I don't know what in my DNA or childhood experiences inclined me toward this pleasure, because most of my sisters and brother are not travelers, or at least not happy travelers. I know that my Father was a love-to-be-at-home person. It always made me wonder how strong the motivation must have been for him to move from Germany with wife and 3 kids to start all over in Canada. He returned to Stuttgart once in 1963 to visit his Dad.
My Mother never went back to Europe after the transatlantic immigration in March 1954. From what I have gleaned of her childhood and early adulthood, she was an enthusiastic participant in family excursions and later in travels with other adults. After Dad died in 1995, I offered to take her back without her having to worry about any of the arrangements, but she said it was too late for her (72 years old). She did, however, eagerly watch all the pictures and videos of my travels, right down to the Norway trip in March 2018. She loved to hear about new places and experiences, but only saw them through the eyes of others for the last half of her life. Especially this trip, when I was around Stuttgart, I wished that she and I had made that trip and she could have told me all about the places she had been and the people she had known. I got more of the pictures and stories of some of those people when I visited with Franz, Inge and Johanna, but Mother would have had a lot of history from the other side of my family.
Many people make collection -- spoons, fridge magnets, tea towels, shells, coffee mugs, etc. etc. I collect places, some of which I have known the names of all my life, and others which I have only just met. I used to believe that with organization, anything is possible. I delight in planning train and plane schedules: the joy of the trip starts with the anticipation. The Europeans have an integrated travel grid so that getting around is timely and predictable, and now with the internet, it is so easy to make bookings. The line-up at the ticket office in Strasbourg was 35 people long. I stepped outside into the station, made the booking on my phone and downloaded the ticket. No waiting.
Particularly joyful is when travel brings me together with people that are important to me. I had not seen my cousins in over 30 years and now we have reconnected and they are thinking of coming to visit. Rhonda and I pick up where we left off the last time -- my best friend. And now, it is off visit Richard, Jennie, Tova and Rowan. Despite being in the same city, I never got to really know my Oma. The poor woman died when I was about 9, but 15 childbirths and the stress of family had so worn her out, that all I remember is an old lady sitting around. So, I am trying to be the Oma that has fun with the grandkids and shares experiences with them so they will remember who I was, when I am gone.
While I am able, I will pack the suitcase!!
Oma=fun
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