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