A European Grand Tour Diary—Part 2
In the summer of 1930, Lucy Armstrong Moltz (the original owner of a Lake Toxaway home she named Hillmont, now the Greystone Inn) offered a European Grand Tour to her younger sister’s son, then a young man of all of sixteen.
For two months, Frank Bennett traveled on a whirlwind tour through Europe with his sophisticated aunt, her young daughter (also named Lucy), and a friend of the family, Aline Ward. Fortunately, he kept a diary of the trip.
This is part two of a three-part serialization of his story, detailing the first leg of their inland excursions. If you missed it, check out Part 1 before you go on. In the last of the series, we’ll include the link to his full diary, which features many more images and anecdotes.
P.S. In the coming months, you’ll also see more stories of Lucy Armstrong Moltz and how she is connected to the history of our area.
Part Two
September 1-3 Budapest, Hungary
September 4 En route
September 5-7 Vienna, Austria
September 8 En route
September 9 Munich, Germany
September 10 En route
September 11 Oberammergau, Germany
Budapest Hotel Ritz (one of the “Ritz” franchise projects) opened in 1913 with 120 suites, a reading room, a reception and banquet hall, a winter- and a rooftop-garden, a café, a restaurant, a bar, a barbecue room, central heating, three passenger and four service lifts. In 1916, the luxury hotel went bankrupt in the recession due to the First World Wa; however, in 1913, Mrs César Ritz, Marie, personally supervised the re-opening as Duna Palota (Danube Palace).
Budapest
After a fourteen-hour train ride from their disembarkation in Trieste, Aunt Lucy and her crew were probably more than delighted with their accommodations at the Hotel Dunapalota-Ritz (in the image below, it’s located right on the Danube River, on the site of today’s InterContinental Budapest Hotel).
Young Frank, however, seems to have been a master of understatement, since he wrote simply in his diary that the hotel was “quite nice.” He also notes that lunch was had at the rooftop garden restaurant — which judging by the postcard images below, may have merited more than a mention!
After a days’ rest, the group was ready to explore the city. According to Frank, “We got up at seven o’clock a.m. and had breakfast in the room and were ready to go sight seeing at 9 a.m.”
“The first thing we went to see was the Parliament building. It was very beautiful and interesting, [with] many beautiful paintings…”
Above, the Parliament Building. Below, a painting there, titled “The Conquest of Hungary”
“We then went to see St. Stephen’s Church (pictured above) which is very lovely. From there we went to the Art Gallery which is built on the Roman and Greek style of architecture. We came back to the Hotel for lunch. After lunch we went to a swimming pool where they have electric waves.”
Vienna
Here, the group checked into the Imperial Hotel (“once the home of a duke,” Frank notes; it was, in fact, built as the private palace of the Duke of Wuerttemberg, completed around 1866 and never inhabited by the duke!) It was eventually converted into a hotel for the 1873 world exposition and remains one of the first-class hotels in Europe.
Frank remarks that he and Lucy visited “the Spanish riding academy to look at the horses.” These aren’t just any ordinary horses, though. Vienna’s Spanish Riding School is dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses and today remains a popular tourist attraction.
In Vienna, Aline and Frank toured the Royal Vaults, where they saw the nation’s crown jewels, and also went to see an opera, Fidelio. The group also visited Schonbrunn, the palace outside of Vienna (pictured below) which is home to impressive fountains, statues, monuments, and gardens (and today is Austria’s most visited attraction).
Munich
Aunt Lucy really did know how to travel in style. In Munich for just one night on their way south, the group stayed at the beautiful Regina Palast Hotel.
It’s worth noting that Frank also received a letter from his mother there with this dose of sobering reality: “Had a blow the other day. Billy isn’t going to give me any more money for he is as poor as the rest of us. My income is just about half what it used to be. Also some of my bonds are no good or at least can’t pay the interest which may mean I’ll lose the principal too ($4,000!). It never rains but it pours. I have felt pretty blue but that doesn’t help any. Will just have to buckle down and economize with a vengeance – no more dresses, no more parties, no more anything but the necessities of life. At least we won’t starve and that’s a lot to be thankful for, isn’t it?”
Oberammergau
The travelers next arrived in the Bavarian Alps for the once-a-decade performance of the Passion Play, which did not disappoint.
Frank writes, “We started out for the theater at twenty minutes of eight. The theater was quite large and the shape very attractive. The play began promptly at eight o’clock… with the triumphant entry into Jerusalem and went to the seizure of Jesus in the olive grove before lunch. We were all entranced and didn’t even talk or wiggle much. It was not as cold as we expected and the four hours passed quite quickly. The tableaux were beautiful and the acting in the play was fine.”
“We went back to the house for lunch and at two o’clock we went back to the theater. The play then started with the condemnation by Pilate to the ascension. All afternoon was just as enjoyable as the morning. As soon as the play was over we all went to supper.”
The cover of the 1930 Passion Play program, and a scenic postcard of Oberammergau, which Frank described as “lovely… with pretty little lakes nestled right up in the mountains.”
After a return to Munich for another single night stay at the Regina Palast, the group resumed their touring. Next stop: Nuremburg.
