Dear Blog-readers...
if there are still any seeing the blog has become a little less then regular! Dear loyal friend, which you must be if you are reading this new blog:
April is almost finished! We've started the count-down until the 30th of April, my mum's birthday. It is also a day of celebration in the whole of Germany for a very different reason. An ancient heathen tradition is celebrated in the night from April 30th to May 1st, one that has survived centuries of Christian influence. Big bonfires are lit all over the country and people gather round them and celebrate with food, wine, music and dancing. The bonfires are called 'Hexenfeuer', which means 'witch fires'. If you know Johann Goethes 'Faust' at all, a very long scene is dedicated to the description of just that festival. It is not only celebrated in Germany but also all through Scandinavia and some other European countries and traditionally served the protection from evil spirits.
There is so much else to tell you about April. The month started off with a very enjoyable holiday together with my parents...we spent a week in a holiday apartment on the German island of Rugen in the Baltic Sea. Wonderful walks along beaches, chalk cliffs, little fishing villages, sunshine, and Easter...it was a great time.
From there, Michael and I took the ferry to Sweden and stayed with our friends Evelina and Lars and there wonderful children Tilde and William in their house between Malmo and Lund. It was fabulous!!!
Then M&M took a train across from Malmo to Copenhagen and enjoyed three amazing days in Denmark's capital...
And then we took a bus to Hamburg and spent four days with our friend Nicole and her fiance Alexander there...and their two cats!!! For all literature fans: We happened to meet Gunter Grass, the 1999 Nobel Price of Literature Winner and very influencial German author. I got an autograph!!! We also spent a day in Lubeck, a very very beautiful and historic hanseatic city.
Apart from all these adventures, spring is here now and it is MUCH WARMER!!! Michael has been very very busy taking photos. I will display some of his magnificent shots in the next post!!!
