Exactly 100 years ago today, my 18 year old grandfather, Kurt William Leucht, wrote the following entry into his journal:<\/p>\n
\u00a0We woke up at 5:00am.\u00a0 At 6:00, we all went to the train station [where his dad took the train back to Plauen]<\/i>. \u00a0The four of us got on the 6:45 train to Cuxhafen<\/a> [60 miles NW of Hamburg]<\/i>.\u00a0 We arrived at 9:00.\u00a0 We were invited to board the ship \u201cVaterland\u201d<\/a> which stood ready. \u00a0[The Steamer Vaterland was built in Germany in 1914, this steamer service sailed from Cuxhaven, Germany to New York City and back. It was the largest liner in the world from 1914-1921. It was seized by United States authorities in 1917 and renamed USS Leviathan. ]<\/em> We searched for our cabins.\u00a0 There was a big crowd.\u00a0 The band was playing.\u00a0 More and more people gathered on shore.\u00a0 We got off the ship and went to have lunch.\u00a0 When the extra trains had arrived, we quickly went back on board.\u00a0 We noticed that hundreds of people were waving their handkerchiefs and shouting farewell greetings to us.\u00a0 We did the same.\u00a0 The ship left shore exactly at noon.<\/p>\n
When the ship was brought to the open sea, the ship\u2019s propellers were set in motion with increasing speed.\u00a0 The German homeland disappeared in the distance.\u00a0 I looked the ship over a bit.\u00a0 At 3:00 the call to coffee came.\u00a0 After that, there was more activity on deck.\u00a0 Music was made with an accordion, while some Bohemian country people were performing their dances.<\/p>\n
Occasionally, a ship was visible in the distance. \u00a0The seagulls were following behind the ship.\u00a0 When one looked at the waves created by the ships propellers, it was a wonderful spectacle.\u00a0 It was 6:00 when, suddenly, a heavy rain began and it continued through the night.\u00a0 At 7:00, the bells chimed for the evening meal.\u00a0 It became stormier and the ship swayed a little.\u00a0 Despite the disturbance, there was still dancing on the deck.\u00a0 I added to the concert with my harmonica.\u00a0 I went to bed at 11:00.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n