Gastfreundschaft

Gastfreundschaft. The German word for hospitality which directly translates as "guest friendship". We are both humbled and privileged to have experienced such friendship in the truest sense of the word.

 

We've just completed the 13 day tour of Germany and were most warmly hosted by my maternal relatives and friends. Some history: my mother grew up in Russia (Siberia) within a community of extended family members. My mother immigrated to Canada in the 1960s but her extended family remained in Russia. They are all ancestrally German though the families had lived in Russia for many generations. In the early 1990s the relatives in Russia moved to Germany and hence a few Russian customs persist in their otherwise German homes. Aside from my second cousins and great uncles and aunts we also visited a longtime German friend of mine,(also my bridesmaid) Kristina, who I originally met when we were 16 in the context of a German-Canadian exchange program.

Giessen, Bad Berleberg, Essen, Bad Ems, and Weinheim are smaller cities and villages of central Germany all not too far from Frankfurt. They are lesser known places to most, but we will have long lasting fond memories of welcoming arms, freshly baked buns fetched for us for breakfast, over-flowing supper tables, warm and neatly made beds given up by household members, and conversations over wine and spirits into the evening hours.

 

We were toured through castles and lovely parks, driven at high speeds on the Autobahn (from one meal to another!) treated to a live concert of Russian folk songs (by the musical side of the family) and instructed on proper vodka consumption etiquette. (Ok so you just basically throw it back in one go in tandem with others and have something marinated as a chaser.) Greg: See end of this post for the Russian Folk Songs.

 

Our stay was capped off with a tour of an Audi factory arranged by Aleksander, my cousin the Audi mechanical engineer, not to be confused with Aleksander, my cousin-in-law the Porsche mechanical engineer... Audi beat the Porsche to the draw on that one.

 

On the subject of correct family-member identification, I can't wait to show off to my mother how I know all the names of my aunts, uncles, cousins and their cute kids. I must admit the job is made easier by the fact that over half the men and boys are named Aleksander or Andreas. If neither fit one could also try Viktor as a third guess. The women are frequently Irina (also my mom's name) or Elena with Olga as a close third.

We have extended invitations to them all to visit us in Canada and with any luck they will take us up on this genuine offer to return the "gastfreundschaft" shown to us. I just hope we can provide as good a breakfast...

Russian Folk Songs

Below are four songs performed for "Tante Tekla" which were able to capture. If your Russian is good enough, let us know the title of the last one.

 

 

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