Die Heimat ~ Germany:
My Mother’s Homeland & the place I was born 🇩🇪
Die Heimat ~ Germany:
My Mother’s Homeland & the place I was born 🇩🇪
Inspired by Peter Mammitzsch in Adrienne Beaumont ‘s June Challenge (TY).
Author‘s picture postcard of Königsbach/Rheinpfalz… my mom was born & grew up in Hildenbrandseck (center).
1. Have you ever been to Germany 🇩🇪? If so, where exactly?
Yes. I was born in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Rhineland Pfalz, Germany.
Author’s postcard of vineyard in Neustadt (where I was born). Found this amongst my mother’s saved postcards — it’s quite old — circa 1953.
It’s one of the small villages along the Rhine River, in what they call “Weinstrasse” or “Wine Country”.
The name fits because of the many (endless) vineyards & the diverse assortment of grapes 🍇 that grow so beautifully in that area… enjoying both the special climate & sun exposure.
Where I come from, there are Weinfests that “dare to compare” to Oktoberfests. The Weinfests are usually held in huge open-air (graveled) lots — & are frequented by unbelievably large crowds.
Wine (in every stage of development) is served from “new” (tangy & still frothy with fermentation) to “late” (Spätlese) from grapes that are harvested after the regular harvest & are thus — deliciously sweet.
There is a Weinfest (early to mid October) every year in Neustadt.
People travel from all over to get there & to partake in the “bounty of the harvest” festivities. There’s a parade (complete with decorated floats) & fireworks at the end. They even crown a “Wine Queen”… it’s quite a big deal.
The closest (main) city to Neustadt is Frankfurt. This is also where the nearest major airport is located.
It’s called Frankfurt am Main ✈️.
My family & I immigrated to the United States, from Germany, in the mid 1950’s.
We arrived on a ship that took nearly 2 weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
My sister was 3 years old & I was only 1 year old.
My “memories” of my first year of life in Germany & our trip to the USA — are “fuzzy” & mostly from old photographs, which my mother religiously took & saved.
I have many (so many) like this one:
Author’s photo of “me” playing in the snowy garden in Neustadt, Germany.
2. What would I like to see in Germany?
I’ve already seen several different parts of Germany, during my 3 return visits there as a child & teenager — including one extended visit, right after my high school graduation. I lived in Germany (& worked there) for an entire year.
During that year, my address was “Maikammer an der Weinstrasse” (it’s about a 30-minute bus ride from Neustadt), & also filled with…beautiful vineyards.
Another saved postcard from my mother’s collection.
I would love to visit (even) more vineyards & tour & explore (even) more castles & castle ruins.
I’ve always wanted to visit the Black Forest (Schwartzwald) area — in the Southwestern part of Germany. I’ve heard a lot about it — but I’ve never personally been there.
I’d really like to visit more German forests. There was one that I could see from the attic window of my Aunt’s house in Maikammer. I used to walk there. It had beautiful walking/hiking paths, lined with pine trees & chestnut trees. My mother, my aunt & I would gather chestnuts 🌰 in baskets & my Tante (Aunt) Bärbel would cook, peel & bake them into a delicious “Kastanien Kuchen” (Chestnut cake).
3. If I had enough money, would I buy a Mercedes?
Why not? Germans make great cars that are known for their durability, safety & excellent craftsmanship (that’s probably why they’re so expensive 🤔!)
I would love to own a Mercedes or a BMW, but I kind of liked the Volkswagen too.
My sister Angie’s very first car, after she got her driver’s license, was a VW or Volkswagen. We had quite a few “adventures” in her little green (we called it) “Love Bug”!
Author’s pic — my sister & me & the green “love-bug” 🥰
4. Do you know what the “German virtues”are? Name three!
• Discipline
(I do have some of that …🤔)
• Punctuality
(Nope, this one one skipped me…🙄)
• Frugality
(Jury’s still out on this one…😬)
Germans are also known to be quite reliable, loyal, orderly & straightforward.
Note: I AM reliable, loyal, relatively orderly & quite straightforward. I also look people right in the eyes — when I’m speaking to them or they to me. Not sure if direct eye contact is a “German thing? But everyone in my family engages in it 👀.
Some of the Germans I know are so straightforward — that people claim them to be rude & abrupt? I know this to be mostly untrue. I think people mistake a lack of “pleasantries” & “small talk” for rudeness, when in fact, to Germans it might come under a heading of:
Efficient conversation?
Germans simply don’t “beat around the bush” — they get right to the point (without wasting precious time).
5. Do you know any German poets?
Friedrich Schiller is one of my favorites. He wrote the poem “An Die Freude” (“Ode To Joy”), that composer Beethoven set to music in his Ninth Symphony. It’s so beautiful!
Author’s pic of English translation of Friedrich Scholler’s poem “An Die Fruede”
6. When you think of “German food”, what comes to mind?
Mouth-watering dishes my mother used to prepare, like:
- Sauerbraten with Kartoffel Klöße & Rotkraut. Sauerbraten is a beef dish, where the meat has been marinated in a sweet-sour herbed marinade (for a couple of days) before cooking. Klöße are potato dumplings & Rotkraut is Red Cabbage.
Pic from free Istock photos online — showing Sauerbraten, Kartoffel Klösse & Rotkraut
-
Potato Pancakes with applesauce or sour cream (YUMMY)!
-
Würstchen (long weiners) with Sauerkraut 😋
When I worked in Germany, my favorite lunch was “Würstchen mit Brötchen” (a long Weiner with a freshly baked roll) — so delicious! Plus a Fanta (orange soda drink) to wash it down with.
- Butterkreme Torten
Fancy Buttercream layer cakes my mom used to bake – her special gift to whoever was celebrating a birthday in the (immediate) family. They were (quite honestly) works of art (& heart ♥️) & were moist & creamy & simply delicious!
Author’s collage of a few varieties of “Butterkreme Torten” my mom created. That’s my mom too, bottom middle.
7. Which tree symbolises Germany?
The Oak tree (or Die Eiche) is the official national tree of Germany.
Also the Christmas Tree 🎄 – (Weihnachtsbaum). The tradition of decorating a tree for Christmas originated in West Germany.
8. You meet a German man on the train.
What would you ask him?
I‘d probably ask him how to get where I’m going (as I am known to be perpetually lost). But after that I‘d probably ask him where in Germany he’s from & maybe where he’s headed?
I’d also ask him if he knows where the dining car & the bathroom are on the train 😉.
9. What German invention do you know?
Oskar Barnack (a German engineer) invented the first “modern” camera in 1913!
Thank you Oskar — great invention 📸!!!
10. Which intricately baked, salt-sprinkled pastry is internationally considered a masterpiece of German baking?
The pretzel of course. They taste so much better in Germany & come in varied sizes — the largest of which is HUGE.
Pretzels happen to pair very well with German mustard & German Beer & also with German Wines & German sausages. They are a favorite at the Munich Oktoberfest 🥨🍻, The Bad Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt 🌭, & the Neustadter Weinfest 🍇🍷.
Pic from IStock free images online
“Well, that was easy, wasn’t it?” Said Peter Mammitzsch, after composing this challenge & writing his own version.
Yes 🙌🏽 — this was easy & lots of fun! I’m really glad for the challenges here on Medium, they inspire my muse every time!
One last photo collage of the “Wine Country” where I was born. This one includes a postcard of the “Bad Dürkheim Fass“, a huge Barrel (actually the largest wine barrel in the world)!
This barrel houses a whole restaurant & bar & this “Sausage Market” attracts over 600,000 people every year!
Bad Dürkheim is another neighboring village to Neustadt (where I'm from).
Author‘s collage of my pics & a postcard. If you look closely, bottom left pic ? You’ll see castle ruins up on that mountain in the background.
The village of Bad Dürkheim is well known for its annual “Wurstmarkt” or “Sausage Festival”.
It’s a “Schlachtfest” or Slaughter fest, (loses a bit of its charm in translation) or a festival celebrating “German Wines & Meats” 🥩 🍖 .
Wine & Beer are always celebrated in Germany … especially at the Wurstmarkt, Oktoberfest & Weinfest. Germans are known for their “Beer drinking songs” & many a German-sung tune, by old favorites like Peter Alexander — (who was actually an Austrian singer) included lyrics about the joys of wine! One favorite song? “An der Donau wenn der Wein blüht” or “At the Donau When the Wine 🍇 is blooming” ☺️! See link below — Cheers🍷!
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Thanks for reading!
Feedback & thoughts welcome.
Hope you learned something about Germany 🇩🇪(or me?) that you didn’t know?
If so, then I’ve successfully met the “challenge” 🙌🏽😌
If you post one of these of your own? Let me know? Or tag me — so I can come read.
Thank you 🙏🏽
Tagging a few others here on Medium — check them out ~ they all write wonderful stories:
Jay Squires & so many more 🙌🏽
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