When I went to the Gymnasium, I had to take the train at five thirty in the morning. School began at eight and normally lasted until one pm, unless we had physical training or stenography in the afternoon. I did much of my homework along the way. In summer we shortened the trip by bicycling to Blízejov and by catching the train there. On the way back we visited our relatives along the way.
In those years my best friend was Anita Krucká. She was two grades ahead of me in the Gymnasium and an excellent student and athletic. She was beautiful and still is, at the age of eighty-seven. With her I sometimes went home on foot, which was faster than taking the circuitous train ride, but was strictly forbidden. We waded in the brook, baked potatoes on an open fire, stole cherries from the orchard that was rented to the owner of a small fruit and vegetable store, played cards with homemade cards with the boys who also commuted.
Source: Wilma and Georg Iggers, Two Lives in Uncertain Times, New York: Berghahn Books, 2006, p. 12