Our Last Day - Cologne

It is time to say good-bye to the ancestors in the room. It has been an honour sharing this place with them.

We eat our last breakfast with Christel and Peter. Maria phones to say good-bye. Werner is home today, so we say good-bye to him on the phone as well.

Today is May Day in Germany. It is officially a holiday and most people are taking a long weekend. Fritz-Peter has to work today, but he and Brigitte come down to see us off.

A few last pictures in the garden - packing the car - lots of big hugs from Fritz-Peter and Brigitte - last photos - Fritz-Peter and Brigitte on the steps - David and I getting into the car. It has been so great getting to know them.

And a long, last look at the house that my father built - the house that holds so many memories of him.

On our way to the autobahn, we drive through the village of Dahlem. Peter wants to see if there are any May trees on the houses.

One of the customs in Germany, which we learned about this week, is that young men who want to court a sweetheart, cut down a small tree and decorate it with coloured ribbons. Then, in the middle of the night of April 30th, they attach this tree to the house of the intended sweetheart.

When we were still at Christel and Peter's the night before, the young man across the road from them, and his friend, had each decorated a tree and hidden it in the garage. David had gone over to speak to them, and asked them what it was all about. We never did find out how the girl knows who the tree is from - who her suitor is. Each tree had different coloured ribbons. There must have been some sign of who had put up the tree, but we couldn't see it.

This morning, David had noticed out of the bedroom window, a May tree attached to a house up on the hill - but it had different coloured ribbons from the ones across the street. Not his girlfriend then.

No May trees anywhere in the small town of Dahlem. Peter is very disappointed. We pass Fritz-Peter and Brigitte's favourite restaurant. Soon we are on the autobahn, heading for Cologne.

Christel tells me about the time she and a friend, who was 75 years old at the time, walked to Cologne. It took them two days - they had one overnight stay on the way there. It is at least 80 km. to Cologne from Stadtkyll - I can't begin to imagine walking that far! I can barely make a couple of kilometres. But then she is my older sister, so maybe there is still a chance....
No, I don't think so.... They did take the train back home, though.

I have only been to Cologne once, that I remember - well, that does not count the two times I have been in the train station. My mother once told me that I had been on a ferris wheel in Cologne. I have no memory of that.

In 1993 we went to the Dome (Cathedral) with our good friend Kurt Seinsche and his wife. Kurt had been in the Aachener Soldaten Chor, in the Bundeswehr, and had been to Brantford several times. Kurt had also taken me to find my birthplace in Dabringhausen, Grosse Leder - now known as Wermelskirchen. Kurt himself was born in Wuppertal, not far from Wermelskirchen.

We had a wonderful tour of that area with Kurt and Ursula, his wife. I remember going to the place my mother had worked - I don't know for how long - called Maria in der Aue. It is now a retreat for the Catholic Church, but in those days was an orphanage or a hospital. My mother worked in the kitchen. I have a picture of my mother and me in the courtyard there - I was four months old. I just remember that when Kurt, Ursula, David and I went into that courtyard, I new instantly that I had been in that place before - the feeling was so overwhelming.

But I digress.

Peter takes the exit for Cologne - it is like going through a series of smaller towns or villages - lots of trees, lots of green space.

We get to Iris and Jan's - they are not home, but Christel has a key. Iris and Jan and the girls are out enjoying a bike ride in the fine weather. Christel and Peter have brought some of the lunch along, so we take it upstairs. David and Peter take a short walk.

Iris, Jan, Charlotte and Lilli return - the girls look quite grown-up with their bicycle helmets on and they are so excited to see Christel - Oma. But where are Peter and David? We see them at the corner, looking up at something. They stay there for some time. We wave from the balcony... they still stand there.

It turns out that there is a medical emergency on the third floor of an apartment building and the emergency services are evacuating the sick person using a firetruck lift.

When Peter and David return, Charlotte entertains - first with a reading from her favourite story book, then with a piano concert - singing and playing her favourite Christmas and Easter songs - much improvisation! How delightful! I look at Charlotte - she is almost three years old - the same age I was when I left Germany. Will she remember this day?

Jan prepares lunch and Iris instructs Charlotte in the fine art of setting the table. Charlotte does a great job, setting all the places. Lilli waits in her high chair, anxious to eat. What a wonderful, close-knit, warm family!

Lunch is delicious. What more can I say?

After lunch it is time for a rest. Lilli goes for her nap - so do Peter and Jan. Iris tries to get Charlotte to rest. Christel and I enjoy the view of the garden. There are lots of bright, colourful flowers in bloom already. We bask in the warm sunshine.

The naps do not last long - at least not Lilli and Charlotte's, so it is out onto the large balcony to play in the sand box. Sand everywhere! Christel and I keep sweeping...

Once sand starts to drift into the living room, it is time to tidy up and go for a walk in the park, where there is a large playground and more sand. We are quite a procession - Oma Christel, Opa Peter, Jan, Iris and the girls, and David and me bringing up the rear. We are not the only ones. There are many families walking in the street, in the park, in the playground, along the waterway in the park. You would never know you were in such a large city. I feel very comfortable, very much at home here.

Much too soon it is time to go back to Iris and Jan's. We watch Charlotte practice a few turns on her new bicycle.

Time to move the luggage from Peter's car to Jan's car, to say good-bye - Jan is going to drive us to our hotel. There are a few tears in the eyes - saying good-bye to this family I have just begun to know, this family I want to embrace with all my heart.

But I also know it is time to go home, to the family who awaits there - who are a part of this whole.

The Mercur Hotel is not far from the Rhine River - and not far from the airport. Jan helps us carry our luggage up to the room; we thank him - more hugs.

We have arranged with Karl-Heinz (AKA Charly) and his mother to meet us at the hotel to say good-bye. Charly, without whom this visit may never have happened, or at least not happened so quickly, was there on the first day of the visit, and now will be here at the end.

Charly and his mother, another Charlotte, arrive right on time. We share the photos on David's computer with them. They are delighted to see how the two weeks went - I get homesick for Stadtkyll already as we quickly scan through the pictures.

We find a little bar along the Rhine River to sit and drink a small beer, and watch the ships go by. There is lots of traffic on the river - cruise boats, freighters, all plying their trade up and down the river. It is a wonderful way to end the day.

We say our farewells to Charly and his mother. They still have quite a drive home. Charlotte would like to come back for a visit to Canada once more. Maybe we will see her in Brantford again.

Then it's time to check the luggage once more - pack and re-pack, making sure that nothing goes into the hand-luggage that is against the strict air regulations. Lay the clothes out for the morning - we will have to get up very early - and we are off to bed for a short sleep, then home.