Posted by Can a 3 hour train ride be made more entertaining by watching Layah struggle to open a carriage door on a train? Yes, yes it can and if you saw it you’d all be on my side.
Last time we left you on the docks with the Alena as we took off on a train in search of more family and snow. If you have not noticed by now Layah and I balance each other out quite well when traveling. While Layah is the translator, I ask all the questions and make the decisions, effortlessly embarrassing her 80% of the time. This all came to an astonishing halt as we arrived in Hameln. Were they talking German, because not even Layah was understanding most of what was being said at the beginning, so different was the accent and all the colloquialisms. So began our polite smiling and nodding and the occasional laughter as others did so…this is probably the most appropriate time to tell you how efficient Layah’s and my silent communication has gotten. And if anyone had thought we sang a lot at home, you haven’t seen anything until there is a language barrier and we’re trying to not look like silent and sullen Eeyores or something. Not that we’re silent or sullen but the lack of speaking opportunity can make one seem that way.
A little burst of surprise snow happened while driving home but unfortunately that was all we got during our time in Goldbeck. Wilfried joined us for dinner at Ingrid and Ralf’s house, playing a few games of Rummikub to finish off the evening. How lovely lovely to see Ingrid, Ralf and Wilfried again! We love those guys so much. Saturday morning while not snowing was still bitterly cold and wet as we went for a walk to get a Christmas tree. Never have I ever seen such perfect real Christmas trees! The rest of the day was allocated to Christmasifying the house and tree for the Christmas party happening that evening while Layah took charge of the music, only ever allowing Christmas songs to play. While waiting for the guests to arrive Layah and I found ourselves sitting on the floor in front of the tree singing Christmas songs. Ralf made a splendid Christmas dinner of turkey, potato’s, red cabbage, knoedel and salad that everyone enjoyed so much so that not only did I spill food on my lap but the person’s next to me as well! The friendly chatter of a good party seemed to get faster and involved more laughter as the beer and schnapps played a disappearing act. I retired very happily to my room at about 11pm, Layah following at 12 while the others entertained themselves till about 2am.
Greetings from many Tasmanians came on Sunday morning followed with a beautiful wander through the Goldbeck walkways. We love the openness and fresh air with the view of pine forest hills and wind turbines scattered in the background. Monday was again full of all Christmassy things…baking, music, the ever present singing and even a wall sit stack using the door frame.
While sleeping till about 9:30am every morning was a marvel, the enjoyment level in watching the sunrise on Tuesday morning was 100% max. The German sunrise and sunset somehow has an additional purple and yellow tinge on top of Australia’s pink, orange and red (if you know why, we would love to know). The day’s adventure consisted of seeing a nuclear powerplant (where they split atoms to create energy), a cable car ride to the top of Bad Harzburg, lunch with a beautiful view, a tree tops walk in a pine forest and almost starting a fire in the house. Not only was the walk in the pine forest entertaining but Wilfried’s continuous laughter at what can only be the youthful energy Layah and I always seemed to bring was so heart-lightening. Yes, yes you are all probably wondering how on earth I almost started a fire, long story short I was super tired and went to bed early. I left a lamp on for Layah for when she came in but it was still way too bright for me to sleep. I found a jumper on the bed (which happened to be Layah’s) and hung it over the lamp not even thinking that the old lamp would be super efficient in the heating department. When Layah came in a few hours later, the room smelt of smoke as it slowly curled up from the jumper. Layah found the jumper which now has two big burn marks in it…..Whoops.
Because we haven’t seen enough Christmas markets already, on Wednesday we went to Hameln to see another. I have to say, this was definitely one of my favourite markets as it was so big and lively with such a joyful Christmas spirit. On the way home we stopped at Ruhwald and visited Opa’s (Mum’s Grandad’s) tree where he’s buried. This is the first time either of us have been in Germany since he passed away. A long time friend, Silke, unexpectedly popped in that afternoon bringing with her the energy, enthusiasm and the smile that never gets old. That evening we played a game of friendly competitive darts with Tim who won the first round.
Thursday was Layah’s and my day spent together for which we decided to go into the pine forest and build a cubby. This was a youthful pause in the otherwise matured German congregation. With daylight restrictions we were only able to get as far as to build the outline of the walls while pretty much finishing the interior. That evening Ingrid, Ralf, Wilfried, Layah and I went out for dinner, I have one thing to say. What is with German portion sizes. I ordered a ‘small’ burger that turned out to be bigger than my head. It should be a sin to give such portions to an individual person. While the eyes scream ‘YESSSSS’, the stomach dies and the rest of the body has to suffer the consequences later. Friday was spent with Wilfried roaming the old town of Rinteln. We were taken aback by how much history could be stored in one place. Mistletoe trees (that look like big pompoms on sticks) lined the roads, making the phrase ‘love is in the air’ very realistic.
The Pied Piper 
Opa’s Tree 
Saturday morning we went shopping – they shop a lot, preferring to do many little trips than one trip per week. We went into a florist to buy flowers for the host of the dinner party planned for that evening and it was so cool watching them work. It made us think of Kirrilli Kent and how much she’d love it. That finished, we picked up Wilfried and headed out to the Kaiser Wilhelm Denkmal, aka the Emperor William Memorial. Huge and half covered in scaffolding, it had some lovely views. Marion and Dieter Menke hosted the Christmas dinner party and it was such a strange mix of informality and formality: we arrived a few minutes early with a bunch of others and stood waiting outside, even after Marion had come to the door to say hello, so as to wait for the rest of the guests and to not impose on the hosts until the prescribed time. And the crazy thing is that they’re all close friends! Also, Germans love making toasts as well, another fancy thing in casual-ish environments. Wow, so different from what we’re used to. We all had an exquisite meal featuring some fancy dishes all made by Marion, and then Tim, Layah and I went and played darts again and GUESS WHO WON! No, not Layah, rude – I did, much to my excitement and Layah’s proud surprise. Sunday was a relaxing day catching up and organising stuff for our future adventures. I eventually built up too much energy and decided to go for a run…. It did the job.
Monday was a lovely last full day with Ingrid, Ralf and Wilfried. Vanessa, another friend from past trips, visited in the afternoon and it was so lovely seeing her again. We played Rummikub and Warlords & Scumbags, went for a walk and just sat and chatted. On our walk we visited Oma’s (Mum’s Grandma’s) grave, which was lovely. Dinner was the infamous Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes, don’t judge until you’ve tried them thanks!) with cooked blueberries, apple mousse and salmon (not all together, and I skipped the salmon). Ralf is such a good cook, this whole time we’ve had amazing food! It was sad to eat Kartoffelpuffer without Opa there because that was the classic meal we used to eat with him, but so many good memories, and we had lovely company: Ingrid, Ralf, Wilfried, Vanessa, and Anne and Uve who are a lovely couple that we met last Saturday at the first dinner party. After dinner we had an early Christmas Eve, exchanging presents and sitting in a very decorated and warm lounge room listening to Christmas music and just being together. Once the others had left Ingrid, Ralf, Layah and I stayed sitting and chatting for a while. A perfect last night.
Oma’s ‘Garden’ 
On a side note, while my time in Germany had been pretty good so far in the department of messing, the tables turned dramatically when we got to Goldbeck. 1st evening I knocked of a full glass of water on the table, 2nd evening spilt food on a strangers lap leading to a very awkward few minutes , 3rd morning I splattered yogurt on myself and on the table, it kind of just kept coming. Much to my relief it was someone else’s turn to mess on the last day. While we were playing a game at the table Layah was so excited to win that in the motion she knocked her full glass of iced tea over the table and floor. I won’t mention that I was the one who’d just put it behind her elbow. By the end of our stay in Goldbeck I was given the nickname of Klecker Lily (meaning messy flower).
Also, the cats here are so old: 16, 17 and 19 years old!!!! It does make me feel very young when even a cat is older than me.
Cheers (with an empty glass) to the beautiful places and people we have met and will meet.
Merry Christmas
J & L & B