After a weekend of sightseeing, orientation and jet lag recovery, we finally got a chance to head out to the Berlin-Lichterfelde Bundesarchiv after a wholesome breakfast at our hotel. While the archive is located on the outskirts of the city, we chose to go to this particular archive first, as it is supposed to house the largest collection of data of all the Bundesarchiv locations. Before we left the hotel, we also spoke to a Herr Ludwig at the Bildagentur fur Kunst, Kultur and Geschichte on the phone, to find out whether they had a copy of or information on the photos Johann Friederich took of the crown prince at the opening of the Suez Canal in 1868. Herr Ludwig took down the details, and promised to email me back by the end of today.
To reach the Lichterfelde archive, we took the S-Bahn to Sundgauer Strasse station, and from there caught bus 184 which dropped us off right in front of the archive building, where I nearly got run over by a bicycle again, as I'm still looking in the wrong direction for oncoming traffic! At the entrance we were given tags and keys to enter the building, after handing over our passports, and from there proceeded to the archive on the other side of the premises.
Unfortunately, here we received our first blow of the day: the researcher told us that the records they have do not go back far enough to find Johann Friederich or Josefine on the system. After making a phone call, she gave us the address for the Standesamt I in Mitte, Berlin, where they might have some information for us on Johann Friederich. The Standesamt apparently keeps information on German citizens who lived abroad - and they could have Johann Friederich in their records, as he lived both in Egypt and South Africa before returning to Germany. We decided that we will explore this avenue tomorrow to see what it turns up.
As we exited the building, my mom's foot caught the side of a wheelchair ramp, and having her hands full with notes and papers, she had no way to stop her fall. Within seconds blood was gushing out of her finger, elbow and knee, which had made contact with the ground first. Having my own hands full with tissues to try to stop the spate of hay fever that had overcome me on the way to the archive already, I wasn't in a position to break her fall either. What a sorry pair we were - this was not a good start to our research!
On our return to the hotel, and after we had stopped off at a pharmacy to pick up some plasters and disinfectant, I checked my email and saw that I had received the following message from Herr Ludwig:
"Dear Ms Mulder,
thank you very much for your mail. I am afraid we do not hold this photograph or, as far as I can see, any others by Johann Friederich (Fritz) Meissner."
Strike two! This is proving more difficult than I anticipated. Will all of our efforts lead to dead ends? Will we ever be able to unravel the story of my great great grandfather and Josefine's lives? The answers remain to be seen in the upcoming days of our trip. We have booked an extra night at the hotel in Berlin and plan to travel to Wroclaw in Poland on Wednesday, if all goes well (better than today, at least!).
According to the weather report, tomorrow will be another scorcher, and the local news channel told of an outbreak of a bacteria-born illness that has caused 14 deaths in Germany in only two weeks, with thousands falling ill and contracting permanent kidney damage. The report warned people to avoid raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, which, as luck would have it, was exactly what we had for lunch! Before casting any further doom and gloom on our trip, I will sign off with a reminder to myself to maintain a positive attitude for the rest of our time here. We're on an adventure into the past, after all!
To reach the Lichterfelde archive, we took the S-Bahn to Sundgauer Strasse station, and from there caught bus 184 which dropped us off right in front of the archive building, where I nearly got run over by a bicycle again, as I'm still looking in the wrong direction for oncoming traffic! At the entrance we were given tags and keys to enter the building, after handing over our passports, and from there proceeded to the archive on the other side of the premises.
Unfortunately, here we received our first blow of the day: the researcher told us that the records they have do not go back far enough to find Johann Friederich or Josefine on the system. After making a phone call, she gave us the address for the Standesamt I in Mitte, Berlin, where they might have some information for us on Johann Friederich. The Standesamt apparently keeps information on German citizens who lived abroad - and they could have Johann Friederich in their records, as he lived both in Egypt and South Africa before returning to Germany. We decided that we will explore this avenue tomorrow to see what it turns up.
As we exited the building, my mom's foot caught the side of a wheelchair ramp, and having her hands full with notes and papers, she had no way to stop her fall. Within seconds blood was gushing out of her finger, elbow and knee, which had made contact with the ground first. Having my own hands full with tissues to try to stop the spate of hay fever that had overcome me on the way to the archive already, I wasn't in a position to break her fall either. What a sorry pair we were - this was not a good start to our research!
On our return to the hotel, and after we had stopped off at a pharmacy to pick up some plasters and disinfectant, I checked my email and saw that I had received the following message from Herr Ludwig:
"Dear Ms Mulder,
thank you very much for your mail. I am afraid we do not hold this photograph or, as far as I can see, any others by Johann Friederich (Fritz) Meissner."
Strike two! This is proving more difficult than I anticipated. Will all of our efforts lead to dead ends? Will we ever be able to unravel the story of my great great grandfather and Josefine's lives? The answers remain to be seen in the upcoming days of our trip. We have booked an extra night at the hotel in Berlin and plan to travel to Wroclaw in Poland on Wednesday, if all goes well (better than today, at least!).
According to the weather report, tomorrow will be another scorcher, and the local news channel told of an outbreak of a bacteria-born illness that has caused 14 deaths in Germany in only two weeks, with thousands falling ill and contracting permanent kidney damage. The report warned people to avoid raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, which, as luck would have it, was exactly what we had for lunch! Before casting any further doom and gloom on our trip, I will sign off with a reminder to myself to maintain a positive attitude for the rest of our time here. We're on an adventure into the past, after all!
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