My mother occasionally receives letters from her German correspondent Angelika, but as she can no longer read, I read them to her.
Extracts from a letter received recently, posted here with permission:
“(Dear Mary) … Here in Dortmund spring has arrived … trees are in bloom … bees and bumblebees are humming around and the butterflies are dancing on the flowers. There are a lot of titmice and robins, even jays. But I do not like the magpies. They are a danger to all the smaller birds. There is also a pair of brown squirrels that visits my garden every day. It is quite a punctual animal; it has its breakfast in the birdhouse at 10.30 a.m. … Spring is the prettiest time of year, I think.
“At the beginning of May I plan to do a cycling tour along the Danube. We’ll do about 50km every day which means that we’ll stay in about fourteen different hotels. … We will travel to the south of Germany by train, taking our own bicycles with us. My bike is 56 years old and it has only … three gears. I’ve always been pleased with my antique bike, as it works perfectly …
“Two weeks ago, my former English teacher Irmgard celebrated her 95th birthday. I baked a ‘Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte’ - a Black Forest Gateau - for her. It is a very rich cake with a lot of whipped cream, cherries and a quarter litre of cherry liqueur. I usually warn the guests they must not drive a car after having had more than four pieces of the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.”
The letter continues before Angelika signs off: ‘Your far away friend’.
I folded the letter. Placing it back in its envelope bearing two 85 euro postage stamps and a Luftpost sticker, I concluded that Irmgard had been a truly expert English teacher.
And that cycling the Danube would be a nice way to build an appetite for four slices of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
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