July 17th

 

Three days family-vacation in the Bavarian Forest, the home of both of my parents. This area in Southern Bavaria covers about 1/3 of whole Bavaria. It is hilly with beautiful forests and meadows, a bit like the Shenandoah mountains in Virginia, but still with settlements, villages and farms.

 

 

 

 My mother enjoyed this nature park for hiking and retreats. My father, his 3 siblings and his mother had to build a new existence in a tiny room in the middle of a little village in the hills. The family Brettschneider fled from Silesia as an aftermath of WWII as a part of the million German Gentile residents of the East parts of Germany that went back to Poland. My dad’s father got sick and died short after the arrival and the young widow had to deal with the new refuge situation. Today, my father talks about the hardship of going in the forests looking for food, but he also loves the landscape and likes to return to the hills and forests. We stay in the guesthouse of a brother congregation that also hosts groups. Every day they offer one vegetarian dish and one dish with pork. It is amazing, the catholic German world and its insider mentality!

 I enjoy the surroundings, the meadows that smell so good, all the herbs in fresh cut hay make me lie in the meadow and just sniff.

 

Forests with blueberries in the size of little marbles, but all nature and tasty! We hike routes of my parent’s youth and they hike the hills telling stories of camping and thunderstorms.

As hard the daily life is for them at home, here they enjoy every moment and we even head out after dinner for a sun set walk. I am touched and try to save the good moments.