My Vacation: From America to Hamburg
Part two in a series on my journey through Europe to retrace my Great-Grandmother’s 1914 travel diary on the centennial of its writing
Getting across the Atlantic was, not surprisingly, an entirely different experience for Daisy than it was for me. She boarded the SS Pennsylvania at Hoboken Pier in New Jersey on June 25th and spent a total of 13 days at sea, arriving at Cuxhaven Harbor in Germany on July 7th. It’s incredible to imagine such a long journey just to get to her destination, considering that my entire trip is barely 22 days.
My own path to Hamburg took two days and would have been shorter had I not opted for the cheapest route possible. But in reading Daisy’s diary I quickly realized that even 100 years of technological gains don’t come without some trade offs. While my journey to Europe was 11 days shorter than Daisy’s, my experience during that time was far from fun and at times even physically painful — coach seats on American Airlines aren’t designed for my lanky 6'3" dimensions.
Daisy tells a very different story for her time spent in transit. She writes that “the sensation of this first real steamer experience can never be forgotten. The good-byes, the mixture of people, the sailor’s calls, the bells, bugle notes, goodbye packages and flowers rushed on at the last moment.” Nearly a quarter of her diary is devoted to the boat trip over, and every one of her entries details an exciting array of activity. I’m most jealous of her five meals a day, but there were also constant performances by an on-board orchestra, clear nights spent stargazing, hot days spent sunbathing, and even an Independence Day celebration put on, ironically enough, by the Pennsylvania’s distinctly German crew — perhaps you noticed the German sign in the cover photo above.
The Independence Day celebration is a particularly interesting section as Daisy gives little indication of strained relations between the Germans and Americans on board, despite the fact that in just over a month they’ll be at war with one another. I’ve included her excerpt for the Fourth below. Please let me know if you think I’ve made a mistake transcribing something (words I’m unsure of are followed by ‘#’) or if you have a translation of the cursive I couldn’t figure out (marked with ‘###’).
July 4th, Saturday
This has been a glorious Fourth. I think one really feels more the spirit of celebration on shipboard way out here in mid ocean than when in the heart of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. The day began by being awakened at 6:00 A.M. by the German orchestra as it attempted the National airs of the W.S.# I went back to sleep then had breakfast served in bed then slept again. I was up for the service at ten. Dr. Langsdale# speech made us proud he was an American that he was of our party — Made us proud we were Americans, Captain Russ’ speech in German and the China student from Wisconsin U. made us feel the Unity of Nations.Our songs were sung with spirit. We felt what it means to be an American. After this celebration the sailors came down the corridor in a “take off” on the W.S.# Uncle Sam Liberty the Bishop sailors immigrants etc. The orchestra were dressed like colonial men. The Fiji islanders were impressing labelled Made In Germany. The parade was clever. The German festival spirit prevailed. They retired to the rear deck where pictures were taken, then their performance was given. In the evening the banquet or Fourth of July Dinner was given. Such good eats as we had! Really the Germans know how to give Americans a glorious Fourth.
The Pennsylvania reached the English Channel not long after these celebrations and from there Cuxhaven Harbor on July 7th. I also made my way to Hamburg by crossing the Channel on a Stena Line ferry, but I landed at Hoek van Holland and rode trains to Hamburg from there. The train rides were generally pleasant and the Dutch countryside was gorgeous, but I was much happier to arrive in Hamburg than Daisy. She writes the following in her diary:
I was disappointed because I wasn’t thrilled more at sight of land. Every one had said the sight of land would be very welcomed. Probably our Pennsylvania days were too happy for the happy thrill at sight of land…Every one said it was an unusual voyage. We all thought so. We loved the Pennsylvania , the service, the meals, every thing we needed was good. How lovely every one had been to us.
I’ve included some pictures below from my train ride to Hamburg. I don’t have many interesting stories to report with them as I spent the majority of the ride transcribing Daisy’s diary and catching up on sleep, but hopefully you’ll enjoy the view as much as I did.
