Edith's diary

I read in my motehr‘s  diary, that the family went for winter vacations in the Fichtelgebirge. Edith had fallen while skiing and her foot hurt.

When she came back to Karlsbad, it was still not better. The doctor found nothing serious, but Edith insisted that her foot was broken. The foot should be examined more closely.

Good visible from the Hotel Hopfenstock , on the other side of the river Tepel, was the „Alte Wiese, the most expensive Promenade in Karlsbad. There, the spa guests promenaded  from the Sprudel to the Hotel Pupp, looking into the showcases of exclusive shops and salons and occasionally buying  something.

The “Alte Wiese” was of course pedestrian zone. But that was exactly where  Edith wanted her foot to be  x-rayed in  a swanky medical clinic. So the chauffeur drove her over with the car and claimed that he had to transport a seriously ill client.

IIt turned out that the foot was not broken after all.

 

 

Meine Mutter erzählte in ihrem Tagebuch, daß die Familie zum Wintersport in das Fichtelgebirge fuhr. Edith war beim Skifahren unglücklich gestürzt, ihr Fuß schmerzte. Als sie wieder nach Karlsbad kam, war es immer noch nicht besser. Der Arzt konnte nichts Ernsthaftes feststellen, aber Edith behauptete, ihr Fuß sei gebrochen. Der Fuß sollte genauer untersucht werden.

Vom Hopfenstock aus gut sichtbar, auf der anderen Seite des Flüßchens Tepel, befand sich die „Alte Wiese“, die teuerste Promenade Karlsbads. Dort spazierten die Kurgäste vom Sprudel zum Hotel Pupp, wobei sie sich die Schaufenster der exklusiven Geschäfte und Salons anschauten und gelegentlich auch etwas kauften.

Natürlich war die Alte Wiese Fußgängerzone. Aber genau dort wollte Edith ihren Fuß in einer mondänen Ärztepraxis  röntgen lassen. So fuhr sie der Chauffeur mit dem Auto hinüber und behauptete, er habe eine Schwerkranke zu transportieren.

Es stellte sich heraus, daß der Fuß doch nicht gebrochen war.

Carefree Childhood

Two years later after Edith was born, Anton Fritz Funk  entered the world. The new heir would one day step into his father's footsteps, and make everything what the parents and grandparents had built up, even more beautiful and better.

But it turned out quite differently

The two children, Edith, and Fritz had a carefree childhood. Actually there were three children who were inseparable. Cousin Ernie was either with the siblings in the hotel, or they were at Erni‘s home  in Giesshübel. In In the off season in winter, the puppet theater was set  up; Gisela had brought with her enormous many matching scenes and figures from England .

Aunt Lotte, who was an actress  in her heydays, participated with enthusiasm in the puppetry.

She had an incredibly thick dachshund. She strapped a leather belt around his waist with wheels so that he could move . Although the animal was so fat, she called on it constantly to still swallow down some more little bites. Except for the puppet theater she was not  acting anymore, but she had kept the laurel wreath from  better days,. She liked to cook. If a recipe like stew called for laurels as a spice, she plucked a few bay leaves from her wreath and gave them into the dish.

The family spent the holidays on the Baltic Sea in Graal or in  the Mediterranean, in Grado.

On the Baltic Sea there was a shop, in which the children were allowed to browse and buy something. Hans had agreed in advance with the owner of the shop, what children were allowed to buy. He painted or wrote objects on a sheet of paper and folded it. The children could now draw on the paper like a deck of cards. When the children recognized the object, they could buy it with their "paper money" and take it home.

Graal

Zwei Jahre später kam Anton Fritz Funk zur Welt.

Der neue Erbe würde einmal in die Fußstapfen seines Vaters steigen, und alles, was die Eltern und Großeltern aufgebaut hatten, noch schöner und besser machen.

Aber es kam ganz anders.

Die beiden Kinder Edith und Fritz hatten eine unbeschwerte Kindheit. Eigentlich waren es drei Kinder, die unzertrennlich waren. Cousine Erni war entweder bei den Geschwistern im Hotel, oder sie waren bei Erni in Giesshübel.

In der Nebensaison im Winter wurde das Marionettentheater aufgestellt; Gisela hatte enorm viele dazu passende Kulissen und Figuren aus England mitgebracht. Tante Lotte, die in ihrer Glanzzeit Schauspielerin war, beteiligte sich mit Begeisterung an dem Puppenspiel.

Sie besaß einen ungeheuer dicken Dackel, dem sie einen Lederriemen mit Rollen um den Bauch schnallte, damit er sich weiterbewegen konnte. Obwohl das Tier so fett war, forderte sie es ununterbrochen auf, doch noch ein kleines Häppchen hinunter zu schlucken.

Außer beim Marionettentheater schauspielerte sie nicht mehr, aber den Lorbeerkranz aus besseren Tagen hatte sie aufgehoben. Sie kochte gerne. Wenn ein Rezept wie Beuschel Lorbeeren als Gewürz verlangte, zupfte sie ein paar Lorbeerblätter aus ihrem Kranz und gab sie in die Speise.

Die Familie verbrachte die Ferien an der Ostsee oder in Grado am Mittelmeer

An der Ostsee gab es ein Geschäft, in welchem die Kinder einkaufen durften. Hans hatte vorher mit dem Besitzer des Geschäftes vereinbart, was die Kinder kaufen durften. Er malte oder schrieb Gegenstände auf ein Blatt Papier und faltete es. Die Kinder durften nun an den Papieren ziehen wie an einem Deck Karten. Dann liefen sie damit zum Geschäft. Wenn sie den Gegenstand erkannten, durften sie ihn mit dem „Papiergeld” einlösen und mit nach Hause nehmen.        

Efficient Gisela

1914, when Gisela was eighteen years of age, she gave birth to my mother Edith. Despite loosing a big chunk of his estates, grandfather Anger gave Edith a nice little villa in Neurohlau as a gift for baptism.

Karoline Anger,  Baby Edith , Gisela, Anna Funk

Mausi (Edith Funk)

Gisela became an efficient partner in the hotel business.  Right in the early morning she went with chef- cook Fritz, called Uncle Pips, buying  fresh fruits, salads, vegetables, flowers and everything else what was fresh on the market.
Asparagus and special flowers llike orchids, carnations or roses  were flown in from Nice.
Later, when the dining rooms opened, she sat on an elevated podium and had one last check at the food , before the waiters rushed into the hall to serve the meal to their guests. Uncle Pips put together several menus: cold plates, chicken in aspic, pates, lobster, caviar, oysters, tongue, smoked salmon,  steaks, roast pork, beef -or pork-olives, „Rehrücken“,“Tafelspitz“ with horseradish, casseroles, various sauces and mayonnaises were not missing.
Before the meal you could order a soup in a cup with anchovy bread, for dessert different  creams, wine jelly, tutti frutti and cakes. 

Uncle Pip's specialty was baked ice cream. And of course a selection of the best wines, liquors, foreign and domestic beers at every meal were included.

 

Onkel Pips

Hotel staff app.1918



Festive Dinner app 1920

Gisela war achtzehn Jahre alt, als sie meine Mutter Edith 1914 zur Welt brachte. Großvater Anger schenkte Edith zu ihrer Taufe eine kleine Villa in Neurohlau.

 

Gisela wächst in den Hotelbetrieb hinein. Gleich in der Früh fährt sie auf den Markt und kauft mit Onkel Fritz, Onkel Pips genannt, frisches Obst, Salat, Gemüse, Blumen  und was es  sonst noch alles frisch auf dem Markt gibt, ein.

Spargel wird von Nizza eingeflogen.

Später dann, wenn die Speisesäle geöffnet werden, sitzt sie auf einem erhöhten Podium  bei einer Flügeltüre die sich zwischen dem Kücheneingang und dem ersten Speisesall befindet und überwacht alles: wie sich der Speisesaal füllt oder leert, ob die Kellner auch nett und adrett angezogen sind. Jeder Keller, der aus der Küche kommt, reicht ihr einen Zettel mit seinem Namen und den Speisen, die er gerade aus der Küche balanciert. Sie wirft noch einen letzten routinierten  Blick auf das Essen, dann eilen sie in den  Saal, um die Mahlzeit ihren  Gästen zu servieren.

Onkel Pips stellte mehrere Menues zusammen, kalte Pastete, Geflügel in Gelee, Rehrücken und andere Arten, Kaviar, Austern, Zunge, verschiedene Mayonnaisen und geräucherter Lachs durften nicht fehlen.

Vor dem Essen gab es Bouillon in Tassen mit Sardellenbrötchen, als Dessert wurden die verschiedensten Cremes, Weingelle, tutti Frutti und auflauf angeboten.

 

Onkel Pips Spezialität war gebackenes Eis. Selbstverständlich gehörten die erlesendsten Weine , Liköre, ausländische und inländische Biersorten zu jeder Mahlzeit.

 

Hans Funk falls in Love with Gisela Anger

But back then, in 1912, when Hans was twentyfive years of age and his journeyman years came to an end, he went to look for a bride. He did not have to walk far. Just around the corner.

On the other side of the City Theatre stood  the Hotel Anger. Anton Anger, the owner of said hotel had invited his friends to a festive dinner in honor of his daughter Gisela. She had just returned from England. 

After dinner, the band played dance music. Hans called on Gisela  as often as possible to dance with him.  He fell in love with her on the spot. And he wanted to marry her right away.
The next day he asked  formally Anton Anger for the permission to marry his daughter Gisela. For the  old Anger this could only be right, so came one chunk of money to the other.

Aber damals, 1912,  im Golden Zeitalter Karlsbads, als Hans 25 Jahre alt geworden  und  von seinen Wanderjahren  in den Hopfenstock zurückgekommen war,  ging er auf Brautschau. Weit brauchte er nicht zu laufen. Bloß um die Ecke.

Auf der anderen Seite des Stadttheaters befand sich das Hotel Anger. Einmal lud Anton Anger  zu  Ehren seiner ältesten Tochter Gisela, die soeben aus England zurückgekehrt war.

Nach dem Dinner wurde zum Tanz aufgespielt. Hans forderte Gisela so oft wie nur möglich zum Tanz auf. Er hatte sich auf der Stelle in sie verliebt. Und wollte sie auf der Stelle  heiraten.

Am nächsten Tag hielt er formell bei Anton Anger um die Hand seiner Tochter Gisela an. Dem alten Anger konnte dies nur recht sein, so kam ein Batzen Geld zum anderen.

Hans und Gisela Funk

Hans Funk Journeyman Years

My maternal grandfather Hans Funk was born  in the  home of his mother Anna. Anna was already forty two years  old, she was not a young mother any more. Meanwhile, she had become a competent business woman who was instrumental  in the planning and execution of the new Hotel Hopfenstock.

Thus Hans grew up with his siblings and servants.

Hans Funk in the middle

Hans Funk in Mozart Costume, frame made from Geysir sediments

I think my grandfather Funk was already as a child very serious and responsibly.

Once he wrote in my poetry album

Handle weise, handle recht,

wer sich nicht selbst befiehlt

bleibt immer Knecht.

Act fairly, act right,
who cannot command himself
will always be knight

 

 

 

Yes, according to this principles, he was always proper and decent, he was distinguished, he was the respected  „Herr Hans".

He regulary  wore a suit or frock coat, a white shirt and always a tie. A striped shirt or even a T-shirt would have been unthinkable!

His parents had destined him to take over the Hotel business.

He attended the well known “Lausanne  Ecole Hoteliere" -hospitality school- in Switzerland.

And then began his journeyman years, where he learned and worked in prestigious hotels across Europe, acquiring  simultaneously language skills.

His learning years took him to the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, one of the finest hotels in the world, where the aristocracy and diplomats would meet. A passionate relationship between him and the manager of the Hotel, Mrs. Anna Sacher developed. As a farewell gift she gave him the original recipe of the „Sachertorte“. Sacher cake is passed down only to the immediate family and  baked only on very special occasions.

Building boom 1870-1900 in Karlsbad

A building boom started: the small houses were demolished. The old and middle class houses in the Rococo, Neoclassical, Empire and Biedermeier style were  gradually torn down as part of the impressive reconstruction of the city during the years 1870-1900.

In its place were modern and comfortable furnished buildings created with the character of a city that became the most famous spa town of Europe.

The row of houses which the Funks bought,   were also replaced by a huge hotel complex made up of five buildings. There were two adjoining five-story houses in almost the same height. Due to the already rising Theatergasse  only a three-story house was built next to it.

In the rear part of the property  were two other buildings which stood probably always there, they were used as storerooms, ice- and wine cellar.



Hotel Hopfenstock vor 50 Jahren und 1908

On the ground floor in one of the five-story houses was a wall that had always been moldy and smelled of horse manure. It was said that  it was a remnant of the former stables of the Thurn and Taxis Post. Whatever had been tried, the mold did not go away. My grandfather had the wall propped up and replaced with entirely new material, but the mold remained. It will probably still be there today.



Pass on history before nobody remebers any more

Karlsbad

When someone in my new homeland Canada asks me, where I originally came from, and I answer  „from Karlsbad“, people want to know, „and where would we find Karlsbad on a map?“ Then I have to say,“ a Karlsbad in Sudetenland does not exist any more, it‘s currently called Karlovy Vary and is located in, again I have to consider: is it in the newly founded state of the Czech Republic?

Yet  was I born 1939 in Karlovy Vary, a world-famous spa town at that time, in our own Hotel  Hopfenstock.

I had kept a box full of documents that I wanted  to read and sort out. It was high time for me to deal with this project.
I was thinking of creating a little more order in the box: create small piles:a  genealogical tree;  photos, ID cards, resumes, transcripts, evaluation letters, official notices and letters, so many letters! The oldest letters and postcards were written in cursive. I found a great many letters from me, which I had largely written to my mother, also letters from my children were in the box.

The more I traced my family roots back, the more I found people of whom I have never heard before. This was my clan, our family. I understood that my ancestors, as well as my children, were a part of me, that we were never alone and never would be isolated.

And that we can knit the time, but never be able to unravel.

By the way, my first language is German, my second English. Please excuse mistakes, I try my best to avoid them.

One of the first to record the oldest Karlovy Vary legend about the discovery of the geyser known as the Sprudel by Charles IV was the renaissance physician Dr Fabian Sommer, a native of Karlovy Vary. In his book on the use of Karlovy Vary's waters from 1571, he relates the story thus:

It is said that Charles IV once went hunting in the woods, in the hilly areas and valleys where now the hot springs do bubble up. The woods in this place were full of game.

During the hunt, one of the hounds started to run after an animal. Whilst following it, the hound fell into a pool where hot water does now burst from the ground.

The hound began to howl in pain. The hunters ran to the hound, believing it to have been wounded by the animal it had been chasing. The marvel which they saw amazed them greatly. They stepped closer, pulled the hound from the pool, and then tasted of the hot water which had so distressed the hound.

The entire event was reported to the Emperor Charles IV, who then went in large company himself to marvel at this singular wonder of nature. In the presence of his physicians, the wise ruler said that such hot water may drive off many grave ailments, and that it was beneficial and invigorating. Then he himself used the water (it is said that he had an afflicted leg), and sensed assuagement and improvement. The ruler was overjoyed at this, and soon gave orders that the whole place be settled, and that around the springs, houses be built.

Ornament made from Sprudelstein