Schwerin visiting relatives
After landing in Poland we drove to Schwerin, which is in the north east part of Germany to visit relatives.
The drive was relatively uneventful and arrived around 5pm to visit Christel. It was great seeing her, and in all of our excitement to see each other with hugs and kisses, the door slams shut. The look on her face was priceless as it was one of the doors which automatically locks. To boot, she had just changed her locks and hadn’t had time to give the extra set of keys to her son. Christel quickly headed up to her neighbours to see if he could help. After a few minutes, he manages to open the door using a credit card. Luckily we were able to get in, on the other hand, it may not be that good someone could easily enter her place.
Christel ensured there was beer for Mark and it was nice to settle in, and catch up with her life, since she left Canada about 6 months previously. She had adjusted back to Germany nicely.
The next day we woke up, and had Christel give us a tour of Schwerin. This was the first time I have been to this city since Communism fell in the late 80’s, so to see the changes it was quite astonishing. It was a beautiful sunny day with us visiting the downtown core, the Castle and Christel pointing out places where dad apprenticed, the church where he was confirmed, Opa’s first place of work after the war, his initial apartment, and the apartment we had visited over the years.
Because of the fall of communism, the restaurants, shops, and just overall updates on the city are quite remarkable. The train station however looks much smaller than I recall.
In between touring the town, we managed to sit back and relax in the city square enjoying the weekly market, and a cooking show which was being televised.
Late in the afternoon, we headed back home, where Christel’s daughter Ina and her friend came by to visit. It was a great way to spend the evening, reminiscing and catching up with everyone’s lives.
It was a short trip as we were headed to Poland to visit the country and her sites, along with stopping at villages where my family on my father’s side lived in the late 19th century up until the end of WW2.
We will be back and thank Christel for her hospitality and great seeing her again.
