Meeting Susanna or Sanni

Today is the day scheduled to drive to Prüm and meet my oldest sister, Susanna, or Sanni, as is her nickname. Sanni had a stroke about a month before we came to Germany. She is at home now, but still recovering.

We begin the day with some household chores - laundry and shopping. On the way back to Christel and Peter's, we stop at the cemetery. This is David's first visit to this quiet place, and by now, I can show him the way to the graves of the members of my family. David takes lots of photos. In one photo of my grandfather's grave, he unknowingly captures the image of both of us in the reflection off the gravestone. Just a bit spooky!

Around noon hour, the sirens of ambulances, fire trucks, as well as the firehall siren begin to wail - and continue wailing for some time. We call Fritz-Peter at the newspaper and ask what is going on. There is a major truck accident and chemical spill on the highway we were to take on the way to Prüm. The highway will be closed for some time.

Of course, that does not stop us from our planned visit to Prüm. Besides, Christel has to take Eileen to her riding lesson, which is not far from Prüm.

The detour around the accident site - and it is an extensive detour - allows us to see another part of the Eifel. I am still astounded by the many shades of green on the hillsides, and enjoy the view immensely.

We drop Eileen off at her other Oma's place, then drive to Sanni's. Sanni, and her husband, Hugo, have a lovely home overlooking the town of Prüm. Sanni comes out to meet me - it is another very emotional moment. Earlier in the month I was not sure when, or where I would meet Sanni as her recovery was not going as quickly as she had hoped. Now she walks straight and tall, and we share a very big hug!

Christel has organized that Maria and her husband, Menn, will drop by briefly so that we can take a photo of the four sisters. Maria and Christel have also not seen Sanni since her stroke, so it is a kind of reunion for all of us.

During her brief visit at Sanni's Maria tells me a short story about our father from when he was a boy. Apparently he and a friend found a dead bird. They decided that the cemetery was the appropriate place to bury it. The custom at any burial in the cemetery was that the bell in the small chapel was rung. So the boys rang the chapel bell and the people in Stadtkyll wondered who was being buried that day. When the parents found out what the boys had done, of course there was "Pech" - that lovely word again.

Christel leaves to take Eileen to her lesson and will come back to pick us up. Maria and Menn hurry home to be there when Werner comes home from work. This gives us precious time to visit alone with Hugo and Sanni.

Sanni has baked the Kuchen - and it is delicious! Hugo serves the coffee, as we look at lots of photos - hers and mine - and exchange stories from the past. Sanni tells me that she really knew nothing about me until late January of this year. She is very warm, very comfortable to be with, and I savour this moment.

We don't want to tire Sanni on this our first visit. Christel arrives take us back to Stadtkyll. Sanni will come to see us at Christel and Peter's home next week, so we will see her again.

The road is still closed, and we have another lovely long drive through the Eifel. Christel points out the remains of the defences which the German army built before the start of the second world war to try to prevent the tanks of the Allies from entering the region. It was called the West Wall, and our father had been involved in the building of the Westwall in the Stadtkyll area. The West Wall - a series of bunkers and buried concrete, anti-tank structures - turned out to be totally inadequate as a defence when the allies pushed through. You can still see stretches of the West Wall structures from the road in many places.

We stop just outside Stadtkyll at a small, private chapel where Fritz-Peter and Brigitte were married. No one seems to be caring for the chapel anymore. What a shame!

In the evening, Christel and I look at old photos. Christel shares more stories of our father at the end of the war, stories of both her mother and father. Another day rich with old stories and old memories, while we begin to create new memories for both of us.