"Die Leute von Wales"

Name of traveller

Franz Brömel (1829-1904)

Reason for travel

  • cultural tourist

Date of travel

undated, ca. 1870s

Die ganze Ortschaft entlang huschten schlummerweckende Arpeggios, und der trillernde Gesang schräger Bierbassos, unmelodisch unterbrochen durch den Todesschrei etlicher Rüsselthiere, welche under des Fleischhauers grimmem Stoßmesser die harmlose Seele aushauchten. Das waren Contraste, die auch der musikalische Gastgeber von Bayreuth nicht mit dem Strahl der Mythe hätte verklären können. (Br[ö]mel 2)

Content

  • clothing:
    • describes the various styles of dress of his co-travellers on the train, among them a bard in a druid's dress and carrying a harp, and a member of the Gorsedd wearing a leek
    • a women's choir in the eisteddfod wears the Welsh costume
  • customs:
    • description of an eisteddfod held in Porthmadog, with notes on the tent, the Gorsedd ceremony, the different types of competitions and the awarding of prizes
    • notes on the great number of harps being carried by the participants
    • general festival atmosphere in Porthmadog pervades long into the night
    • overwhelmed by the music performances
    • describes audience's reactions to various competitors
  • language: notes on the Welsh language and difficulty of pronouncing Welsh placenames
  • literature: reference to the Welsh setting and characters in the novel The Betrothed (1825) by Walter Scott (1771-1832)
  • people: Welsh population described as distinct in their physiognomy from the English
  • recreation: notes that Porthmadog inns and guest houses are overrun by visitors to and participants in the eisteddfod
  • terrain: romanticised description of the landscape surrounding Porthmadog
  • transport:
    • modes of travel: train
    • notes the running of special trains to Porthmadog for visitors to the eisteddfod
  • compare with the author's account of a longer journey through Wales
  • click here to read the full account

Nationality of traveller

German

Language of publication

German

Gender of traveller

Male

Type of publication

essay; report

Citation

Br[ö]mel, Fran[z]. "Die Leute von Wales." Neue Freie Presse (5 July 1879): 1-3. Print.

Entry created: 8 July 2015
Entry last updated: 13 September 2016