Exactly 100 years ago today, my 18 year old grandfather, Kurt William Leucht, wrote the following entry into his journal:
After obtaining my passport and papers, I was on a train headed for Hamburg. I went per express train from Plauen [A on map] at 6:02 in the morning to Leipzig [B]. There was a layover of two hours, so I visited the “Battle of the Nations” monument. At 10:25am, I left per train thru Magdeburg [C] to Hamburg [D] arriving at 4:25pm. I bought a ticket for the ship and after a lengthy search, I found the Hotel Minerva at the corner of Lolienstreet and the Repperbahn. The price for overnight was 2,16 Mark per day. [That’s about $35 today.] I wandered around the city for awhile. That evening at 8:30, I went to see a musical at the Varsity St. Pauli Singspielhalle until 10:45 and then I let myself be photographed. At midnight, I was in my hotel room and fell asleep.
You can read my grandfather’s entire journal by clicking below. It’s quite interesting! Of course, I’m biased! 🙂
http://www.leucht.com/history/My_Journey_To_America-Journal_of_Kurt_William_Leucht-1914_to_1920.pdf
Thanks for your interest!
Kurt