I had not much time to spare, so that I could only stay a few days
with my relatives in Hamburgh; on the 26th September, I went in a
little steamer from Hamburgh to Harburg, where we arrived in three
quarters of an hour. From thence I proceeded in a stage-carriage to
Celle, about sixty-five miles.
The country is not very interesting; it consists for the most part
of plains, which degenerate into heaths and marshes; but there are a
few fertile spots peeping out here and there.
September 27th.
We arrived at Celle in the night. From here to Lehrte, a distance
of about seven miles, I had to hire a private conveyance, but from
Lehrte the railway goes direct to Berlin. {57} Many larger and
smaller towns are passed on this road; but we saw little of them, as
the stations all lie at some distance, and the railway-train only
stops a few minutes.
The first town we passed was Brunswick. Immediately beyond the town
lies the pretty ducal palace, built in the Gothic style, in the
centre of a fine park. Wolfenbuttel seems to be a considerable
town, judging by the quantity of houses and church-steeples. A
pretty wooden bridge, with an elegantly-made iron balustrade, is
built here across the Ocker. From the town, a beautiful lane leads
to a gentle hill, on whose top stands a lovely building, used as a
coffee-house.
As soon as one has passed the Hanoverian domains the country, though
it is not richer in natural curiosities, is less abundant in marshes
and heaths, and is very well-cultivated land. Many villages are
spread around, and many a charming town excites the wish to travel
through at a slower pace.
We passed Schepenstadt, Jersheim, and Wegersleben, which latter town
already belongs to Prussia. In Ashersleben and in Magdeburg we
changed carriages. Near Salze we saw some fine buildings which
belong to the extensive saltworks existing here. Jernaudau is a
colony of Moravians. I should have wished to visit the town of
Kotten, - for nothing can be more charming than the situation of the
town in the midst of fragrant gardens, - but we unfortunately only
stopped there a few minutes. The town of Dessau is also surrounded
by pretty scenery: several bridges cross the various arms of the
Elbe; that over the river itself rests on solid stone columns. Of
Wittenberg we only saw house tops and church-steeples; the same of
Juterbog, which looks as if it were newly built. Near Lukewalde the
regions of sand begin, and the uniformity is only broken by a little
ridge of wooded hills near Trebbin; but when these are past, the
railway passes on to Berlin through a melancholy, unmitigated desert
of sand.
I had travelled from six o'clock this morning until seven in the
evening, over a distance of about two hundred and twenty miles,
during which time we had frequently changed carriages.
The number of passengers we had taken up on the road was very great,
on account of the Leipzic fairs; sometimes the train had thirty-five
to forty carriages, three locomotives, and seven to eight hundred
passengers; and yet the greatest order had prevailed. It is a great
convenience that one can take a ticket from Lehrte to Berlin,
although the railway passes through so many different states,
because then one needs not look after the luggage or any thing else.
The officials on the railway are all very civil. As soon as the
train stopped, the guards announced with a loud voice the time
allowed, however long or short it might be; so that the passengers
could act accordingly, and take refreshments in the neighbouring
hotels. The arrangements for alighting are very convenient: the
carriages run into deep rails at the stations, so that the ground is
level with the carriages, and the entrance and exit easy. The
carriages are like broad coaches; two seats ran breadthwise across
them, with a large door at each side. The first and second class
contain eight persons in each division, the third class ten. The
carriages are all numbered, so that every passenger can easily find
his seat.
By these simple arrangements the traveller may descend and walk
about a little, even though the train should only stop two minutes,
or even purchase some refreshments, without any confusion or
crowding.
These conveniences are, of course, impossible when the carriages
have the length of a house, and contain sixty or seventy persons
within locked doors, and where the doors are opened by the guards,
who only call out the name of the station without announcing how
long the stay is. In such railways it is not advisable for
travellers to leave their seats; for before they can pass from one
end of the carriage to the other, through the narrow door and down
the steep steps, the horn is sounded, and at the same time the train
moves on; the sound being the signal for the engine-driver, the
passengers having none.
In these states there was also not the least trouble with the
passport and the intolerable pass-tickets. No officious police-
soldier comes to the carriage, and prevents the passengers alighting
before they have answered all his questions. If passports had to be
inspected on this journey, it would take a few days, for they must
always be taken to the passport-office, as they are never examined
on the spot.
Such annoying interruptions often occur several times in the same
state. And one need not even come from abroad to experience them,
as a journey from a provincial to a capital town affords enough
scope for annoyance.
I had no reason to complain of such annoyances in any of the
countries through which I had hitherto passed. My passport was only
demanded in my hotel in the capitals of the countries, if I intended
to remain several days.
