled by their mother and being quite frisky – unaware that they would soon become someone’s lovely meal with mint jelly. We are finally in Europe and I am now feeling quite excited – people speaking Flemish and French, everything looking just a wee bit different, it all makes me more attentive as I try to listen in on conversations, read signs and absorb all the sights and smells. Mary Castrinakis was waiting for us at Brussels Midi station. We piled our luggage and ourselves into her BMW and voila! – We are here! As always at their home, a lovely evening of conversation, fine food and a variety of wines to match each course which definitely put us in a sleepy state, ready to hit the bed for our first night on solid earth. Amazingly neither of us have felt any difference between sea and land which is a plaudit for the stabilizers of the ship which made life aboard as calm as life on land. For now our days at sea have ended and our days on trains begin.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Mid-trip
April 19, 2008 How nice it is to awake to one’s birthday at sea. Not to mention the beginning of Passover. We are just about mid-point in our sea adventure and thus farthest from any land mass. There are quite a few tall mountains below the sea which the captain told us about at his noon update, but nothing much visible. The first hint that this was my ‘special day’ was that as we turned on the television to learn of weather, sea conditions and our menu for the evening (always a delight to be able to fantasize early about the fabulous feast that is in store for us at the end of a day). There it was: a message from Cunard wishing me a happy birthday…I had to take a picture of the screen, and it was a good thing that I did because after a few hours it had disappeared, and no one would have believed me. Ah, the power of computer data bases…they forget nothing. (We learned that they actually read out all the names of those having birthdays on the morning TV …the day won’t go by unnoticed. Having moved the clocks ahead another hour, we were very leisurely in our start to the day – overcast, cool, calm seas and our pot of coffee delivered to welcome the day. To celebrate I signed up for both an acupuncture treatment as well as a manicure at the Canyon Ranch Spa. On board these are not exactly inexpensive events, but our attitude was ‘why not?” Having always had lunch at the various buffets we decided to try the main Britannia Restaurant for lunch – it was my birthday, afterall, and white table clothes seemed to be the appropriate prospect. We ate on the downstairs level and concluded we like the upper levels much better – less noise, and certainly less awareness that you’re dining with thousands of your best friends. The lunch was good, the chardonnay was crisp and it was worth the experiment – once. Bob had a Salad Nicoise with large chunks of seared Ahi tuna. In the afternoon there was the promise of a string quartet which turned out to be downright teeth-itchingly horrible. Having given the musicians a chance to prove that maybe they had just had a bad start we stayed for four ‘tunes’ before we knew things weren’t going to get much better. Quite a contrast from the classical pianist who had been ‘spot on’. The weather remains overcast and foggy so we read the Herald Tribune, took naps, did some email and visited the purser’s office where we learned about our fellow sailing companions: A total of 2484 passengers with 764 Americans, 1177 British, 191 Germans and 352 other. Everyone has a story to tell and a reason for being on board and it is the topic with which one begins almost every introductory conversation: What brings you to this ship? Where are you going next? How did you spend your day? Have you sailed often? Of course one only gets the surface stories – it would take a lot longer to get down to the real story behind each person and we won’t be on board long enough to learn these. Tonight was a semi-formal evening (no tuxedo required, less glitter being worn), but everyone still looking mighty spiffy. The photographers who line the main hallway leading to the dining room were busy bees setting everyone up for poses – adoring couple holding hands, elegant ladies looking proud, a Scotsman in his kilt looking regal – the photographers know how to make every person feel special. And of course they are hoping that when you see your picture the next day in the photo gallery, you will decide that you just HAVE to have a copy. Of course, all these posed pictures will land up somewhere in a box, but at the time, ones ego gets ahead of rational thinking. So far we’ve avoided the urge to pose or to purchase, but we will take some posed pictures on the return trip since some of my fancy duds are loaned to me by friends and they might like to see their clothes being worn on the QM 2. I must admit, that while I was not initially pleased with this need to always look elegant, that it is lovely even during the daytime to see people dressed with care. Almost no jeans and few sweats. Mostly simple but ‘tasteful outfits and in some cases women in heels and men in suits. I keep thinking of how much time I spent on planning my wardrobe. The same thoughts were in the minds of everyone else and now we’re all sharing our fashion statements. Obviously at dinner our tablemates had decided that the birthday had to be acknowledged, but it was most muted – a simple card signed by everyone and at dessert time the requisite birthday cake slice with a candle and a large white-chocolate plaque with HAPPY BIRTHDAY written in dark chocolate. Having been on the galley tour recently, I’m sure these little plaques are made in abundance and frozen for the right occasion. The best gift (other than cards and emails from many) was that Bayla, one of our table mates had gone earlier that evening to a Seder provided by the ship and she brought me a huge pile of matzo…it was just lovely. Having imbibed in both a strong martini, and ½ bottle of wine I chose to do my fast-fade and off to bed we went.
April 20, 2008 A truly do-nothing day. My first acupuncture session was interesting. I’m not sure it did anything, or even if it will have a long-term affect, but it was interesting to have needles put 1” into your skin without even feeling them. I learned a lot about the process in my usual way of wanting to understand how it works and I have to believe that a concept that has existed this long can’t be total hogwash. While I got stuck with 15+ pins all over my back and legs, Bob was enjoying the library where he overheard from a neighboring conversation that not only did we cross over the site of the Titanic, but in addition we took a detour 40 miles south of our planned route since there were still ice fields breaking up in the area and the ship didn’t need this kind of bad publicity. This we confirmed from a presentation called a Virtual Bridge Tour. Thanks to 9/11 all real tours of the bridge have been cancelled, but a very articulate officer provided a very detailed and interesting presentation on how the ship works. We watched this on our TV, having missed the actual live presentation. We also learned that in the fancy two-level penthouse suite there is a couple – a man and a woman, one English the other American, with three bodyguards outside the door at all times. This knowledge was imparted by a woman who with her family is occupying four smaller suites as they head to a family reunion in England. Word has it that the son of Rosemary Clooney is on board and that he and his wife – Debbie Boone – attended church services…this is the kind of important data that buzzes about when one has not much else to think about. (This and the fact that our only tv station for news is FOX which is fairly partial in its delivery). Our last formal evening was delightful. Our table of nine has gelled into a coherent group with a great deal of humor and chit chat. We all exchanged cards and email addresses so that we now know everyone’s last name and we’ll be able to correspond. (The couple whom I would be interested in seeing again are George and Veronica who are British and spend the winters in Sarasota, Florida. The waiters and wine stewards were particularly solicitous knowing that tomorrow is the day for them to receive extra tips, if we chose to give them. There is a common amount ($11.00/day/person) which is taken out automatically from your account and is divided up amongst stewards, busboys etc., and it’s a question as to whether one wants to leave extra for especially fine service. On our last cruise we gave to both our waiter and assistant waiter who were very attentive, remembered what we drank, what kind of rolls we wanted, that we did or didn’t like fresh pepper…this duet at our table will not receive anything extra… even if they did give us copies of our menus from the last days signed with great flourish. Our room steward has left in our room luggage tags, questionnaires, departure instructions etc., all of which reminds us that tomorrow is our last full day on board. It’s been a wonderfully calm way to begin a holiday and puts us ‘in the mood’ On the TV they’ve been showing documentaries about the grand age of transatlantic crossings - the 1920’s to 1940’s. I keep remembering that that was the time that daddy and uncle Walter were making their world tour and while sea travel at that time was elegant, and classy, one is reminded by these old films that at that time most people did not have their own bathrooms, swimming pools were rare or non-existent for the most part, and stabilizers which make us float across oceans with hardly any movement were totally unavailable then which meant that the ship in rough seas was a far less comfortable experience. Otherwise I’m sure the experience was very similar – bridge games, elegant balls, fine food, people on deck chairs staring at the ocean and time to relax and meet new people. Another piece of important trivia we learned is that this ship, the QM 2 is the last true ocean-going vessel designed to cross the North Atlantic. Most ships being built now are cruise ships meant for shorter journeys and unable to go as fast as this liner.
April 20, 2008 A truly do-nothing day. My first acupuncture session was interesting. I’m not sure it did anything, or even if it will have a long-term affect, but it was interesting to have needles put 1” into your skin without even feeling them. I learned a lot about the process in my usual way of wanting to understand how it works and I have to believe that a concept that has existed this long can’t be total hogwash. While I got stuck with 15+ pins all over my back and legs, Bob was enjoying the library where he overheard from a neighboring conversation that not only did we cross over the site of the Titanic, but in addition we took a detour 40 miles south of our planned route since there were still ice fields breaking up in the area and the ship didn’t need this kind of bad publicity. This we confirmed from a presentation called a Virtual Bridge Tour. Thanks to 9/11 all real tours of the bridge have been cancelled, but a very articulate officer provided a very detailed and interesting presentation on how the ship works. We watched this on our TV, having missed the actual live presentation. We also learned that in the fancy two-level penthouse suite there is a couple – a man and a woman, one English the other American, with three bodyguards outside the door at all times. This knowledge was imparted by a woman who with her family is occupying four smaller suites as they head to a family reunion in England. Word has it that the son of Rosemary Clooney is on board and that he and his wife – Debbie Boone – attended church services…this is the kind of important data that buzzes about when one has not much else to think about. (This and the fact that our only tv station for news is FOX which is fairly partial in its delivery). Our last formal evening was delightful. Our table of nine has gelled into a coherent group with a great deal of humor and chit chat. We all exchanged cards and email addresses so that we now know everyone’s last name and we’ll be able to correspond. (The couple whom I would be interested in seeing again are George and Veronica who are British and spend the winters in Sarasota, Florida. The waiters and wine stewards were particularly solicitous knowing that tomorrow is the day for them to receive extra tips, if we chose to give them. There is a common amount ($11.00/day/person) which is taken out automatically from your account and is divided up amongst stewards, busboys etc., and it’s a question as to whether one wants to leave extra for especially fine service. On our last cruise we gave to both our waiter and assistant waiter who were very attentive, remembered what we drank, what kind of rolls we wanted, that we did or didn’t like fresh pepper…this duet at our table will not receive anything extra… even if they did give us copies of our menus from the last days signed with great flourish. Our room steward has left in our room luggage tags, questionnaires, departure instructions etc., all of which reminds us that tomorrow is our last full day on board. It’s been a wonderfully calm way to begin a holiday and puts us ‘in the mood’ On the TV they’ve been showing documentaries about the grand age of transatlantic crossings - the 1920’s to 1940’s. I keep remembering that that was the time that daddy and uncle Walter were making their world tour and while sea travel at that time was elegant, and classy, one is reminded by these old films that at that time most people did not have their own bathrooms, swimming pools were rare or non-existent for the most part, and stabilizers which make us float across oceans with hardly any movement were totally unavailable then which meant that the ship in rough seas was a far less comfortable experience. Otherwise I’m sure the experience was very similar – bridge games, elegant balls, fine food, people on deck chairs staring at the ocean and time to relax and meet new people. Another piece of important trivia we learned is that this ship, the QM 2 is the last true ocean-going vessel designed to cross the North Atlantic. Most ships being built now are cruise ships meant for shorter journeys and unable to go as fast as this liner.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
1st days at sea
April 17, 2008 – first full day on-board Having again turned the clocks ahead one hour, it was a slow start to our morning. (Every day we set the clocks so that by the time we reach the UK we’ll be on ‘their time). Coffee and toast was delivered, showers were taken and we headed out to try and make arrangements for a Galley Tour, a taxi in Southampton and other housekeeping activities. Then off to the library to get the day’s puzzle, read the newspapers (Herald Tribune, USA Today, Financial Times, WSJ, London Times and a few German papers as well.). On a cold, rainy day the library is a most popular spot along with the Casino that is able to go night and day now that we’re at sea (God knows why). In early afternoon Bob had arranged a Cruise Critic meeting up at the elegant Commodore Club. We, the Friends of Bill W. (Alcoholics Anonymous), the Friends of Dorothy (Gay&Lesbian), and god knows who else were all meeting at the same time, and the array of people trying so psyche out which group they belonged to was amusing to watch. Cruise Critic is made up of people who are interested in cruises and ships and who are willing to share their knowledge and their questions on-line. Each unique cruise has something called a ‘roll call’ where those who will be on board for that cruise identify themselves, and often agree to meet (in the flesh) on the ship. While the gathering continued (with cocktails), I took off for a classical piano concert in the Royal Court Theater. Anthony Hewitt is a young British ‘prodigy’ who played many of the old saws - but did so very well. The theater was quite full with attentive and quiet listeners, all of whom seemed quite impressed by his skill based on the level of the clapping. What was interesting was that the ship had a camera which projected his hands on a huge pair of screens on either side of the stage so that if one couldn’t see the keyboard directly, one could see it on the screen – now if only one could have had freeze-frame or replay. What makes the Queen Mary 2 so amazing to me is the variety of ways that people can spend their day while encased on a moving ship on a rainy, foggy and chilly day. While there may be over 2500 people on board, we never seem to see them. Some may be involved in sports (walking the decks, using the gym, playing golf, taking classes on yoga or tai chi); those with a gambling streak may be in the casino; others have found ConneXions where one can either take computer classes, use a vast array of ship-provided Dell computers, or simply set oneself up with a Wi-Fi connection on your own laptop; some guests are playing games (doing jigsaw puzzles, playing scrabble, learning to play bridge), and others are simply napping, reading relaxing or sitting in the vast variety of dining areas for a coffee, some desert or whatever suits the fancy while having quiet conversations. Whatever suits your fancy is made available somewhere on board. Tonight is a ‘formal’ evening so Bob is getting into his tuxedo with studs, cufflinks, cummerbund and shiny shoes; I’m wearing glitter, sparkles and fancy high heels. All dressed up with nowhere to go – except an elegant dinner. As usual the food was fabulous and our group of nine is beginning to blend. We chose to sit in a different seat at the table so that we could chat with others. Each couple orders its own wines, and if you don’t finish it, your room number is put on the bottle and will be saved for the next meal. So far I would say that our waiter and sommelier are less attentive than the couple we had on the last trip. Things just seem a bit sloppier… but then, there are nine of us, and last time we were a table of four. After a lovely dinner, and the usual chit-chat, Bob and I went to the Commodore Club where we could have a last after-dinner liqueur and listen to some gentle live jazz piano playing before moving our clocks ahead another hour and falling into bed with the sound of the ships’ fog horn in the background. (We’re in a bed of fog and the horn must be blown at least every 2 minutes to alert others to our existence). A lovely lullaby of the sea that reminds us of living near the Golden Gate in San Francisco..
April 18, 2008 We awoke to the same sound that lulled us to sleep. Our first item on the agenda after coffee and toast (and Bob’s blueberry muffin), is a tour of the ship’s galley. There are about 12 of us on the tour, and while we hoped to see everything, we are shown the area which our waiters would see. First one sees the cold appetizer area, then the warm appetizer area, and the huge ‘entrée’ pick up and assembly area.. Then we are shown the dessert area. The statistics are astounding: 150 chefs in 12 different kitchens including one uniquely for room service; 85 dishwashers, pot washers and galley cleaners and god knows how many waiters and waitresses; wine stewards and bus-boys. On any typical 6-day transatlantic crossing where one is unable to restock anything the ship carries: 50 tons of fresh fruits & vegetables – with the right proportion of green and yellow bananas for example… 12 tons of meat 8 tons of poultry 13 tons of fish 2 tons of sugar 2 tons of cheese & dairy products 32,400 fresh eggs 5,000 gallons of milk 20 kilogram of caviar 4 tons of flour This is to make approx. 16000 meals a day. The volumes are staggering and obviously we had a lot of questions. Our guide Paul Hamilton from Norway is the person responsible for ordering all the food. He showed us a computerized tote board that lists at the beginning of each evening the expected number of each plate to be served: example: beef, rare; beef medium; lamb rare, lamb medium; shrimp, lobster, swordfish etc. They make a ‘guesstimate’ of what will be ordered at each meal, based on the type of individuals are aboard (nationality, age etc). Then as each meal is ordered the tote board lowers the starting number…so for example, at last nights second seating they assumed 602 beef medium would be ordered, but they went over that amount by 29. In one sense one is amazed at their abilities to predict what will be consumed, but it also shows just how well they know their clientele. After all, to guess wrong is to have too much wastage. Naturally that whole planning process appealed to me and left me with a ton of questions and wanting a more detailed tour so I could ask all my questions. Having spread germs throughout that galley, we happy guests went on to our own lunch. In the afternoon while Bob sat happily on the Internet I attended a RADA performance of Richard III. Since the performance was to be completed in 45 minutes, one could call it the ‘reader’s digest’ version, but all the key speeches were there, and the plot moved along crisply – almost as I wish other productions might. The players as always were very professional and received great rounds of applause from the over 500 people who attended. To sit in a darkened theater listening to Shakespeare while going 26 knots across the ocean has a charm. Sailing in the same fortnight that the Titanic sank in 1912, we are skirting south of the Grand Banks ice field, following the reverse of the Titanic’s exact course. The captain at his noon-time announcements told us that we would pass over the remains of Titanic (over two miles below) at about 1630 (4:30pm). How cheery. Bob marked the event with a Guinness.
April 18, 2008 We awoke to the same sound that lulled us to sleep. Our first item on the agenda after coffee and toast (and Bob’s blueberry muffin), is a tour of the ship’s galley. There are about 12 of us on the tour, and while we hoped to see everything, we are shown the area which our waiters would see. First one sees the cold appetizer area, then the warm appetizer area, and the huge ‘entrée’ pick up and assembly area.. Then we are shown the dessert area. The statistics are astounding: 150 chefs in 12 different kitchens including one uniquely for room service; 85 dishwashers, pot washers and galley cleaners and god knows how many waiters and waitresses; wine stewards and bus-boys. On any typical 6-day transatlantic crossing where one is unable to restock anything the ship carries: 50 tons of fresh fruits & vegetables – with the right proportion of green and yellow bananas for example… 12 tons of meat 8 tons of poultry 13 tons of fish 2 tons of sugar 2 tons of cheese & dairy products 32,400 fresh eggs 5,000 gallons of milk 20 kilogram of caviar 4 tons of flour This is to make approx. 16000 meals a day. The volumes are staggering and obviously we had a lot of questions. Our guide Paul Hamilton from Norway is the person responsible for ordering all the food. He showed us a computerized tote board that lists at the beginning of each evening the expected number of each plate to be served: example: beef, rare; beef medium; lamb rare, lamb medium; shrimp, lobster, swordfish etc. They make a ‘guesstimate’ of what will be ordered at each meal, based on the type of individuals are aboard (nationality, age etc). Then as each meal is ordered the tote board lowers the starting number…so for example, at last nights second seating they assumed 602 beef medium would be ordered, but they went over that amount by 29. In one sense one is amazed at their abilities to predict what will be consumed, but it also shows just how well they know their clientele. After all, to guess wrong is to have too much wastage. Naturally that whole planning process appealed to me and left me with a ton of questions and wanting a more detailed tour so I could ask all my questions. Having spread germs throughout that galley, we happy guests went on to our own lunch. In the afternoon while Bob sat happily on the Internet I attended a RADA performance of Richard III. Since the performance was to be completed in 45 minutes, one could call it the ‘reader’s digest’ version, but all the key speeches were there, and the plot moved along crisply – almost as I wish other productions might. The players as always were very professional and received great rounds of applause from the over 500 people who attended. To sit in a darkened theater listening to Shakespeare while going 26 knots across the ocean has a charm. Sailing in the same fortnight that the Titanic sank in 1912, we are skirting south of the Grand Banks ice field, following the reverse of the Titanic’s exact course. The captain at his noon-time announcements told us that we would pass over the remains of Titanic (over two miles below) at about 1630 (4:30pm). How cheery. Bob marked the event with a Guinness.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Sailaway
April 16, 2008
The journey begins on a beautiful, sunny New York day. Joe drove us effortlessly to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal where we had our luggage taken, and we registered for our sail. It was all so efficiently executed that by the time we had registered, gone immediately aboard and found our room, our luggage was arriving. It is somehow comforting to get on a ship which you have been on before. We knew where stairways, elevators and access points were. We felt quite smug as we didn’t have that ’where am I’ look in the eyes. The age of our fellow travelers ranges from the smallest baby to the elderly with walkers with the average being in the late 50’s I would guess. The languages are primarily British English, German and American. This being the first Eastern c\Crossing of the season, the ship is pretty filled to capacity. Our cabin, 8071 has a little outer deck area, but our view is pretty much hidden by a large tender ship parked outside our windows, but the light and fresh air are there to enjoy and it makes our whole room feel bright and welcoming. John, our personal steward came to introduce himself. He will be the person who not only makes up our room, but he will do those little extras we may request. Awaiting us were three wonderful gift bottles of wine along with a bottle of champagne from Cunard. What a nice beginning. (If only we could have had Joe and the kids join us on board for a going away party, but 9-11 has taken care of that charming tradition, and now everyone is left at the entry to the terminal.).
Promptly at 4:30 we had our emergency drill, carrying our life jackets to specified points where we were given a demonstration of how to behave in case of the need to leave the ship rapidly. Now we are officially ready to sail and everyone went up on deck or was hanging off of their balcony with wine or champagne in hand to watch the sailaway. It is always an exciting moment as the ship casts off its lines and one is thrust away from the pier.. There’s the anticipation that has been built up as you start out on another new adventure. This is not an airplane where the goal is simply to get from point A to point B – in this case the Crossing IS the event and it has been chosen as something special. To have all this and to have a perfect setting for departure – it doesn’t get any better: Manhattan in the background, the Statue of Liberty standing proudly and 2500 passengers ready to enjoy the next six days as we cross the Atlantic. You have to be pretty cold and jaundiced not to get a special feeling for a sailaway. As we sailed out past The Lady, past the Intrepid, and out into lower New York Bay the weather got distinctly crisper, and after going under the Verrazano Bridge (always exciting since there is less than 36 feet of clearance between the top of our ship and the bottom of the bridge) we came in to rest, change and get ready for our first dining experience.
I kept wondering what it was like for Daddy and Walter in 1927. There was no Verrazano Bridge, the buildings around Coney Island were not as tall, and certainly the skyline of the city was different, but the sense of the experience was probably not that different – they were going home, and we’re just starting out – but both then and now it is being done with class.
We chose the late sitting for dinner at 8:30 so that we wouldn’t feel rushed at the end of the day. And…it gives us plenty of time to get elegant and to have a gracious cocktail at The Chart Room. One immediately feels elegant, mature and just a little bit special as you sit and watch very professional bar tenders whipping up all manner of drinks. Bob had his proverbial Manhattan – up, and I had scotch and soda (with the soda in a separate little pitcher, as is THE way to do things correctly). With drink in hand we proceeded to our dinner. We had scoped out the table earlier in the day, and were placed at the top level, at a table for eight by the windows which was quite delightful.
We always like having lots of companions because afterall, we have each other to talk to all the rest of our lives. This octet consists of two couples from Britain, one couple from Washington D.C., and a single woman from southern California. Those first conversations are always a little awkward as you try to sort out where the talking points are, and what people’s interests are, but we got along so well, that after much of the restaurant had emptied out, we were still chatting it up. But I was doing my fast fade, so we grabbed a last coffee latte at Sir Samuels, bought our QM 2 mugs and fell into our wonderfully comfortable bed complete with duvet and pillows enough to suffocate you. We’re on our way with the promise of lousy weather tomorrow, rain and choppy seas.
The journey begins on a beautiful, sunny New York day. Joe drove us effortlessly to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal where we had our luggage taken, and we registered for our sail. It was all so efficiently executed that by the time we had registered, gone immediately aboard and found our room, our luggage was arriving. It is somehow comforting to get on a ship which you have been on before. We knew where stairways, elevators and access points were. We felt quite smug as we didn’t have that ’where am I’ look in the eyes. The age of our fellow travelers ranges from the smallest baby to the elderly with walkers with the average being in the late 50’s I would guess. The languages are primarily British English, German and American. This being the first Eastern c\Crossing of the season, the ship is pretty filled to capacity. Our cabin, 8071 has a little outer deck area, but our view is pretty much hidden by a large tender ship parked outside our windows, but the light and fresh air are there to enjoy and it makes our whole room feel bright and welcoming. John, our personal steward came to introduce himself. He will be the person who not only makes up our room, but he will do those little extras we may request. Awaiting us were three wonderful gift bottles of wine along with a bottle of champagne from Cunard. What a nice beginning. (If only we could have had Joe and the kids join us on board for a going away party, but 9-11 has taken care of that charming tradition, and now everyone is left at the entry to the terminal.).
Promptly at 4:30 we had our emergency drill, carrying our life jackets to specified points where we were given a demonstration of how to behave in case of the need to leave the ship rapidly. Now we are officially ready to sail and everyone went up on deck or was hanging off of their balcony with wine or champagne in hand to watch the sailaway. It is always an exciting moment as the ship casts off its lines and one is thrust away from the pier.. There’s the anticipation that has been built up as you start out on another new adventure. This is not an airplane where the goal is simply to get from point A to point B – in this case the Crossing IS the event and it has been chosen as something special. To have all this and to have a perfect setting for departure – it doesn’t get any better: Manhattan in the background, the Statue of Liberty standing proudly and 2500 passengers ready to enjoy the next six days as we cross the Atlantic. You have to be pretty cold and jaundiced not to get a special feeling for a sailaway. As we sailed out past The Lady, past the Intrepid, and out into lower New York Bay the weather got distinctly crisper, and after going under the Verrazano Bridge (always exciting since there is less than 36 feet of clearance between the top of our ship and the bottom of the bridge) we came in to rest, change and get ready for our first dining experience.
I kept wondering what it was like for Daddy and Walter in 1927. There was no Verrazano Bridge, the buildings around Coney Island were not as tall, and certainly the skyline of the city was different, but the sense of the experience was probably not that different – they were going home, and we’re just starting out – but both then and now it is being done with class.
We chose the late sitting for dinner at 8:30 so that we wouldn’t feel rushed at the end of the day. And…it gives us plenty of time to get elegant and to have a gracious cocktail at The Chart Room. One immediately feels elegant, mature and just a little bit special as you sit and watch very professional bar tenders whipping up all manner of drinks. Bob had his proverbial Manhattan – up, and I had scotch and soda (with the soda in a separate little pitcher, as is THE way to do things correctly). With drink in hand we proceeded to our dinner. We had scoped out the table earlier in the day, and were placed at the top level, at a table for eight by the windows which was quite delightful.
We always like having lots of companions because afterall, we have each other to talk to all the rest of our lives. This octet consists of two couples from Britain, one couple from Washington D.C., and a single woman from southern California. Those first conversations are always a little awkward as you try to sort out where the talking points are, and what people’s interests are, but we got along so well, that after much of the restaurant had emptied out, we were still chatting it up. But I was doing my fast fade, so we grabbed a last coffee latte at Sir Samuels, bought our QM 2 mugs and fell into our wonderfully comfortable bed complete with duvet and pillows enough to suffocate you. We’re on our way with the promise of lousy weather tomorrow, rain and choppy seas.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Preparation for trip abroad
Having completed the translation, editing and publishing of a journey (entdeckung) of my father and his cousin in 1927-28, I have now chosen to try and re-trace the trip which they made around the world.
While they had a wonderful nine month continuous journey around the world, I will try to visit the same sites and countries over a series of years, and probably in a more random order. In some cases the politics and nature of the countries have changed (for the worse), and I may not be able to visit them at all. In some cases I have already been to some of the countries or locations in prior travels and may not have a chance to go back to them again.
But this blog which is my own journey of discovery is beginning in April 2008. Bob and I will start in Germany, the country from which my father and my uncle fled. There we will deliver to various city and state archives, copies of the diaries from 1927-28 and we will try and find the locations of the homes and offices to which the boys referred in their letters home.
Today with three days to go before departure, we are in the midst of packing - trying to figure out just what one needs to be" elegant" on the Queen Mary II, "country-club casual" on the Azamara cruise in the Adriatic, and 'citified' enough to look presentable in all the big cities we will be visiting. This is definitely not a trip for shorts and sweats since there is almost no down-time during the next weeks and with many train rides in our future, the luggage has to be light enough to haul on and off the platforms. If only we could travel like Daddy did with porters at every stop along the way who for a nominal fee, whisked the numerous pieces of luggage magically to the appropriate hotel, cabin or train car. Eighty years later, and a lot less graciously, we are still set to begin what promises to be a wonderful adventure.
While they had a wonderful nine month continuous journey around the world, I will try to visit the same sites and countries over a series of years, and probably in a more random order. In some cases the politics and nature of the countries have changed (for the worse), and I may not be able to visit them at all. In some cases I have already been to some of the countries or locations in prior travels and may not have a chance to go back to them again.
But this blog which is my own journey of discovery is beginning in April 2008. Bob and I will start in Germany, the country from which my father and my uncle fled. There we will deliver to various city and state archives, copies of the diaries from 1927-28 and we will try and find the locations of the homes and offices to which the boys referred in their letters home.
Today with three days to go before departure, we are in the midst of packing - trying to figure out just what one needs to be" elegant" on the Queen Mary II, "country-club casual" on the Azamara cruise in the Adriatic, and 'citified' enough to look presentable in all the big cities we will be visiting. This is definitely not a trip for shorts and sweats since there is almost no down-time during the next weeks and with many train rides in our future, the luggage has to be light enough to haul on and off the platforms. If only we could travel like Daddy did with porters at every stop along the way who for a nominal fee, whisked the numerous pieces of luggage magically to the appropriate hotel, cabin or train car. Eighty years later, and a lot less graciously, we are still set to begin what promises to be a wonderful adventure.
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