A Kind Of Holiday I

So, I´m back from that short holiday on Island Rügen.

Our apartment was right next to the sea, it´s name was "Findling" (Glacial erratic) which also means it has the word "found" in it in German, that kinda fit.

We stayed in Ostseebad / Seaside resort Sellin, a nice little place with beautiful houses in the typical style of around the 1920's Bäderarchitektur

After the Wall fell they renovated these beautiful houses.

Still it seems there is a West- and an East-Germany after all. We took the route via Hamburg and got hungry on the way. Hamburg-area is busy, so we thought we wait. Finally a sign that here once was the inner-German border.

The highway suddenly was of a darker material… hello? The Wall fell in 1989!

We drove on…. Finally a rest-area. But… just a place to stop. No Mc D, nothing at all. Next one… had a toilet. Next one nothing… on and on we went until finally we decided to leave the highway and try to find something in the next town. Which was nearby and had a Mc D.

Weird.

Later colleagues from "East Germany" explained to me the route was built new back then, following the towns, hence no restaurants on rest-areas. Weird, weird… you have to tell us Wessis, how are we supposed to know? ;-)

I really wonder when there will be one Germany again. Difficult, if the Wall/two countries are not only still in our heads but that obviously really there!

Anyhows… finally we saw the Sea and took the bridge to the Island. How I missed the sea!!!

Mum wasn´t well at all, but we managed to buy cheese, eggs and stuff and went to see our new home. And then couldn´t wait to see the real thing!

Just a few steps and this is what we found:

Wow, huh?! An old "Strandbrücke", a "beach-bridge" - with restaurants! There are only few with restaurants, so this is very special.

Cancer is a mean, mean thing. But my Mum looks kinda content here, no?

Luckily there was a free lift, so we had no problem heading down:

Nice painting at the “station”:

Here we are, trying to have a “good time” together:

I´m so very glad Bro did make this happen.

When I learned my Dad will die after all of that darn Cancer, Bro gave me his car so I can visit every second day.

When I arrived the first time in hospital Göttingen, my Father hardly recognized me, he was full of morphine already and practically was all the time.

There were moments, like when we were outside and Bro was walking at his side. The way was downhill and suddenly Dad realized in a clear moment that if Bro walks by his side it must be me holding the wheelchair and he got scared (we also had a lung ventilator with us which was quite heavy).

Those were silent, sad and also rather lonely times with him.

When he finally was on his way home (in an ambulance), I went to buy some special cup for him and when I arrived… he had passed away already. He just wanted to get home. And that´s what he managed.

With Mum… she gets pain-killers and still is in a lot of pain. Another parent in the wheelchair, it´s awful. But it offers us the opportunity to roam around with her and even find a Pavillion named after us ;-)

What really made me mad…

When I see people in wheelchairs… well. Then I see someone in a wheelchair. Sometimes it makes me sad.

But I never stare at them. People – and not only kids (!) stared at my Mum. Even when you could not see the part of her head that is bald now.

She is so brave. She just doesn´t care to wear a hat or something. As if to say, yeah, have a look – I fight!

We talked, we laughed… it felt like a fake at times, but still it was genuine in it´s own way.

More to come...