CELLE AND WINSEN
This was my last day in Germany before leaving for the airport at 4 Thursday morning.
During the morning the six of us separated and wandered through Celle, enjoying the outdoor farmer’s market and shopping. Most of the sellers had well equipped trailers, mobile stores with open windows to sell from. There were vegetables of all kinds, wurst and meat of all kinds, bakery vans and vans selling nuts and spices and candy of all kinds. Shoppers came by bicycles and cars to shop. It was all very colorful and clean and civilized. I didn’t ask, but I’m am guessing that while they are in Celle on Wednesday and Saturday mornings that they visit other towns on other days. We didn’t buy anything but the experience was wonderful.
Then in the afternoon we went by taxi to Winsen where we stopped at the Museumshof, the collection of restored timbered farm houses and barns and farm equipment brought to Winsen for preservation. We had a drink in the Kalandhof, a beautiful indoor and outdoor cafe and then walked the mile to Elke and Heinrich’s house where we had tea and coffee and Kuchen of various kinds.
After sitting around the table talking Elke led us to the cemetery to the original Schrader family burial site, now abandoned, where Susie and I had spread Kathe’s ashes by two birch trees which had grown ten feet since we spread her ashes. It was a quiet, beautiful moment, particularly for Kathe’s grandchildren, Hannah and Caroline.
After that Tom and Kathy’s family with Ginger took the bus back to Celle. Elke, Heinrich and I had bread and wurst and cheese for supper and I went to bed early since I would be getting up at 3:30 a.m. to be driven by Olav to the Hannover airport.
BILLYBABA’S WANDERING 