From Bielefeld we travelled a short distance to stay with my other cousin Marianne and her husband Horst. It is always a good time with these guys – Ross speaks very little German and Horst speaks very little English, but over ‘ein Bier’ or two they spend a lot of time solving the world’s problems. Marianne and I, in the way of all patient women, just look on and shake our heads. Cindy, the black labrador, is an important part of the family and her regular twice daily walks in the ‘Wald’ or woods allow us to appreciate the beautiful autumn colours you see in Ross’s photos.
We also saw their treasured grandson Louis, son of Florian, for the first time and met Florian’s wife, Anneka. Daughter Miriam and her partner Ingo have also spent time with us.
Hasbergen is the village where I was born and on this, our third trip we visited the church where my sister and I were both christened. The pastor was very happy to let us into the church and explain its history in relation to the 1950’s. We also saw the church registers with the christening entries and were given photocopies of our entries. Such a bonus.
In Hasbergen we also visited the graves of my maternal grandparents, Heinrich and Marie Reinkensmeier where we placed a special wreath. Cemeteries in Germany are beautifully maintained but, differently from Australia, the grave sites are purchased for 20 years only. After this time, due to space problems, they will be re-used unless the family purchases the site again.
We also visited several WW11 memorial sites – the central message being peace, learning from history and the acknowledgement of actions and situations that have occurred. It has been interesting to see these developments in the light of our history curriculum.
The autumn colours here in Germany have been fantastic, a bit like a whole country of the Blackheath/Mt Victoria area. Ross has been ever in search of the perfect photo and has taken some beauties. I think I will always remember the colours here – gold, red, brown and green and the smell in the forests. Now, if we had some sun……
Meanwhile we hear that our nephew Ken, has had his thesis for his PhD accepted. Congratulations, Dr Cliff. And happy birthday to Katie in Vienna.
We have also woken to snow here in Vienna this morning - so you might have to keep those thermos on until to get over here. We hope to catch up with you both then.
Katie thanks you for the birthday message - she had a great time in Salzburg!
Safe travelling see you soon,
Dylan and Katie