A step further back in family history

Our Grandfather was a gypsy!  No, Johanna and Franz weren't making a statement on his nationality (he was German) but rather his disposition.  It blew me away.  I guess that blood skipped the whole next gerneration because all the Lochers I know were the quiet, stay at home, type.  Growing up my siblings and I could never figure out how strong the motivation must have been  to get Dad to pack up his young family and move across the ocean to a place where he knew very few people, did not speak the language and didn't know the customs.  Anyway, Father Locher (and grandfather was always referred to by my Mom) packed up his machinery and animals every few years and moved on to be a lease-holding tenant farmer in a new spot.

Today we visited Neresheim where the family took care of the Count von Thurn und Taxis' fields around the convent of Neresheim from 1908 to 1924.  My Dad was born there in 1912.  His early schooling was probably by the priests of the Benedictine order.  The church was restored in 1999 and is a spectacular example of Baroque architecture.  With many tiers of windows and a white interior, it is an incredible light worhip space with beautifully painted ceiling frescos. Sorry, no phtos allowed inside.

The fields and local hotel and restaurant on the premises are  now in another tenant's hands and we had a delightful lunch. I enjoyed a steamed dumpling with plum filling and vanilla sauce.

On the way back to Stuttgart we stopped in Aalen where Franz and Inge's older daught lives in a beautifully restored house from the early 1900s.  Ian was delighted to converse with an english speaking home owner where he could ask all those questions about living in Germany, taxes, mortgages, etc.

Around Stuttgart

Stuttgart is where I was born.  Specifically, it was on the second floor of the inn 'Neuwirtshaus' in the suburb of Stammheim.  As I write this blog, I am sitting in the upper floor of the hotel Neuwirtshaus in the north-west suburb of Stuttgart.  Now, it is not the same Neuwirtshaus where I was born.  That one burned and was eventually demolished, but the new hotel was built in the same style on the same location.  There actually has been an inn here since the 15th Century.

So today, Ian and I was treated to a city tour by my cousins Franz and Johanna, accompanied by Franz's wife, Inge.  It was supposed to be on the hop-on-hop-off bus, but, thanks to a planned "Friday Future' demonstration downtown, the bus was cancelled for today.  Instead we walked and rode the transit system all around the area.  We saw the Christmas Market, but didn't investigate as we are doing many Christmas markets next week.  Instead we strolled though the palace place, visited a church with gorgeous modern windows, ambled through the market,  took a tram up to the communications tower up on the hill overlooking the city (no pictures as it was raining and foggy), took a geared tram ride back into town, walked through the spectacular modern library and enjoyed dinner at a sports restaurant -- sorry, no TVs and multiple games, this restaurant is beside a soccerfield.  The wearers of Fitbits couldn't decided whether we had walked 9 km or 12 km, but it was lots.  A very good day!

Putting together pieces, November 27, 2019

Although I have only been home for 4 nights since the Mexico trip with Joanna and the kids, I managed to get to some of my regular activities -- specifically, Stained Glass class yesterday morning.

There was no half-finished project to complete, so I stood over my glass area on Tuesday morning and wondered what to do.  There was a container of green glass pieces which beckoned to me and I thought --Christmas Tree.  The tree is my dearest symbol of Christmas and I love decorating our tree with the lovely and the 'memories' ornaments.  The glass certainly would  provide the tree aspect, but I had to think of what could be the decorations.  Aha -- I have a box of single earings, the mates to which have been lost.  Don't ask why I saved them as I didn't plan on wearing mismatched earings, but this was the perfect project.

So at glass class, I assembled the pieces into a tree, my jigsaw experience coming in handy.  It came together quickly with a minimum of grinding necessary.  Then I started on the decorations.  I managed to attach a few earings, but had to finish at home this morning.  I totally melted one silver starfish in trying to attach it to the top of the tree, so a rhinestone from another earing had to serve as topper instead.  One large gold dangly leaf became several pieces of garland.  I managed to attach a sand dollar and the silver filigree 'tassles'.  The result is unique and not meant for anyone but me.

This trip is putting together some pieces of my childhood which I don't remember, so it is much like the tree --putting together the pieces and decorating it with leftover bits.  It promises to be unique too.

Spoiled

I admit it, I am truly spoiled.  In this case, I am referring to my bicycle.  The lovely little green two-wheeler which waits for me at home, was made by Hugh Black and is one of his True North bikes.  It has my name on it and more importantly, it was built to fit my body (with one arm longer than the other -- who knew?), and designed for my riding style (no more drop handlebars).  It has components which meet my needs and with its S and S couplers, can be taken apart to fit into a suitcase as big as one of the wheels.  Unfortunately, the airlines got wise and started charging huge amounts for bicycles, so now the most travelling it does is in the back of my car.

Since being here, I have had the bike on the boat -- a step through, very heavy 7 speed which performed well; the rental bike in Freiburg on which I did the 95 km (not a comfortable seat);

and here where Jennie has generously loaned me her bike --also a step through with a very handy basket and three speeds.  It is perfect for riding around town and amazing for grocery hauling.

But I miss my bike, which, more than any other bicycle I have ever been on, is a delight to ride!

Hanging out with family

Make no mistake, I love new and exciting adventures, but what really gives life its contentment is hanging out with the people you care about.  Fortunately, this trip has provided opportunity for both, so that makes it really fantastic.

The latest aspect of this, is hanging out with Richard, Jennie, Tova Elise and Rowan.  Richard works as a teacher and administrator at the largest middle school here in Gavle, Jennie is a researcher who just got back from Italy, Tova has just started Montessori first grade and Rowan is now a senior at the daycare.  They have busy and ordered lives, which I am blessed to share for a while.  So, I have made supper for the kids, and put them to bed; worked in the flower garden; helped around the house a bit, all the normal stuff.  But we have also done crafts, played games, gone out to lunch and walked by the sea, gone biking and today we helped at the cleanup day for the cross-country ski club which Tova and Jennie frequent.  It was washing cupboards and cleaning windows and painting fence sections -- normal things done with a great group of people.  They are all the things that make life good.  A mother is delighted when her kids have good lives.

The Plant Mystery

Those of you who have been reading my blogs for a few years, have undoubtedly heard/seen the amazing rhubarb that grows in Jennie's garden.  I was never sure if it was the variety or the soil conditions -- Jenn said that she never fertilizes the stuff.  However, needless to add, it is ENORMOUS! Sorry I couldn't find a picture, but the stalks are truly the width of my forearm. 

Anyway, I was working in the garden today and now I have made a very interesting discovery.  It is not just the rhubarb which is mutant, look at the plant to the left of my size 9 running shoes -- it is one dandelion.  I have never seen anything like that!  My hypothesis is that there is something in the soil/area which has long been forgotten by the people, but not by the plants!

Yes, I positioned the picture to also show the rhubarb, which, in September, is still going strong.

Travel Junkie

It is Thursday morning at 9:30 and I am sitting at Arlanda airport outside of Stockholm waiting for my train at 10:42 which will get me to Gavle at 11:46.  My 6:20 am flight from Basel actually left the gate early and we arrived here about 25 minutes before the 9:10 advertised time. 

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!!