25 - Dinner Menu - 8 June 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile was on her way to visit her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslavkia. She had crossed the country by train, from Oregon on the Pacific coast to New York on the Atlantic coast. The Europa, a ship with the North German Lloyd ship line, was carrying her across the Atlantic.

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Some of Grandma Cecile's souvenirs from this trip were menus from meals onboard the ships. She had only one saved from the trip going to Europe. If she saved more than that, they are gone. If she did save them originally, perhaps she gave them to her siblings. Or perhaps she was being thrifty with space in her suitcase, and didn't want to have to lug them all around Europe. In any case, only one survived from her journey east. There are more from her trip back home.

Here is the dinner menu from Monday, June 8, 1936:

front cover of  the menu

On the top of the front cover, "Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen," means "North German Lloyd, the ship line. "Bremen" may refer to the home port of the North German Lloyd, or possibly to the other ship that was very similar to the Europa.

Underneath the print of a sailing ship, "Meerestille" translates to "Calm At Sea".

Inside, the menu is written in German on the left side and in English on the right. Courses are divided into categories of Hors d'Oeuvres, Soups, Fish, Meat Dishes, From the Grill, Salads, Cold Dishes, Vegetables, Potatoes and Sweets. Children could have shredded wheat with cream - presumably very small children. Apparently if you were still hungry after 10 pm, you could still order tea and sandwiches. No one should have gone away hungry with that menu!

Inside: German on left, English on right

Some menu items sound delicious - Roast Sirloin of Beef with Gravy, New Stringless Beans & French Fried Potatoes. On the other hand, Calf's Kidneys on Toast with Water Cress might have been for the more adventurous appetite, especially if the sea was rough!

Below the menu is the ship name, date and "Tourist Class". First Class must have had a different menu. Last, there is an advertisement for the Olympics. "The entire management of the "Olympiad Village" in Berlin for the Olympiad sportlers is in the hands of the North German Lloyd". "Sportlers" must refer to the athletes.

The back page is blank.

To see the menu, just click on the image.

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Story to be continued......

To read Post "26 - Letters From Betty & Stella - 9 June 1936" Click here

24 - Diary Entry - 8 June 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile was on her way to visit her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslavkia. She had crossed the country by train, from Oregon on the Pacific coast to New York on the Atlantic coast. The Europa, a ship with the North German Lloyd ship line, was carrying her across the Atlantic.

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The first day or two had been quite pleasant, with calm seas. By her third day out, apparently the ocean had changed.

Here is her next diary entry:

Monday, JUNE 8 This morning the sea is pretty high, there will be many that wish they would be home and one of them is I. Not so much fun if the floor gives way and you think you are flying. Many of the passengers use the elevators. I prefer it too instead of walking. There are 3 elevators on this floor; one for baggage; 2 for people.

I went to Mass this morning and received Holy Communion. The Lord is with me, let come what may.

I have 7 dresses with me, but I feel out of place because I ought to have 20 if I would want to dress like many of them do. A different one for every meal and an evening dress besides.

I wish we would meet a steamer, but so far we have not seen any.

O my! Everybody gets pale and complains of not feeling just right. The roses and fragrant flowers fill the air full with the finest perfume. [1] Stewarts [sic] and stewardesses are walking with medicines and eats to the rooms.

I thought I seen[sic] the captain of the ship but it was the first officer. The captain must have 4 stripes around his coatsleeves. The boy on the floor wants to help me so I can see Captain “Ahren”. Our priest has light trousers on this morning.

This morning I was called to the guide. He [2] even wanted to know how much money I was carrying with me. He goes along to Prague.

[1] - Photos in the ship brochures show a bouquet of flowers or potted plant on almost every table, whether in the dining room, lounge or other room. Many stateroom pictures show a small arrangement of flowers on a shelf or desk. From Grandma Cecile's comments, they must have indeed had flowers all around the ship.

[2] - "He" must refer to the Val Peter tour guide, since "he" is going along as far as Prague.

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There is one more bit of entry in Grandma Cecile's diary for June 8. Sr. Agnes did not mention it in her writing up of the dairy. Grandma appears to have been trying to calculate how many miles it was from New York to Bremen. Here is a scan of her notes (to see it up close, simply click on the picture):

calculations on diary page

If you've ever been out on the ocean, you'll understand what Grandma was experiencing when she mentions the "floor gives way". The motion of the waves causes the vessel to rock back and forth, so walking becomes difficult until you get your "sea legs". Sometimes the floor just is not where you expect it to be!

Of course, this also can cause sea sickness. It does not appear to have bothered Grandma, at least not enough for her to mention. Some of her sons had no problems with sea sickness. Tony and Florence, "Squeak", often took a small boat out in the Pacific to fish. John, on the other hand, stayed away from boats. He did his fishing from shore at the ocean, lakes and rivers. Gus fished, too, but I don't remember if he ever got sea sick.
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Story to be continued......

To read Post "25 - Dinner Menu - 8 June 1936" Click here