Haslers in Europe 1955 Pix

AD Haslers Fulbright Year in 
Munich/Europe
1954 -1955

Photoblog by Fritz Hasler

This is the story of Arthur and Hanna and their six children; Sylvia, Fritz, Bruce, Galen, Mark, and Karl traveling from Madison Wisconsin to spend a year in Munich Germany. It was grand adventure, traveling across the Atlantic Ocean and back by ship and the eight of us traveling across England and all over Europe in our big Nash automobile. We lived in Munich where the five boys attended German grade and high schools when not traveling. Sylvia took classes at the University of Munich since she had graduated from high school. The first six months were tough for me because I was sitting in class and didn't understand a thing. However, we all left after a year as fluent German speakers.  60 years later, we all are still fluent German speakers.

These photographs are for the most part digital scans from the Kodachrome color slides (transparencies) that Arthur took with his Leica 111c camera (see Figs 81 and 82)

Figure 1: Hasler family, NYC, August 1954

Hasler family in front of the NYC Empire State Building, visiting Art’s sister Ada Miller and family, en route to Germany on the Ocean Liner, SS Flandria, from New York to Land’s End England and on to Munich in the 1954 Nash Ambassador automobile.

Top row: Bruce, Hanna, Sylvia, Arthur, and Fritz. 

Front row: Mark, Karl, Galen

In 1954, Arthur took a year long sabbatical to the University of Munich in Germany with the whole family of eight in tow. Hanna spoke fluent German from her childhood in Germany and with her parents and the older siblings in America. Arthur had learned excellent German speaking, reading, and writing skills on his mission in the North German Mission. Now it was time for all the children to be enrolled in German schools and learn German as well. Before too long the whole family was speaking fluent German and singing German folk and Christmas songs, informally: the von Hasler Family Singers.

Figure 2: Hasler Trip: Madison to Munich, August 1954

Hasler's traveled to Munich as follows:

by Nash car from Madison to NYC

by SS Flandre Ocean Liner from NYC to Plymouth England August 18-24

by Nash car from Plymouth to Dover via Stone Henge and London

by Flying boxcar from Dover to Calais and 

by Nash car from Calais to Munich via Belgium, Heidelberg and Dinklesbühl

The returned to Madison as follows:

by Nash car from Munich to Bremerhaven in North Germany

by MS Berlin Ocean Liner from Bremerhaven to NYC

by Nash car from NYC to Madison

Figure 3: Mueler Travel Agency French Line Ticket, Madison, 1954

Travel agent receipt for the tickets for Arthur's seven dependents to leave on the SS Flandre Ocean Liner from NYC on 18 August 1954. Destination: Plymouth England. Note that in those days an adult could travel one way to Europe for $175 while a child costed $85.  However the trip took six days and included fantastic meals for that period.  In 62 years later in 2016 you can still find fares to Europe from the US for that price on occasion with dollars worth much less and the trip takes only 5 hours

Ironically Art's ticket was purchased separately since he was traveling First Class, not Tourist Class like his wife and children. First Class had significantly better, rooms, amenities (like a swimming pool) and food than Tourist Class. Tell me again, how he explained this to Hanna.

Figure 4: Hanna, Bruce, Karl, Fritz, NYC, 1954

Sailing on the SS Flandre, New York Harbor, 18 August 1954

Figure 5: Sylvia. Fritz, Bruce, SS Flandre leaving NYC, 1954

See Ellis Island, center, and the Statue of Liberty on the left.

Figure 6: SS Flandre Class Ocean Liner disembarking NYC in the 50's

Figure 7: Karl in Swimming Hold, SS Flandre, North Atlantic, 1954

A transatlantic trip on an ocean liner in 1954 was that day's equivalent of a Caribbean cruise, but with a few things missing. The 6 day trip was a little longer than most current cruises. We were on a French ship so the food was even better than you would expect on a cruise in 2016. However the amenities in tourist class weren't even close. Outside of pingpong, shuffleboard, and a stroll around the deck there wasn't much to do between meals. In tourist class we didn't even have a swimming pool. The crew improvised by throwing a big canvas sheet into a baggage hold and pumping in ice cold, salty, North Atlantic sea water.

An unusual anecdote that Mark remembers: "Mom and all of us kids were in Tourist Class, but dad was in First Class. We were always trying to sneak into the the First Class section of the ship with the excuse that we were going to see our father"  I would like to have been a fly on the wall when Art tried to explain this to Hanna (his wife).

Those of you who have seen the movie, Titanic, can appreciate the difference between First and Tourist Class. I think the Titanic had and even lower class "Steerage"? but you get the point.

Figure 8: Karl & Bruce Swimming, SS Flandre, 1954

Figure 9: Galen and Mark, SS Flandre, 1954

After a few hours of ping pong and shuffleboard your could always look out at the ocean,

Figure 10: SS Flandre Menu Cover

Figure 11 : SS Flandre Déjeuner Menu

SS Flandre Luncheon Menu, (scroll right to see it in English)

This was just lunch, dinner was even more exotic. 

Figure 12: Place setting, similar to one on the SS Flandre

When the five young midwestern Hasler boys sat down to dinner on the SS Flandre in the big dining room, it was a culture shock. These were kids who a literally never been out to dinner in their lives. First there were the place settings like the one seen above. What on earth would you do with that many forks, knives and spoons?

Then the food: Escargot anyone? How about Frog Legs? or Fois Gras? or Steak Tartar? (raw beef) All were served on the French ocean liner. It was very entertaining for the family, but we were hardly able to appreciate it. Mom and dad said we had to try a least one bite of everything.

Having been to Paris many times since and having lived there for 6 months in 1975, I am a little better able to enjoy excellent French cooking now.

Figure 13: SS Flandre Disembarking Plymouth, 24August1954

The ocean liner, the SS Flandre took six days to cross the Atlantic and drop off us and our 1954 Nash Ambassador automobile at (Plymouth) near Lands End, England. The ship didn't dock there so we and are car were loaded on to a tender that took us into shore. 

SS stood for Steam Ship. She was powered by fuel oil heating boilers that drove steam turbines.

Mary was the first in our family to cross the ocean by air in 1962 (piston engine propeller driven). Jet crossing for ordinary folk (not Jet Setters) wouldn't occur until the late 70's.

Figure 14: Southern England Map

The map shows where we landed on the SS Flandre in Plymouth, and drove West to Lands End, then East to Stonehenge and on to London. We stayed at Sr Richard Fairey's Mannerhouse just north of London at Hendon, Middlesex . Finally we drove to Dover for the flight across the English Channel to Calais France.

Figure 15: Calvin, Stonehenge, 2014

Fritz visited Stonehenge on the trip from Plymouth to London with his brothers and sister in 1954. 60 years later he returned on a trip to London and Cornwall with wife Mary, daughter Marta and grandson Calvin.

Figure 16: Galen, Mark, Bobby, Bruce, Fritz - London, 1954

Note: A Bobby is what they call a policeman in London.

August 1954 took the family to Munich Germany for the year. Here we are in London en route from Lands End England. Then a flying boxcar took us and the Nash across the English Channel to Calais....... and we drove on to Munich.

Figure 17: Hasler boys at Buckingham Palace_London_1954

Figure 18: Mary, Calvin, Tower of London, 2014

Fritz visited the Tower of London with his brothers and sister in 1954. He returned 60 years later for the third time, on this occasion with wife Mary and grandson Calvin DeBellis. From the '54 trip, I remember seeing the crown jewels and hearing the Beefeaters explain that many of the royalty had been  "be 'eaded" (be headed) during the middle ages.

On this day October 16, 2014, Queen Elizabeth was visiting to see 888,246 artificial poppies in the moat, representing every British Empire death in WWI 100 years earlier. Calvin's great grandmother, Hanna, had immigrated from Germany to the US 101 years earlier in 1913 at the age of 5 years with her family to avoid this war.

Figure 19: Haslers, Fairey Mannerhouse, Hendon, Middlesex, 1954

Hasler boys by the Land Rover in front of Sr Richard Fairey's Mannerhouse. Fairey was a aircraft manufacturer that Art knew, possibly from his Strategic Bombing Survey work after WWII. After visiting London, before we left for the  English Channel, we stayed at his mansion. We then used his air ferry service to fly our Nash Ambassador automobile and us across the Channel to France.

Figure 20: Galen, Mark, Karl, Fairey's, Hendon Middlesex, 1954

Hasler boys playing with Sir Richard's dachshund.

21: Fying Boxcar, Dover, 1954

A flying Box Car like this took us and our our big Nash automobile across the English Channel to France.

Figure 22:  August 1954, Berlin 1965, Spring 1955 Travel Map

Calais France to Munich August 1954 in Blue, Munich to Berlin 1954 in Green, and Spring 1955 to Italy in Red

Figure 23: Sylvia, Fritz, Karl, Belgian Tulips, 1954.

En Route, from Calais France, to Munich Germany through Belgium and the low countries

Figure 24: Hasler's Picnic Lunch, Low Countries, 1954

No more escargot and frog Legs, back to bread and cheese and drinks from the cooler.

The Haslers were always on the economy plan.

Figure 25: Hasler, Nash Ambassador, Dinkelsbühl, 1954

Hasler's stopping for a night at a hotel in the mediaeval town of Dinkelsbühl Germany on the Romantishestraße (Romantic Highway) between Nordlingen and Rotenburg northwest of Munich.

Fritz & Bruce slept in the car with the reclining seats while the rest of the family got to stay in the hotel.

Just has the 1948 Hudson Commodore had carried the eight strong Hasler clan numerous times the 1500 miles from Madison Wisconsin to Provo Utah, the new 1954 Nash Ambassador carried eight Haslers all over Europe in 1954 and 1955.  The Europeans who were still digging out from WWII and driving little VW bugs and GM Opals were astonished to see this huge family climbing out of the big Nash.

Figure 26:  Hanna, Nash, Germany, 1954

Hanna, speaking German to the farmer's wife by a farmhouse in Germany.  Notice that the house and barn are attached (You don't have to go outside for milking) and the farmer is holding Brunhilde, also see the cowbells hanging on the wall.

Figure 27: Mark, Fritz, Galen, Germany, 1954

Here I am in my Lederhosen, with Mark and Galen looking at cow bells. Those Lederhosen were amply big for me at age 15.  I tried to put them on for a costume party at age 75...... not even close.

Figure 28:  Fritz, Galen, Mark, Germany, 1954

Here I am in my Lederhosen again, with Galen and me petting the oxen while Mark is holding one by the horn.

Figure 29: Hanna,  Sylvia, Rhine Cafe, 1954

Hanna and Sylvia enjoying a Chocolada (Hot Chocolate) at a cafe overlooking the Rhine River in Germany.

Figure 30: Hanna, Sylvia, Fritz, Mark, Karl, Heidelberg, 1954

En Route from Calais to Munich

Figure 31: Kunigundenstrasse 55, Munich, 1954

When we got to Munich, the big house in Schwabing near the Englischergarten was waiting for us.

I didn't clean up this slide. Most of these slides looked like this or much worse before I cleaned them up.

Figure 32: Rathaus, Marienplatz and Frauenkirche, Munich, 1954

This how the heart of Munich with the Rathaus (City Hall) and the Zwieble Türmchen (Little Onion Towers) of the Iconic Frauenkirche (Mother's Church), symbol of Munich, in the background looked in 1954. Just before the 1972 Olympics, the Marienplatz and downtown Munich was completely rebuilt. There are now about five levels of mass transit (including the street car you see here) buried underground at this location.

Figure 33:  Galen, Mark, Frau Kopp, Dritte Klasse. München. 1954

Third grade class of the 25 Heimhauser Schulz

Galen and Mark are standing in the first row next to the boy on the end.

Galen and Mark learned German here.  Their teacher, Frau Kopp, moonlighted as a tutor, coming to our house three evenings a week to help Galen, Mark and Karl speed up the German learning process.

Figure 34: Karl's First Grade Class, Munich, 1954

Karl is in the middle row toward the left in a pink shirt

Figure 35: Mark, Galen,  Meine und Wolfgang Günther, Munich, 1954

Galen and Mark's best friends while they were in Munich.

Figure 36: Null-Null, Octoberfest, Munich, 1954

This was annual big event on the Octoberwiese (October Meadow) in the fall.

Beer drinkers at October fest would need to make frequent trips to the loo. 

We were very amused to see an angle sitting on a golden potty with an arrow pointing to 00 (Null-Null) the direction to the public toilets.

Figure 37: Oberbayern Map

Map of southern Bavaria and the location of some of the many weekend trips we made from Munich during 1954 and 1955. 

Figrure 38: Wieskirche, 1954

The gorgeous  Little Baroque Church (in the Meadow) in Bavaria just south of Munich

We would stop here on our way to the  Königsschlössern (Kings Castles) including Neuschwanstein.

Figure 39: Wieskirche, Inside, 1954

Figure 40: Neuschwanstein

One of the Königsschlössern (Kings Castles) just south of Munich in Bavaria

In 1954 & 1955 he family made several trips south of Munich to Mittenwald, the Königsschlössern, and sometimes on to Salzburg and Brunwinkle on Wolfgangsee in Austria where the von Frisches lived.












Figure 41: A trip just outside Munich would take us to Dachau.

Fritz's grandson Calvin DeBellis at the Nazi Concentration Camp, Dachau, Germany in 2014, 60 years after the Hasler family visited there in 1954.

Unlike the Japanese and white people in the southern US, the Germans want to remember, not hide, the bad parts of their heritage. How does it go... something like: "To not know your history is to repeat the mistakes of your ancestors"

Figure 42: Haslers, Willi and Gertrud Conradi, Berlin, 1954

Willi was Granny's (our maternal grandmother's) younger brother.

Our mom's Onkel (Uncle) Willi. We were close because granny and Eveline had gone back to Germany to visit them in 1931 and mom had sent them CARE packages when they were starving right after the war.

They lived in the American Sector of Berlin, but we had to drive on the Autobahn through the Soviet Sector to get there.  It was pretty scary since this was only five years after the Soviets had shut down the Autobahn and blockaded Berlin resulting in the famous Luft Brücke (Air Bridge/Lift) that kept Berlin alive until August of 1949 when the Soviets lifted the blockage.

Figure 43: Arthur & Conradis, Christa, Willi, Gertrud, Gertie, Berlin, 1954

Mom's niece Christa died in 1989, and mom's niece Gertie would be about 83 in 2016 if she is living.

Figure 44: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, Berlin, 1954.

West Berlin was a model of the Wirtschaft's Wunder (Economic Miracle) and was modern and almost completely rebuilt when we visited in 1954. The West Germans took great delight in comparing it with Communist East Berlin which was still largely in ruins and only had dull grey communist style apartment and public buildings where reconstruction had occurred.

However I remember the name as the Muttergedächnesskrche (remembering mother), that was complete destroyed by allied bombing during the war except for the tower shown above,  was left as-is to remind the population what Berlin had gone through during WWII.

It was also nicknamed the 'hohle Zahn' (hollow tooth)

Figure 45: Haslers, Munich, January 1954.

Haslers catching snow flakes in a snowstorm on the side of their big rental house at  Kunigundenstrasse 55 in Munich Germany.

From left to right: Fritz, Sylvia, Karl, Mark, Hanna, Galen, and Bruce. 

The Haslers rented this big house in the Schwabing section of Munich next to the Englischergarten. From there the kids commuted to school and University by streetcar. Note the boys are all wearing German military type hats.

Figure 46: Haslers, Snow, Kunigundenstr 55, Munich, 1955.

Another view of a Hasler classic

Figure 47: Bruce, Karl, Fritz, Nash, Snow Storm, Munich, 1954

Big snow storm at our house at Kunigundenstr 55 in Schwabing covered our big Nash automobile.

Figure 48: Haslers and Kublys, St Nicholas, Munich 1954

The Kublys were friends from Madison, that came to visit us in German.

Sylvia remembers: “Our German Christmas was the delight of our lives. Mother was in her element. We had a tree with real candles on it (see next Figure) that year in Munich, and a real St. Nicholas came to our home and recounted our failings, admonishing us to be better before December 25. Mother discovered Advent's wreaths (see Figure 50). We burned dozens of red candles, attended Christmas oratorios, and enjoyed the beautiful many-colored Christmas decorations and marzipan (figures made of almond paste). The Christmases of Mama's childhood, as portrayed valiantly by her immigrant parents, were resurrected by a delighted Hanna and truly celebrated at  Kunigundenstrasse 55”

Figure 49: Haslers, Munich, Christmas 1954

Notice the real lighted candles on the tree referred to in the quote above by Sylvia

We went all out with a big tree, not like the skanky ones we usually got at home in Madison Wisconsin.

Figure 50: Adventskranz, swimming sardines, von Frisch book, Munich, 1954

On the back left we see an Adventskranz (wreath) referred to in the quote by Sylvia in the Figure 48 caption. It's Christmas so all the 4 candles have been burned already (and one removed) The swimming sardines and book are most likely Christmas gifts from the von Frisches.

Figure 51: Fritz, Karl, Munich. Christmas, 1954

I am assembling a model house to go with the Fleischmann HO Gauge electric train that we got for Christmas. You can see the engine and a few cars on a short piece of track on the table.

Figure 52 Conditeri, Munich, 1954

In the Conditeri (pastry shop) window we see numerous Christmas treats and figures made out of Marzipan (almond paste). Also see the ad suggesting that you try a special order christmas stollen (special fruit cake), Hanna would bake up to 50 Stollen for friends at Christmas back in the States.

Figure 53: Galen, Mark, Sylvia, Hanna, Tante Minna & Berta, Munich, 1955

Galen & Mark's tenth birthday  January 24th

Granny's younger sisters, mother's Tanten (aunts) Berta and Minna were visiting from Hannover.

They are the older sisters of Willi (see Figs. 42 and 43 above)

They came of age about the time of WWI. With all the boys fighting in the war and so many killed, they never married.

As with Onkel Willi, Granny and Eveline visited them about 1931. Hanna and the other Prusses in the US sent them CARE packages after WWII when times were so tough for them.

Figure 54: Mark, Galen, 10th Birthday, Bobbing for Apples, Munich, 1955

Figure 55: Galen, Willie Sachs, Sylvia, Fritz, Spitzingsee, 1955

Spring 1955: This was my first real experience with skiing which would become one of my great loves later in life. Spitzingsee was a little ski resort in Bavaria (Southern Germany) in the foothills of the Alps. However, it had a real chairlift that took us a distance up the mountain. I had no idea how to ski, so I spent some hours falling my way back down the mountain. Willie was an ex-competition ski racer that we knew from the Mormon congregation in  Munich

Figure 56: Karl Spitzingsee, 1955

We haven't seen this one in 60 years. I didn't know Karl was such a good skier already at age 7.

Probably actually at the nearby skiort (ski resort) Sudelfeld Wendelstein 

Figure 57: Sylvia, Spitzingsee, 1955

I don't know, who's the better skier, Sylvia or Karl

See the skiers behind going up a rope tow

Probably actually at Sudelfeld Wendelstein 

Figure 58 : Hanna, Galen, Art, Fritz, Spitzingsee, 1955

Probably actually at Sudelfeld Wendelstein 

.

Figure 59: Jürgen Detig, Fritz, Munich, 1955

January 1955: This is me, in drag, dancing at a Fashing Party (German version of Carnival/Mardi Gras) with Sylvia's German boyfriend.  I don't think he ever got over the fact that she went home and married Gilbert shortly after our return to the U.S.

Figure 60: Haslers, Kunigundenstrasse 55, Munich, 1955

Figure 61: Haslers, Kunigundenstrasse 55, Munich, 1955

Our official Germany Portrait

Figure 62: Hanna, Mark, Galen, Lauterbrunnen, 1955

Switzerland: Probably en route to Italy on our spring vacation trip from Munich

Figure 63: Hanna, Enzian Flowers, Switzerland, 1955

Figure 64: Sylvia, Fairy Ring, Switzerland, 1955 

Figure 65: Hanna. Swiss Chalet, 1955

Figure 66: Sylvia, Fritz, Bruce, Mark, Karl, Grossglockner Austria, 1955

Figure 67: Art with Professor von Frisch, Munich, 1954.

Art takes a Fullbright professorship in Munich and brings the whole family of eight to Germany for a year. Karl von Frisch was dad's sponsor for the professorship and dad worked in von Frisch's lab at the University of Munich during the year.

von Frisch was the Nobel Prize winning honey bee researcher that Art had met in Austria in 1945. The von Frisch's children said they would have starved to death if Art hadn't smuggled food to them right after the war. By now, Art had figured out that salmon find their way back to their birth stream, using their sense of smell. At this point he was trying to find out how the salmon find their way in a huge ocean, back to the mouth of the correct major river. Navigation using sun or stars?

Figure 68: von Frisch, Brunnwinkl, 1954

Professor von Frisch in his family home in the tiny village of Brunnwinkl Austria on Wolfgangsee

von Frisch abandoned his home in Munich during the War and moved back to his family home in Brunnwinkl Austria on beautiful Wolfgangsee to avoid the heavy bombing of the city. Art found him here when he looked him up when he came as part of the Strategic Bombing Survey in 1945. Art shared his food and cigarettes with him when the family was starving and kept up the relationship, with Hanna sending food at first, then helping von Frisch obtain chemicals and scientific equipment that were not available in Europe right after the war.

Figure 69: Karl, Karl von Frisch, Family, Brunnwinkl 1954

Karl Hasler with the von Frisches. Karl Hasler's namesake was Karl von Frisch.

von Frisch daughters Leni Pflüger and Maria are spinning and sewing. Leni's husband was killed on April 1, 1945 fighting the Russians, barely one week before the end of the war.

Figure 70: Hanna,von Frisches, St Gilgen - Wolfgangsee. 1954

Figure 71: Art, Braemer, Homing Tank, Madison, 1957

In this picture, Art is talking to visiting scientist Wolfgang Braemer about the homing tank shown in the picture at the lab on Lake Mendota in 1957. I remember dad having a similar tank in Munich in 1954, but it was indoors and he used lamps to simulate the sun.

Figure 72: Gertie, Fritz, Sylvia, 55 Kunigundenstrasse, Munich, 1955

Gertie is Onkel Willi's daughter (mom's niece) who came down from Berlin to visit us.

Figure 73: Jürgen. Deftig Family, Hasler Family, Hiking at Fischbachau, 1955

Figure 74: Sylvia, Kitty and Detig daughter in Dirndls, Fischbachau, 1955

Figure 75: Hanna, Sylvia Detigs,  Kitty, Fischbachau, 1955

Frau Detig (Murmila), Holle Detig, Hanna, Sylvia, Kitty von Kralik in Dirndls

Figure 76: Haslers and Detig's at Fischbachau, 1955

Figure 77: Hanna & Boys, Aachen Krumbein, Europe 1955

Figure 78: Galen, Bruce, Karl, Mittenwald, 1955

Hasler boys in front of the violin maker statue on the town square of Mittenwald in Bavaria just south of Munich. Mittenwald was in a valley next to a spectacular mountain rock face.



Figure 79: Hasler Boys at Montecatini, 1955

On a spring school vacation trip to Italy

Figure 80: Sylvia, Hanna, Galen, Hotel Pool, Montecatini, 1955

On our spring trip to Italy.

Figure 81: Hasler Family at Pisa_1955

Hasler's at the leaning tower of Pisa on our spring trip to Italy

Bruce is carrying one of dad's Leica 111c cameras that were used to take most of the pictures in this blog.

Figure 82: Leica 111c, Leica M3, and Pen F cameras.

Art liked compact, mostly German 35 mm cameras. He started shooting Kodachrome color slides about 1940 with the Leica 111c.

Most of the pictures in this blog were taken by a Leica 111c in the upper left of this picture, like the one Bruce is carrying in the previous figure. The Leica M4 was introduced in 1954 which he may have already purchased. That would explain why Art's Leica 111c was not used for Figure 81.

He upgraded after the Munich year to a Leica M3. He always carried and used a light meter. Later he used an Olympus F as shown above.  He took his photography very seriously.

Figure 83: Hasler's, Statue of Neptune,  Florence, 1955

Hasler's at the Piazza Della Signoria in Florence on our spring trip to Italy

Figure 84: Botticella Venus Uffizi Gallery, Florence, 1955

On trips like these the Hasler kids learned to appreciate European medieval towns, romanesque, gothic, and baroque architecture, and the great art galleries of cities like Florence Italy. I specifically remember seeing this painting in the Uffizi.

Figure 85: Gold Doors,  Baptistry, Florence, 1955

Figure 86: Haslers, Leaving Munich, 1955

August 1955: Karl, Mark, Galen, Bruce, Fritz, Sylvia, Hanna, Art. This is taken in the backyard of our Munich home just before we returned from Germany. Note that Bruce, Karl and I are wearing lederhosen (leather shorts). I think Karl's are the same ones that I wore as Pinocchio for the Randall Grade School play when I was five. Also note that each of us (except Galen) is wearing a giant pretzel on a lanyard around our necks.

Figure 87: MS Berlin 1955

We returned home on the Norddeuscher Lloyd Lines: MS Berlin.  

MS stood for Motor Schiff (Motor Ship). The MS Berlin was powered by huge diesel engines that we saw on a visit to the boiler room. The journey was rough and everyone in tourist class with us was sea sick. One time we sneaked into the first class section of the ship and peaked at the indoor swimming pool. Water was fiercely sloshing back and forth because of the rough seas.

Figure 87:  Fritz's December 1955 Christmas Card sent out back home in Madsion of us Leaving Kunigundenstrasse 55, Munich, July 1955