On August 3, 1901, Karl had his postmark book stamped with the date from the Taff Vale Railway (TVR) at the Cardiff Docks Station (now Cardiff Bay Railway Station). The (TVR) was an important railway line built to serve the expanding exploitation of the South Wales Coalfield in the 19th Century and became one of Britain’s most profitable companies. When Karl arrived in 1901, Cardiff’s population was exploding due to the export of Welsh coal. At the turn of the century, Cardiff’s docks were handling more coal than any port in the world. There was more traffic in and out of Cardiff than in New York City!

Karl's journey from the station led him to the New Sea Lock Hotel, a mid-nineteenth-century hotel situated adjacent to the sea lock of the Glamorganshire Canal. Constructed sometime between 1840 and the late 1850s, it stood in company with an older hotel, and together, they were fondly dubbed the "New and Old Sea Lock Hotels."

The New Sea Lock Hotel mirrored the design of its elder counterpart. A two-storey structure welcomed guests with a central entrance flanked by sash windows adorned with panels of blue glass labelling the rooms and bearing the name Brains* — the local Cardiff brewery. A proudly displayed sign boldly declaring "New Sea Lock" adorned the central entrance above the door, beckoning travellers like Karl.

When Karl stayed at the New Sea Lock Hotel on Harrowby Street, Cardiff, the innkeeper was Mr. Elias Evans. Born in 1850, Mr Evans lived with his wife, sister-in-law, nephew, grandson, domestic help, and boarders at the Hotel.** Mr Evans wrote in Karl’s guest book, first in Welsh and then in English, as follows:

“Y mae hyn brawf y bod Mr. Carl M. Creelman wedi aros gyd a mi yn jaerdydd ar eu jylchdaith on Byd ar en Jeffye harn yu y New Sea Lock Hotel, yu jymny”

“This is to certify that Mr. Carl M. Creelman has stayed with me while in Cardiff on this tour of the world on his Bicycle at the New Sea Lock Hotel, Cardiff.”

Elias Evans, Welsh with English translation

Welsh is one of the oldest living languages in Europe. It originates from the Celtic language spoken by ancient Britons and evolved into Brythonic. The Welsh spoken in the 12th to 14th centuries, or Middle Welsh, is one that speakers today can understand more or less.

The Welsh language looks daunting to those who don't speak it, but all words are spelled phonetically — pronounced precisely as they are spelled. But the key is knowing how to pronounce each letter:

A single Welsh F is pronounced like an English letter V.
A double F (as in the town of Ffestiniog) is pronounced like an English F.
A single L is pronounced like an English L.
A double L is pronounced like an English L, but you blow air out along the sides of your tongue as you say it.
CH is a heavily aspirated H, pronounced with the tongue back in the throat, similar to the German CH.
The letter Y is an "uh" sound unless it is at the end of the word. Then it's an "ee" sound.
In Welsh, W is a vowel with an "oo" sound. The Welsh word for "bus" is "bws" (pronounced "boos"). The word for "beer" is "cwrw" (pronounced "cooroo").
“Th” is always the “th” of “thing”
“Dd” is always the “th” of “the”
The accent mark ^ elongates the vowel sound
The letters K, Q, V, and Z are not in the Welsh language

Got it?!

I hope so because next week we will explore more of Wales, making our way north to the town with the longest name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. I’ll leave you to practice saying that, dear reader, till then Croeso i Gymru — Welcome to Wales!

*Brains beers have been brewed in the heart of Cardiff since 1882 when Samuel Arthur Brain founded the company. At its peak, the company controlled over 250 pubs in South Wales, Mid Wales, and the West Country.

**The hotel was demolished around the turn of the twenty-first century as part of the wider development of the area.

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