I’ve received a couple of reminders from family members wondering why we haven’t posted any pictures from our vacation to Germany and Italy, from which we returned about four weeks ago. Let’s just say the advantage of digital photography appears to be its biggest downside as well: you can take all the pictures you want.
I’ve finally finished weeding through three cameras worth of photos and have now posted about a third of them for viewing on Flicker It's still a lot of pictures, but you can click through the slideshow pretty quickly if you've seen enough pictures of the back of my head. We had a fantastic time in Germany and Italy. The best parts did not involve sight-seeing, but the friends we made in Germany, and just being able to hang out as a family in Italy, so the photos are really a minor part of the story. Germany Italy photos
Our week in Germany was at the invitation of the people of Neumarkt, a Bavarian town about the size of Northampton where Heidi’s father spent most of his childhood. The reason for our trip was that the town was naming a footpath after Heidi’s aunt Ilse, who died in the camps. It all started two years ago, when three girls in a religion class at the Gymnasium (high school) in Neumarkt began investigating who Ilse Haas was at the instigation of their religion teacher, Helmut. The project turned into a report about Ilse and the Jews of Neumarkt and inspired an award-winning musical about Ilse written by teachers and students at the school.
The people we met in Neumarkt were incredibly warm. They welcomed us into their homes, took us around the area, and thanked us repeatedly for being there. On my first night Helmut told me I would be taking his place on first trumpet in the brass ensemble the next morning at the dedication ceremony. I was honored to be given that kind of role in such an important and emotional event for Heidi’s family.
Neumarkt is a beautiful town filled with bakeries, cafes, Bavarian style buildings and a lot of people on bicycles. We had guided tours of the region and Haas family landmarks courtesy of Hans, Inga and Wolfgang, three people connected to the project. We ate pastries and drank coffee at Walter’s favorite childhood bakery, just across the street from the house he grew up in. We had dinner one night at an Inn that has been in Inga’s husband’s family for 300 years. Molly and Abby went out with some local kids to see the Simpsons movie in German and then joined them at their school the next day. I hope the photos give you some idea of the wonderful (and moving) time we had there (The woman on the left is 95 and was Walter's nanny!).
After our week in Neumarkt we took an overnight train to Como, Italy, near the Swiss border. Our hotel was right on the lake and we had a great time taking boat rides, walks, and hanging out in café’s, where at 5:00 it was the local custom to have a glass of wine or espresso, and maybe a gelato sundae. (That was fine, as dinner was usually around 9:00.) Thankfully, the place wasn’t mobbed by tourists, (other than Italian ones).
After Como, we took a train to the western most lake in Northern Italy, Lake Orta, and stayed in the small but gorgeous medieval town of Orta San Guilio. It was just a short walk into the main town from our hotel to find plenty of places to get gelato, pizza, or a latte. More tourists here, but few Americans. It was a wonderful place to relax with the kids, but for any of you looking for a get-away for just two it would be one of the most romantic places I could imagine.
Now it’s back to work and school! Molly is at Brandeis and living off campus. Abby is co-president of her senior class, and school starts for her next week. We just had an all too brief visit with Mike, Harriet and Simon. The phrase of the week will be from Simon “What’s Abby doing? What’s Fred Doing? What’s Heidi Doing? What’s Ruby doing?”
Love to all!
Fred
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