My most unique experience in Germany was my trip down the Harbor of
Hamburg, for strangers are absolutely forbidden near the docks, and
foreigners poking around are arrested. My trip was made just by chance.
An American girl and I took a trip up to Hamburg Christmas week last
year. I was offered letters of introduction to people there, but I said
we didn't want them, that we were going only for fun, and we didn't
want to be bothered by meeting strange people. I had been in Hamburg
once several years before, but neither of us knew much about the place.
The first evening, or rather afternoon--it was dark at four
o'clock--that we were there, we started out for a walk. We went through
St. Pauli, the famous sailor quarter, where in times of peace the
sailors spent their time when their ships were in port. As this was
Christmas week, the shooting galleries and side-shows were open, but
the places were not crowded, as it was too early. Only a few soldiers,
sailors and children were walking about the place.
One place had a figure of a soldier in the window. He was stepping into
a room where a woman was holding a little baby in her arms. On a card
was printed what the soldier was saying, "Excuse me, young man, but I
would like to make your acquaintance. I am your dad."
[Illustration: _Sailors Learning to Do a Washing in the Seamen's School
at Hamburg._]
We branched off the main street of St. Pauli and went up a side street.
It was pitch dark, and the streets were not well lighted. At the end
of this street we came to some steps at the bottom of which was a
foot-bridge that led to the water's edge. In the distance on the other
side of the water was what looked like a great city of lights. We both
held our breath when we saw this place--it looked like New York when
you cross on the ferry. And ferry-boats were shooting all over the
water. Great iron beams with regular rows of lights on their sides made
them look like sky scrapers.
"It's New York! It's home!" cried my excited companion.
Great crowds of workmen--hundreds, thousands of them--were coming up
the foot-bridge. They had come over on the ferry. I had my geography
all mixed up and I said, "That is Altona over there. Let's go down and
take a ride on the ferry and pretend that we are landing in New York."
[Illustration: _The Sailors' School for the Merchant Marine._]
We hurried down the narrow foot-bridge. The men that were hurrying
up bumped into us. At the foot of the bridge was a ticket place. An
elderly man in a blue uniform was standing beside it. We rushed over to
him and asked, "Are we allowed to go over to Altona on the ferry."
[Illustration: _Vegetable Market._]
He looked at us and then laughed and answered us in English: "That is
not Altona. That is the great Hamburg docks. Where do you want to go?"
We told him that we did not know where we wanted to go, but that it
looked so much like New York that we wanted to ride over.
It was a bitter cold winter night between Christmas and New Year's, and
if he thought that we were either crazy or spies he never let on.
"Have you passports?" he asked.
We showed our papers, and he told us that if we promised to stay on the
boat and to come back to him he would let us go. We promised, and he
wrote our names, our Hamburg, Berlin and American addresses, our age
and religion in a book, and he told us to buy a ticket.
The round trip cost five pfennigs, and the old man escorted us to the
ferry and talked to us until the boat was ready to start. He said
that night and day 15,000 men were employed on the docks, and that
besides all the men coming over on the boats many more came over
through a tunnel that ran under the water. He said that they were
building many boats, and that the "Bismarck" would be the largest boat
afloat--55,000 tons--and that the "Tirpitz" would be 32,000 tons, and
that so far during the war there had been made a total tonnage of new
boats of 740,000 tons and that 100,000 tons were under construction.
Then he told us about the school for sailor boys at Finkenwerder where
boys were being trained as sailors, not for war but for the merchant
marine after the war. I said that I thought this was certainly very
enterprising.
[Illustration: _Goulash Cannon Factory._]
I did not realize what a wild night it was until our boat got started.
The ferry tipped up and down, and the wind was like a knife. Boats were
scooting all over the harbor, and we had a time to keep from bumping
into things.
A boy of about twelve years was attending to the landings. He was a
tough little kid, and he smoked one cigarette after another. And how
he could swear! We wanted to ask him some questions, but neither of
us had the courage. But finally he came over to us and almost blowing
a puff of smoke into my face he said: "He is an old cab-driver and a
_Schreihals_, and I hate him." He pointed to the pilot.
When our boat came to the second landing it slid under the end of a
great black thing that hung over us. "That is the 'Imperator,'" said
our sailor boy. It had been raised up out of the water to keep it from
rotting, and this made it look bigger than ever. Some of its port holes
showed lights. Just back of the "Imperator" the boy pointed out the
"Bismarck." What a monster it was! It was all lighted up with electric
lights. We could see workmen moving around on it, and we could hear
the click of their hammers. The "Tirpitz" could hardly be seen. It lay
beyond the "Bismarck" and the pelting snow blinded our view.
We passed all sorts of boats, cruisers, torpedo boats, supply boats,
and steamers. I have never seen such a busy place as that harbor.
[Illustration: _The Crowds in the Hamburg Exchange._]
"You are foreigners," said the boy, "and the old boss on the docks
doesn't allow foreigners out here. But I suppose he saw that you were
girls and you wouldn't know much. We have got to be careful of spies.
We have arrested twenty already. The last one I spotted myself. He was
drawing a plan on a paper. I can tell you nothing gets by me. I can see
you two are harmless."
We made a circle around the harbor. When we came near the cruisers,
coming back, one of the biggest ones broke loose from the group and
began to move slowly away.
"Do you see that?" said the boy, "she is going out again. She has been
here for three weeks. She has been in many a fight. I can tell you she
is a devil." The boat had but a few lights showing, and in a minute she
was lost in the darkness.
On our ferry coming back were several hundred workmen. They were not
cripples but big strong men. When we got off the dock at St. Pauli they
all jumped off and ran. We ran too, for we were nearly frozen stiff.
The old man in blue was waiting for us, and with chattering teeth we
thanked him and told him how much we had enjoyed our trip.
"Wouldn't you like to come in and get warmed up a bit?" he asked and he
took us into a little office where a great fire was burning. He talked
to us about America. I think he must have been a mate on a steamer.
[Illustration: _View of a Grain Storage at Hamburg._]
It was just six o'clock when we ran up the foot-bridge. A boat-load
of workmen ran up with us. At the top we stood a minute and looked
out over the harbor. A sea of lights! A bay of boats! More workmen!
The old man in blue had said: "We are getting ready for the Hamburg of
to-morrow."