We are all pretty tired, so we agreed today Monday we would take it easy. For me that meant waking up at 7 am, having a cup of coffee, and taking my imaginary Cooper for a walk in the nearby forest. It is a narrow strip of forest between two of the city streets, but it is long and has many trees, so you can really feel you are in a deep and relaxing forest. I also did the daily ritual of stopping at the bakery to buy some Brötchen (breakfast rolls).
When brunch time came I was delighted to have a chance to chat with Anna, Chrissy and Gustav's 30-something daughter, whose life seems to have changed significantly over the last couple years. For one, she has become a health and well-being trainer, and over the last couple of years has been taking classes and perfecting her delivery through seminars. In fact, she is here today because yesterday she led a day-long seminar at one of the local churches, where she rents the hall and works with half a dozen people at a time. She hopes to grow the seminars to 10 to 20 people, but it is not that easy to break into that market, as the most effective way to get recruits is by word of mouth (helped by fliers and some You Tube freebies.
The really big change, however, is that she is in love and she and her marinovio, Jürgen, have set house in a town to the south, almost at the border with Bayern. Together they have concocted a plan that involves buying a rural property of about 40 hectares is Sardinia, the Italian island south of Corsica. They have already made the downpayment, so it is a serious plan. The property has a good number of olive trees and varied fruit trees, some grapevines, and plenty of room for growing vegetables and fruit, which they will continue growing using organic ag methods. Jürgen is excited at working the land, but I warned Anna that he will need a tractor and some workers or he will dig his way into an early grave. The business part will include leasing construction plots to other enthusiasts of organic farming and Mediterranean living. The pioneers will lease the land for 99 years, build their own houses, and live in some sort of commune to pursue happiness and well-being, and Anna will build her own seminar facility so she can continue to offer her classes to Germans needing a sunny break from the cold of the northern latitudes. The farm is about 15 km from the beautiful north coast of Sardinia, so the seminar will be an excuse to stay and extra week and have a nice vacation.
I plan to be one of the first to visit them and will take the opportunity to say hello to my friend Lino in Orgosolo as well!
After brunch Chrissy, Anna and I went to say hello to Oma Inge, the mom of Gustav and Klaus. She is 92 years old now, and has been a widow for 30 years, but she still keeps herself entertained inviting friends for a Kaffeeklatsch, learning new languages, and just chatting with her two attendants. She recognized me immediately and was really pleased that we had come to visit her. Like the good hostess she is she immediately made sure we had nice cups of coffee and a slice of strawberry cake, as she reminisced of old times growing in Berlin, meeting her husband and staying in Frankfurt. Out came the photos of baby Gustav, baby Klaus, baby Anna, and baby Phillip, which of course embarrass everybody (but then again, I believe that is one of the reasons she enjoys doing it). We kept the visit short, not wanting to tire her too much, but I was very glad that she is still as lively as when I first met her, 35 years ago.
In the afternoon Gustav and I were sitting in the garden, shooting the breeze, when his son Phillip came by, to drop off his battery drums after The Grand Slam. Finally, I had a chance to chat with him in peace, and I was very glad to see him happy and well established. I did mention that he works with an engineering company, but I was not sure what he did with them. He is the "draftsman" in charge of preparing the plans for all the different things the company prepares. All is done with the computer, of course, but engineering plans are particularly challenging because they have to be exact and clear enough for the building contractors to build the whatever-it-is precisely so it will do its job. I think their services span the range from designing the building to designing the different machines to do the work. For example, he was telling me that most poly-carbonate glass (the type that covers your cell phone) is manufactured following a procedure his company developed (although Chinese manufacturers have now copied the process without sharing the credit).
For now Phillip enjoys his independent life working, going out with friends, and playing the drums with his band (although I get the feeling that their gigs are spaced far between). I find great delight on seeing Anna and Phillip get on with their lives; I have known them since they were babies and love interacting with them now that they are young adults.
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