Preparations for the journey; departure at one o’clock. The children in tears over the dogs! At eight o’clock in Munich, at the Vier Jahreszeiten [1]; a rude waiter, rain. My neckerchief catches fire, and my hair begins to burn; Schnappauf the barber [2], who is accompanying us, extinguishes it.
[1] The Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (today Kempinski) opened on Maximilianstrasse in 1858, complete with marble bathrooms, gas lighting, and 60 stables.
[2] Bernhard Schnappauf (1840–1904), whose profession as a barber encompassed not only hair and beard cutting but also minor surgery, dentistry, and ophthalmology, was a close friend of the family.
Revised English translation by Jo Cousins [© Jo Cousins | WAGNER Salon]