Saturday, August 12, 1922 - Berlin
“Got up in fair season. Went to the American Express and got tickets for a trip around the city this morning and one to Potsdam for tomorrow. Went over to the Cafe Tower to catch the bus. Met Louis, Ivey, Edna and husband. Had a pleasant trip. Stopped at the mausoleum of Frederick William’s palace. Couldn’t go in the palace. Saw the tomb of Queen Louise and Frederick William. Beautiful lighting effect. Past the Kaiser’s palace, Frederichkierke, in the p.m. We shopped. The window variety mostly. Orpheus in the Outerworld [a show?].”
[Charlottenburg is a suburb 2-3 miles SW of Berlin. Sophia Charlotte, Queen of the first King of Prussia, founded a country residence here at village of Lietzow. The fame of the place arises chiefly from the beautiful Doric mausoleum to Fredrick William III and Queen Louise. Orpheus is an opera.]
Sunday, August 13, 1922 - Potsdam tour
“Started for Potsdam at 9:00. R. went with Heinrich. Louis and party went too. Poor Louis had his pocket picked, just as he was getting on the bus - 20,000 marks and his letter of credit. He and Seymour got out and went back. That evening, he got a notice from the P.O. that he had a package. There was the wallet with the letters of credit and papers, but no money. At Potsdam we visited a military church. Also went through the Emperor’s palace - this was the place where the Emperors stayed while at Potsdam. Stopped at San Souich. Went through the gardens, but the palace was closed to the excursionists on Sunday, because so many Berlin people go there then. Got home about 7:00. Went to Tannhauser that evening. Left at end of the second act. Rotten company.”
[The Garrison Church (German: Garnisonkirche) was a Baroque church in Potsdam, eastern Germany. It was built under the second Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I. between 1730 and 1735. During World War II, the church burned down on 14 April 1945.]
[The New Palace (German: Neues Palais) is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci royal park in Potsdam, Germany. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under Frederick the Great and was completed in 1769. It is considered to be the last great Prussian baroque palace. After the death of Frederick the Great in 1786, the New Palace fell into disuse and was rarely occupied as a residence or entertainment venue. However, starting in 1859 it became the summer residence of the German Crown Prince, Frederick William, later German Emperor Frederick III. The ascension of William II saw renovation and restoration within the palace being carried out with the installation of steam heating, bathrooms in state apartments and electrification of the chandeliers which Frederick the Great had collected from across Europe. Until 1918, it remained the preferred residence of William II and the Empress Augusta.]
[Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the park. The palace was designed/built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. The palace's name emphasizes this; it is a French phrase (sans souci), which translates as "without concerns", meaning "without worries" or "carefree", symbolizing that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power.]
[Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg. The story centers on the struggle between sacred and profane love, and redemption through love, a theme running through most of Wagner's mature work.]
Monday, August 14, 1922 - Berlin
“Went to the American consul to find out about duties. Found that we had to have export licenses for each thing. We spent the rest of the day chasing. Were all in by night. The porter at the hotel wouldn’t sign for us and we decided to stay another day. In the evening we went to the Winter Garden.”
[The Berlin Wintergarten theatre was a large variety theatre in Berlin that opened in approximately 1887 and was destroyed by bombs in June 1944. The name was eventually taken on by a theatre in Potsdamer Strasse in 1992.]
Tuesday, August 15, 1922 - Berlin
“This morning we met Gustave Held, who went with us to the textiles export office and made out our licenses for us. We got everything straightened out and I had to pay the in sum of 34 marks. In the p.m. we went through the Kaiser’s palace. Saw evidences of the Revolution of 1918. Also went to the Frederiech’s Museum and the new museum. Saw many of Reuben’s paintings in the latter. Went to Kempinski’s for supper. Spent the evening packing and wondering if we would get by with the few little things we had not declared.”
[The Berlin City Palace was a royal and imperial palace in the centre of Berlin, the historical capital of Prussia, and subsequently Germany. It was located on the Museum Island at Schlossplatz, opposite the Lustgarten park. It was the winter residence of the Kings of Prussia and the German Emperors. The palace was originally built in the 15th century and changed throughout the next few centuries. It bore features of the Baroque style, and its shape, finalized by the middle 18th century, is attributed to famous German architect Andreas Schlüter. It was the principal residence and winter residence of the Hohenzollern Kings of Prussia from 1701 to 1918. After the unification of Germany in 1871, it was also the central residence for the German Emperors. It became a museum following the fall of the German Empire in 1918. Heavily damaged by Allied bombing in World War II, although possible to repair at great expense, the palace was demolished in 1950 by the German Democratic Republic authorities, despite West German protests. It is in the process of being rebuilt (2013).]
[The Bode Museum is one of the groups of museums on the Museum Island in Berlin, Germany; it is a historically preserved building. The museum was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904. Originally called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum after Emperor Frederick III, the museum was renamed in honour of its first curator, Wilhelm von Bode, in 1956.]
[Kempinski’s is a hotel in Berlin.]
Wednesday, August 16, 1922 - Berlin, Amsterdam
“Left Berlin at 9:00 for Amsterdam. Had two men for traveling companions. One was an Englishman - the other was his nephew and was from South Africa. The time passed very quickly. We all did more or less worrying about the customs. The first thing in the morning, we got into a non-smoker. L. was going to smoke up a few cigarette holders and we were fined 20 marks each. We reached the frontier about 5:30. Got by without even having to unlock our grips - great relief. Reached Amsterdam about 11:00. Went to the Hotel de Pay Bos.”
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