Foreign Parts
Delmenhorst, near Bremen

Foreign Parts.

Delmdnherst, near Bremen.

After a good rest for a few weeks we made a tour to Oldenburg, Stedingerland, Ammerland, and along the Weser River, the seat of the ancient Saxons, who lived here a thousand years ago under their dukes, and made their exploring and conquering trips to Brittania, to the lands of the Baltic Sea and the far north lands. But before we describe our journey, we must first say something of the local industry of this town and the near surroundings of it.

The Hasbrook is a very ancient forest, in grey antiquity a Druidical oak-tree grove of the old heathen Saxons. There are some few of the giant, thousand years old oak trees left, of enormous circumference, and very deeply grooved, rough bark demonstrates to evidence the fact that these trees have been in existence at times when the Saxon dukes Wittekind and Alboin have been fighting against Carlenoque (Charles the Great) in the years 800 p. Chr.

The village of Hudas we then visited (where at present the trunk-railway lines Bremen-Holland and Bremen-Lower Weser branch off) which contains, in a lovely park, covered under clouds of ivy, the ruins of an old convent. These old massive standing walls hold wonderfully together, and it is said this tenacity is caused by the fact that, while building, into the mortar milk has been mixed, which the farmers in the surrounding district were compelled to give to the monks for that purpose.

The village Stenum, another place on the brink of the ancient high water mark of the Weser River at highest tides (before this gigantic watershed 600 years ago was dyked in) has very interesting old ruins and burial mounds of prehistoric Druidical times; gigantic granite stone seats and stones hollowed out for blood grooves and sacrifice basins, etc. Around here are several burial ash-urns, stone axes, etc., found underground, and deposited in the Museum at the town Oldenburg.

We also visited Wildeshausen, a neat, little, very ancient town, where the Duke of the Saxons, Wittekind, had a castle, of which at present only a mound of earth remains. The town is still surrounded by the wall and moat, but beautiful and very enormous old oak-trees stand where at very ancient times fortification walls and granite towers have been. Near and through the town flows the river Hunte, one of the tributaries of the Weser.

Oldenburg is an old and important town, where the present Grand Duke resides. The population is about 28,000 souls, without the military garrison; but as there are very few factories, the air is more healthy than in Bremen and thriving Delmenhorst. There are at Oldenburg several regiments of infantry, cavalry and artillery exercising, drilling and manœuvring every day in a very interesting, precise, and elegant way. The harmony and discipline appear to be marvellous, and can only be explained by the fact that these troops are not raw hirelings, but all classes of the people are here joined together in a friendly and brotherly way.

The Oldenburg Schloss-Garten, or Castle Garden, contains groups of most majestic and beautiful indigenous North European trees and ornamental shrubs, and a collection of Australian Botanical specimens. After an interview with the Director of these ducal gardens, we promised on our return to Coff’s Harbour to send some better specimens out of our jungle shrubberies. From these ducal gardens we visited the Duke’s Castle and stables, and the different Museums and Picture Galleries are well worth seeing.

The main trunk railway line runs from Bremen via Oldenburg to Holland, and there are some secondary lines branching off as feeders. As the whole territory in these north-west German parts is totally flat, such small railway tracks are easily built. One runs towards Westerstede in the Ammerland, and has created any amount of trade. These lines are immensely popular. There is an enormous fresh water lake hereabout, on shores of which are elegant bathing, and boarding establishments which attract crowds from far and near. On this lake runs a small steamer regularly from Zevischau-Abn to Dreibergen, and among three lovely little hills are splendid gardens, parks and forests, and the hotel near these hills, on the lake, is one of the very prettiest spots we have ever visited.

Via Oldenburg, we went down the Weser River to Berne, Elsfleth, Brake and Nordenham on the left shore, and the entrance of this mighty river into the North Sea. The train runs along the very richest of river and North Sea alluvial flats. The landscape is quite low and flat, and high dykes and flood gates protect it against inundations, and give richest pasturage to the celebrated gigantic Frisian cattle, and a breed of horses of a superior stamp. From here young stallions and fillies are constantly selected, and at enormous prices bought and exported all over the globe. But we scarcely saw here the very heavy Flannish breed of draught horses met with in Australia, and very few racing hacks. The horse of these parts is a splendid coacher of high beauty and elegant action.

In the town of Oldenburg we went to an official horse show, where every year breeding stallions and mares are exhibited, and carefully examined by expert Government men. Premiums are given for the best, and all stallions and mares intended for breeding have to be brought here from the whole Dukedom of Oldenburg. They are especially branded, and registered if they pass examination. And only in this case are they allowed to be kept for breeding.

At Bremerhaven we met with our old Grafton acquaintance Mr. C. Eblers, now a photographer there, who had recently purchased a house. He kindly showed us through the shipping and ship-building wharves, where some enormous trans-atlantic steamers of the North German Lloyd lay in dock, being repaired or altered. These gigantic ships lay like whales in their dry docks. He also conducted us through the Frymarkets-time (or Friefair-time) at Bremerhaven.

The Fair

was very interesting for Mrs. R. to behold. The whole of the broad main streets of the town were lined, on one side only, by thousands of tents, opening on to the footpaths. These tents are full of articles for sale, or side shows. Then, in all the market places are carroussells, or “merry-go-rounds,” of every sort and ingenuity, some with horses and saddles and carriages, others with gondolas and swans, dolphins and devils, brilliantly lit and ornamented; others have flower-decked chariots, and run up and down hill, and others have a turning and swinging motion like a ship in a gale at sea. There were also hundreds of side-shows of every description; giants, pigmies, herculeans, punch and judies, dancing girls, boxing, wrestling, Japanese ladies, and other shows too numerous to mention. We took special interest in a show called the Wild Natives of Australia, where one clumsy Queensland black aboriginal and two cheeky kanakas from the South Sea Islands, dressed like demons, performed wild fantastic dancing, boxing, wrestling, and beastly singing. Their language consisted of English swearing when addressed in English. For Mrs. R. it was altogether new, this old European fair.

We took steamer from Bremerhaven to Vegesack up the Weser River. This big sheet of water is constantly crowded, boats and large and small crafts of all descriptions going in all directions. In olden times this river used to be shallow and enormously broad, overflowing the rich marshy lands frequently. After enormous expenditure, the river bed is now narrowed in very considerably, and thereby deepened to such a degree that the enormously large trans-atlantic steamers of the North German Lloyd can run as far as Bremen, about 60 miles from Bremerhaven, up river. The latest Weser River improvements have cost the German Empire £7,000,000. In the water along the river flats are enormous masses of osier willows growing, the switches of which are used for fascines in the erecting of very ingenious works in securing the river banks against the encroaching influence of the waves. Not only the old lands of the embankments are thus defended, but new big stretches of rich lands are newly reclaimed boldly from the unruly waves of the old muddy Weser River, and even the North Sea.

At the town of Vegesack important shipbuilding works are going on, and there is, like on many parts of Bremerhaven, a terrible noise, dust, and smoke; so we went across the stream to the peaceful Stedinger shore, from where we had a splendid view of the river and the traffic thereon.

We have returned to our old home in Delmenhorst, and noticed all along this our last journey, especially on the high right shore of the Weser, the great damage done to fruit and vegetables by the long-continued drought—from 13th May to 5th September; not more than one inch of rain fell, and terribly hot weather prevailed (in our room often 84 to 86). The grain harvest is by this time all brought in, and the farmers are very content with it, also with the bad crop. There have lately been several heavy thunderstorms here, and several of the plentiful all over these enormous plains scattered, thatched, scooped establishments have been burned down by lightning, and a considerable quantity of hay and grain burned. All the farm houses here are insured under compulsion. There is also a report in the papers that burning moors, heather and pine brushes have done damage.

H. and F. Reick.