Our Second Visit to Glessen

Thursday, 1st May and Friday, 2nd May were religious holidays in the canton of Luzern. We decided to use this long weekend to visit our relatives in Glessen, Germany, as we were unable to go the following weekend for Aunty Netty’s 85th Birthday party. We arrived late on Thursday afternoon and had cake, coffee and juice with Aunty Netty, Uncle Jupp, Irene and Ecki. That evening we went to Hermann’s (Ecki’s brother) house for dinner. It was lovely to catch up with Rosemary and Jupp, also.

On Friday, after a continental breakfast, Irene took us to the Eifel Land, where Mark’s German family originated from. We visited the family house, Komp’s Hoffje (Kermshens Herfue), had a walk around

Reifferscheid (spoke to Karl-Heinz’s parents, popped in to see Teresa and Fritz, and took the path up to the old castle and church). After a picnic lunch we drove to Monschau, a beautiful little town, where we walked around the old streets and looked at the charming buildings. In the evening we shared a delicious Ecki-made meal with Aunty Netty and Uncle Jupp and caught up on all the news.

On Saturday morning Mark went for a run and then he and Terri-Lyn enjoyed a sauna that is attached to the house. We drove to Heffen, near the German capital city, Bonn. Mark’s cousin, Bernd and his wife, Connie live here. They took us to Drachenfels (Dragon Rock), where Madeleine, Alexandra and Zoe rode a donkey up the steep path to the top of the hill. At the top, on the castle ruins, we had a wonderful view over the Rhine River and Bonn while eating an ice-cream.

When we returned to Glessen the girls played Yatzee with Aunty Netty while Irene, Ecki, Mark and Terri-Lyn went to a pre-wedding party (Poltern Abend) at a farmhouse. It was in a barnyard with plenty of soup, beer and music. As is tradition, we took along a piece of ceramic to smash on the ground as we entered the party. This is supposed to bring the happy couple good luck for the future. A truck reversed into the barnyard and offloaded a heap of ceramic bowls, plates, cups, and even a toilet bowl – which all smashed onto the ground. Back at Irene’s home we had a chatty nightcap.

On Sunday morning Ecki cooked up a delicious feast for breakfast: rolls, bread, eggs, bacon, jam, cheese, ham, tomatoes, cucumbers, juice and coffee. We gave Aunty Netty a gift for her 85th birthday, then packed up and headed back to Dagmersellen.

For those of you who have not visited Glessen, here are a few expressions that are often said:

pee-pee macken – going to the toilet;
kookamal – look at this;
pass auf (sounds like buzz-off) – pay attention;
gute fahrt – have a good trip.