In all ancient, and even recent, travel accounts of Germany, writers complain about the poor management of the postal service, about its sluggish pace, about the discomfort of the equipages, about the rudeness of the postmen. Now, these complaints are a thing of the past. The diligences or post coaches run on a regular schedule, and travel is quite fast and cheap. How much, do you think, did the trip from Frankfurt-am-Main to Berlin cost me in the most expensive seat of the diligence? Sixty rubles! The carriages of Prussian diligences are designed very conveniently; one can get on and off safely and easily. There is enough space, especially in the front cabriolet. If it is necessary to slow down the wheels, the conductor does not need to get out of the carriage; he simply turns a lever handle in the middle of the carriage, and the wheels stop spinning. The best part is that passengers know when they will arrive at each stop, and there are no extra stops along the way. In Italy, for instance, as I have heard, the diligences drive very fast but have the worst kind of harness. The diligence might leave the station at full speed and drive for about two versts, and then it will stop. What happened? One of the traces snapped. Sometimes the coachman will approach a passenger and ask, “Do you happen to have a rope, sir?” What is more, the wait at the stations can be at least an hour. And thus, the travel time will turn out the same: the time gained from the rush of driving will be lost at the stops. The equipage suffers the most. By the color of postmen's uniforms in Germany, it's easy to tell which territory the diligence is travelling through: in the Duchy of Baden, the uniforms are yellow; in the Duchy of Darmstadt, blue with red collars; in the Duchy of Gotha, they are red; in the Kingdom of Saxony, yellow; in Prussia, blue with orange collars; in Bavaria, blue with black collars;