Our Visit To Germany

During the days from Thursday 31st Jan and Monday 4th Feb we went to Glessen, Germany, to visit Mark's relatives and we had a wonderful time.

Irene (Mark’s cousin) and Ecki were magnificent hosts and they made us feel very welcome with plenty of Kolsch and delicious meals and huge breakfasts each morning. It was lovely to see Mark’s Aunty Netty and Uncle Jupp, who are kind, warm people.

A dinner was put on for us to catch up with Bernd (Mark’s cousin), Connie and Hetty. Madeleine, Alexandra and Zoe were thrilled when Hetty told them that she would stay in Glessen with us for a few days.

Irene organised a visit to see Mark’s cousin, Ushi. She was pleased to see us all. We then drove over to Uncle Ferdi and Josie’s house. After cake and coffee we had a tour of the house and the garden which is immaculately kept. It was terrific to be able to see so many relatives on our short trip.





We visited the Dome in Koln (Cologne), which is a magnificent old cathedral. It was Karnival time there and people all over town make a super effort to dress up in crazy costumes and makeup to celebrate. On the way back from Koln we rode in a double-decker train. The upper level is reserved for first class passengers, but we stayed up there anyway.





On Sunday, the Glessen parade day, we all dressed up for the occasion, with crazy costumes and some make-up and facial stickers. We lined the streets as the parade of musical bands and floats went past. Lollies were thrown into the crowd and our girls ended up with a mountain of chocolate and lollies. It was fantastic fun.

After the parade Irene and Ecki put on a Karnival party in their courtyard and many of their friends came along. We were warmed by Ecki's potato soup that was made available from a big electric pot to all who attended. Not to forget that many Kolsch (pronounced Kirlsh) beers were also digested. The atmosphere was very festive, with plenty of Karnival music and decorations.

We stayed for four fabulous nights and were sorry to leave.