Bristol Hannover Council

** One evening recently at Stoke Lodge, Ann Kennard gave a very entertaining talk to an interested audience. Having had close ties with Germany and its border countries for many years she was delighted last year to be able to visit East Germany, the former GDR, at the invitation of Christine and Jürgen Heck, with whom she and Tony had stayed in Hannover.

Despite her many years of connections with Germany through her studies and work she had not had the opportunity to visit East Germany on more than a couple of occasions. This she was keen to rectify and when the chance presented itself she was very pleased. The two couples set off by car to visit Leipzig, Grimma, Dresden, Görlitz and two parks – the UNESCO World Heritage Muskauer Park, crossing the border with Poland, and the Spreewald near Lübben, SSE of Berlin.

Their first stop was Leipzig and Ann was surprised to see in the Nikolaikirche a Coventry Cross of Nails. She had thought there was just one in Coventry’s twin city Dresden, which she had first visited in 1970 as a student interpreter for a group of women from Coventry. However there are many Coventry Crosses of Nails around the world, a symbol of peace and reconciliation.

Cross of Nails, Nikolaikirche, Leipzig

They then passed through Grimma on the River Mulde on their way to Dresden. On a riverside walk they were intrigued to find an exhibition of photographs by the renowned photographer Gerhard Weber. There were glimpses into the lives of children and young people in the GDR which included shots inside private homes, family life at home and outdoor and ‘military service’.

Another point of interest in Grimma was the place on the corner of a building showing the heights of flood levels dating back to the late 18th century. The highest was more recently in 2002 when the River Mulde flood waters reached to half way up the first-floor windows!

Family living room in Erlin village, 1983

On the way into Dresden along the Elbe Ann and company approached on foot with the skyline of buildings and bridges before them. Dresden, like many other German cities, has been reconstructed since its destruction in WW2. The Frauenkirche was a highlight.

The church displays its Coventry Cross of Nails and is an unusually ornate building for a non-catholic church. Another building of note is the Semperoper: on Ann’s second visit to Dresden in the 1990s, she was lucky enough to be given a ticket to a performance there. After Dresden there was a stop in Görlitz on the River Neisse, with Zgorzelec in Poland on the opposite bank. Both were quiet, pleasant towns, with border posts very evident on either side of the river.

It appears Görlitz is a popular place for film making, including The Reader and Inglourious Basterds, both award winning films.

It was noticeable that all the rivers they came across were experiencing high water levels to the extent that at the confluence of the rivers Oder and Neisse at Ratzdorf, the river banks had disappeared and the water just looked like a large lake. A few trees were a giveaway that there was a river bank lurking beneath the surface. The tide gauge at Neuzelle showed a depth of 5.85m and the Oder was clearly in flood.

The Spreewald

A boat trip in the waters of the Spreewald, a biosphere reserve near Lübben, south of Berlin, was a most unusual experience. Clearly they all had a very enjoyable few days; their hosts were also visiting this part of Germany for the first time.

CARLA MURRAY

########

 

---