Tram Tuesday - Munich, Germany

Munich's first horse-drawn trams were operating in 1876. By 1895, electric cars started replacing the horse-drawn cars, a process which was complete in 1900. There are still streetcars in Munich today, although the emphasis on developing the underground U-Bahn and S-Bahn systems has been greater in recent decades.

The first cards shows trams crossing the Ludwigsbridge. You can see that the front car was closed, while the rear car was open. It's also interesting to see people pushing carts along the street next to the trams. There are also some horse drawn carts, but no automobiles to be seen anywhere.

Here's a close-up.

 

The second card doesn't show any trams, but instead a full view of the city. The card was sent the same year it was printed, 1899.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

The first card was bought at the Cafe Odeon, where it was probably also written by the senders as they sipped coffee and ate Kuchen in early May, 1910. They sent the card to Bertha Deschamps, who lived (or worked) on the beautiful rue St. Honoré in Paris. The card indicates that the address is at the location of a shop, although a look at Google maps suggests that there are (and were) apartments above. Back in the 1870s, when C.B. Black wrote tour books for Paris and surroundings, he listed this address as a shop where one could buy ribbons.

The card is written in German, but I would guess it is not the sender's native language. The handwriting, with the exception of the second signature, doesn't look German at all, and the phrasing is a little awkward. The message reads:

Dear Miss Bertha!

Best thanks for your news. Letter follows real soon. I am still at Lenbachplatz. I was overjoyed that your wish was fulfilled. You are certainly far out now. Greeting from your Emilie Cloeter, next to (__?_) Ernst Cloeter

The second card was sent to Miss Senzi Guggemos c/o medical Doctor Kock in Zürich, Switzerland in 1899.