Day Five: Friday, May 12th, 2017
Today was a different day altogether. The main mission was to see Hilde in the nursing home. Hilde (pronounced “Hilda”) is Bernie’s oldest sister-in-law. She was married to Hans, his older brother. Hans died in 1990 and she has been “alone” all these years. A couple of years ago, she was stricken with some sort of disability. She cannot speak anymore and swallowing is becoming more and more difficult. It is important for us to spend some time with her this trip. It may be the last we see her.
She looked very good laying in her bright and cheery room. The German nursing homes are so well kept. There are no odors. They are immaculately clean…and the “guests” as they are called, are treated like royalty. Hilde’s hair was coifed and clean. Her room was filled with flowers and it made us feel better about her circumstance. Apparently, the six children each come and visit one day a week. The closer ones come more often. But they spend time with her…reading, talking, etc.
When we go back, I’ll take the German music I brought and sing a little bit with her. Anne told us that when we go this next time, we will let them know ahead of time what we want to do, and they will bring Hilde and others out to the gathering space. Yikes! I may be singing for more than just Hilde!
Michael came over this evening and we took off. He’s got the phone situation taken care of and now I have internet through Jurgen upstairs. So, we’re all wired for sound again. Michael, Bernie and I went out to a little “Imbiss…” An imbiss is a little restaurant where one can get a little “bite” to eat. We had bratwurst and German French Fries (that sounds funny, doesn’t it?). No ketchup. You eat them here with German mayo. Yum!
After the little bite to eat, we drove around again. It is SO LOVELY here in the Spring. We’ll get some shots of the hedgerows for you and send them with the next installments of the Tagebuch.
Tonight, around the den table, we ended up having this amazing conversation about Church, theology, intellectual dishonesty and the need for the Church to embrace the Science and real history that folks know today. Michael served as interpreter/translator and did a lovely job. Jurgen was really engaged and Bernie just ate it all up! Anne even joined in. It was VERY lively.
In the meantime, they found out that I like to work jigsaw puzzles. Apparently, Jurgen has had this rather large puzzle he has been wanting to work. It isn’t very big…just 9000 pieces. It will be the size of the whole table plus about half more! And they just happen to have a puzzle board large enough to accommodate it. More later as that unfolds! Wow!
As we sat there together, Jurgen went and brought some Cuban Rum. Oh, dear heaven! I don’t care for rum, but this was the smoothest and tastiest I’ve ever had. It wasn’t drippy sweet like so much Rum I have tried. It was like a refined cognac…delicious. We had four…even Anne joined in. Aloys threw his hands and went to bed. He hasn’t quite adjusted to house guests yet. He’ll get there!
Well, that was Friday…more tomorrow. It will be full of family…Florian is coming up from Osnabruck for the weekend and we have dinner with Peter and Petra tomorrow night. Pete is Anne’s little brother (14 years younger!). Then, Sunday we will spend the morning at Birgit’s house in Vechta for MuttersTag and then Sunday afternoon with Cordula in Cloppenburg! It will be a busy weekend.
Monday, we will go to Badzwischenahn during the day and then Michael has gotten tickets for a concert in Oldenburg for that evening! Love to Everyone!
Saturday, May 13th, 2017
Wow! Today, we got to spend time with Florian. If you remember (or don’t know), Florian is Margret’s grandson…Bernie’s grand-nephew.
After a breakfast with Michael joining us at Anne’s house, we drove to Cloppenburg where we used to stay when Margret was alive. (She died in 2014.) You can take a peek if you’d like at https://www.cloppenburg.de/.
We drove to Manuela’s and Lothar’s home on Stoerweg Street. Manuela is Margret’s daughter and a lovely woman. She has a philosophical brain. Her husband Lothar, is in banking with some regional job that takes him all over the place. They are Florian’s parents. Oh, it was so good to see all of them together. And, I’ve noticed that the German family members who have visited us in the states feel “closer” to my heart than the others. But anyway, there was lots of hugging…then coffee and talking…and talking and talking.
As we left, we took Florian with us for a little meandering. Along the way, he and I talked of heavy things…theology, politics, and of course, his studies in economics. He is working on his bachelor’s thesis right now. Along the way, our twenty-three year old passenger got hungry…two very long legs to keep filled up. So, we stopped off in Schneiderkrug at the Grill. On past trips, we’ve always taken the boys there for bratwurst and German French fries. So, that’s what we did. He commented on his good memories of our previous visits. He ate…we had dinner to look forward to…
When we were done, we took Florian back to Cloppenburg to his girlfriend’s house. Her grand-parents are celebrating their 50th anniversary…which is done in a VERY BIG WAY over here. And then, we were off to Langfoerden to Peter and Petra’s house for dinner.
Peter is Anne’s little brother, although “little” isn’t the right word. He is a very TALL German. He is younger by 14 years. There, we enjoyed the company of his lovely TALL blond wife Petra, Nina, their daughter and her friend Daniel, and Dennis, their son and his friend AnneMarie. Everyone is tall here, so I spent the evening smiling and feeling VERY short. Haha!
Dinner was lovely. Asparagus, cucumber salad, potato salad without onions for Bernie, and grilled meats of several varieties. Everyone ate heartily and Michael enjoyed getting to know cousins he doesn’t see very often.
Drinks were poured with great freedom. I had an orange drink of some kind. It is alcoholic, but pretty light. It was mixed with real orange slices and all the ladies seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. It was beer for the guys until Peter brought out the Ramazotti. Karl will probably know what that is, but I’d never heard of it. It is a strong after-dinner drink like Kuemerling…meant for the men. Of course, I was offered some because I have the odd position as being the only woman in the family who can out-drink most of the men and still stay somewhat lucid.
I asked if the custom was the same with the Ramazotti as with Kuemerling (which is, by the way, a rather nasty-tasting herb liqueur). They all laughed and said no. And the men sipped it. I tried it. It was worse than the kuemerling, so I just knocked it back and put my glass on the table. Peter looked at me with big eyes and then started laughing. He asked if I liked it and I said “Nein…es ist drecki…” (That means “No, it is nasty.”) All the guys laughed…and in a little while, he filled my little glass up again. (You know, I always like a challenge…)
Peter took Bernie and me into the old barn where he showed us all the work that Johann (Bernie’s dad) had done when Wilhelm (Peter’s father, Anne’s brother) moved the barn from the house at Spreda to here in Langfoerden. I didn’t realize that Johann had helped, although it makes sense. The beams are old trees (German oak) and will be here long after you and I are gone. He’s done such a nice job converting everything into a work/handy-man’s barn, instead of a barn for pigs and cows and farm necessities. Bernie’s eyes misted over as he looked around. He is realizing now that he is the last of his generation in the family who can appreciate all this “old” stuff…and tell about life “back then” to the young ones…
After two more rounds of Ramazotti, my German was amazing! And it was time to leave. What a wonderful evening of family, laughter, sharing, and remembering!
Sunday, May 14th: MuttersTag and Mother’s Day!
AH, today was “ein wonderbare Tag!” (a wonderful day!) We drove to Vechta ( https://www.landkreis-vechta.de/ ) which is like the county seat of the region where Langfoerden is. There, Birgit and Michael live with their two teenage “children”, Ina und Miko. They are lovely young people. Teenagers are so “grown up” here because they are expected to be. At around 15, each youngster makes up their mind whether they are off to three years of vocational school or to “gymnasium”—which is like a pre-college high school. From vocational school, they are ready for and move right into some career—a backery, a restaurant, a mechanic, a truck driver/mechanic, secretary, etc. From the pre-college, they move on to either a three year apprenticeship (for instance, banking…) and then the university (to major in economics) or right in university (to major in communications, English, teaching, chemistry, etc.). It is a good system. Wish the states would go back to vocational schools and less emphasis on everyone going to college. Not everyone is college material….but everyone can benefit from vocational education.
Anyway, breakfast with Birgit and her family was delightful. She was trained in baking before launching her own cleaning business in Vechta. I can’t remember what Michael (Birgit’s husband, Anne’s son-in-law) does…(not Michael, Bernie’s nephew…he’s in banking, but starting a new IT job at a food-preparation company called Wersing in October). We laughed and laughed and the kids were captivated by Bernie’s antics. Most Germans are much more proper than Bernie. I think most folks find him rather amusing because he is so different than the average bear here.
After Birgit’s, we were off to Cloppenberg to spend the afternoon with my other “fast-tochter.” (That means “almost daughter.” Manuela and Cordula are almost daughters to me. They miss their mother so much…and so do I… And they feel close to me which I treasure very much.)
We shared coffee and a strawberry torte…and some laughter. We also got a wonderful tour of the new house they bought since selling the house where Margret and Helmut lived (and the house where they built on a fabulous upstairs addition complete with Markus’ handy-cabinet making). The boys, Lukas and Tim, are almost grown up now. Lukas has decided he wants to be a semi-truck mechanic and starts his apprenticeship/schooling soon. He’s very tall for his age and very awkward…but so sweet. Tim is very lanky, very long and all legs. He’s only 11 and still “Cute.”
Their new house is amazing. They bought an “old, run-down” house and completely remodeled it. Cordula even bricked in a little cooking space outside…and Bernie was delighted. For her first time, it was remarkable! I see so much of Margret’s “way” in both her girls. I hope Cordula and Markus will come to the USA one day…but the boys will have to be grown, I think.
Agnes and Peter came over while we were there. I do love them so, too. They are Markus’s parents…and Beate, too. Beate is Lui’s sister…the Lui whose father-in-law is Fritz, the gentleman who was a prisoner of war at the same base Daddy was stationed in France. (Of course, ten years apart!) We’ll be over at their house this next weekend, so more about them, later… I will sing the four Volkslied I have prepared for Fritz, then…
Oh, I do love all of you so much and think of you so often. I wish I could pack all of you away and bring you with me. You’d love it, too, and find so much to be fascinated by and so many people to love.
We went back home and sat around a bit. Anne and Aloys had a nice day, too. And then, we turned in.
Monday, May 15th:
Today is a day with Michael. We have had such a good day. He arrived in the morning to find Bernie just getting up. (He’s been sick since we arrived…a rough night Sunday night…) We had a quick breakfast (yes, Bernie does eat over here…) and then took off to get to the bank. We needed to exchange some cash for Euros so we can function smoothly here. The credit card is nice, but there is a 3% international surcharge for using it. It’s cheaper to exchange the cash and pay as we go.
After that, we decided not to drive to Badzwischenahn. That will be saved for another day. (Take a trip there online… http://www.bad-zwischenahn-touristik.de/ )
Instead, we did something just a wonderful. We went to the Museumsdorf Cloppenburg! It is wonderful and there is a lovely website that you can enjoy…here! http://www.museumsdorf.de/
We spent the afternoon there and then had to find a place for dinner before high-tailing it to Bremen for their philharmonic concert. Michael had asked me what I would like to do while here and since there are still concerts everywhere in Europe (cultured music, not rock-n-roll or country) that are accessible, that is what I had suggested. The Bremen philharmonic does these concerts every three weeks. Oh, my! So off we flew after changing …for the concert. Here is another website so you can “see” for yourself and learn a bit about this excellent philharmonic. (http://www.bremerphilharmoniker.de/)
The concert was in a building called Die Glocke. (the bell) Apparently the likes of Herbert von Karajan and other music-notables have tauted Die Glocke as one of the best acoustical concert halls in the world. Having spent a fabulous night there last night, I concur. We sat in the second row, not the best seat in the house for an orchestras, but Michael tried. He’s never been to a concert like this before. Up front is fine for some things, but…I was astounded. The sound was perfect as if we were in the balcony towards the back. The sound was perfectly balanced as we enjoyed an evening of Debussy (L’apres midi d’une faune), Henri Ditelluex (a contemporary composer whose works are quite unique…and this one was his Cello Concerto which was written in honor of Rostropovich…a big WOW!), and Dvorak’s Simphonie 8.
This was Michael’s first concert. He was mesmerized and enjoyed it very much. There was a 20 minute explanation about the concert, the works presented and the musicians which was perfect for him. Even Bernie paid attention! Of course, it was all in German, but I know about programme music (the Debussy), contemporary concertos, and happen to love everything by Dvorak. I was in heaven. Bernie was transfixed and kept squeezing my hand. He was particularly interested in the young conductor. What a wonder he was to watch!
Anyway, we got home about 11:30 p.m. Good night! What a lovely day!