The darkness of the night had a different quality back then compared to what we know, as we are accustomed to our excessively illuminated cities. Even with a full moon, it would have been difficult during that time to move around at night, and we would certainly feel insecure. We would then more easily understand the dissatisfaction of the capital's residents with the police and gendarmerie's inability to protect them from burglaries and night thefts.
Something similar happened with the water supply, which was inadequate and in many parts of the city nonexistent, creating problems both in daily life and in agriculture. Knowing that most people had to go to the fountains and carry water to their homes, and that in the summers the water shortage led to disputes and beatings, we more easily understand why the queen's garden was not received with enthusiasm but instead provoked feelings of anger and resentment.

This book approaches the Otto era from another, unknown side, as it turns the reader's attention not to political or diplomatic history but to the daily life of the people. The text is divided into chapters, and the reader can easily distinguish those that interest them the most.

Cultivation and market, clothing and grooming, music and festive events, cafes and confectionery, countryside and inns, transportation and telegraph, education and schooling, tradition and attempts at technological modernization, epidemics and quarantine, traditional medicines, medical science, and many other aspects compose a fascinating panorama, simultaneously offering a wealth of documented information about the era.