Alvaslohe A village sourounded by green fields farms ,connected to other villages in North Germany

Horst and Evelyn have lived at Alvaslohe for 30 years in a house designed to take advantage of their green fields and a sunny aspect.

Contented  dairy cows chewing green deutsch grass          

Sunny patio facing sunny south



                                   Evelyn and Grazyna in the living room

                                  Photo of Australian Flag in the front Garden

I met Horst and Ralph when we were Wool classing students at Gore Hill Tech in the 1950's continuing to East Sydney tech and onto the shearing sheds.We have maintained contact over the years and my plan when visiting Germany was to land in Berlin spend two weeks visiting various neighbourhoods ,work my way west through several townsWittenberg ,Quedlinburg ,Erfurt,Eisnach and Schoningen and finish up in Alvaslohe.Unfortunately Horst died three months earlier so I was too late to see him,but spent a week with Evelyn meeting her friends and relations and absorbing the local culture.
I arrived in Hamburg on the evening of 26th September without a bed ,I was directed to the Genarates Hostel just round the corner from the Haupbanhof.
I secured a bed in a room for 8 people with a cubical for a shower and a toilet cubical cost E 33,just like a rabbit warren.,entry gained by a plastic card..
Needless  to say next morning it was back to the station to buy a ticket to Alvaslohe with coffee and a kase roll. My Fahrplanauskunft stated I was travelling via Elmshorn , so changed platforms and waited,and waited,I saught help from a school teacher who advised getting on the next train which I duly did ,but after discussions with the conductor was told I was on the wrong train,
Everyone I encountered had a different idea the best way to Alvaslohe,but taking a bus,another train , I ended up at  Henstedt where I met Paul who was also travelling to Alveslohe where he lived .
He took me to his place where I met Shirley his wife,from Cornwall,they both had British accents.Thank goodness all these people spoke perfect English so I did not have to refer to my dictionary..
We exchanget stories about old time had a few laughs and he rang Evelyn,we were  300 meters apart..
Paul and I walked to Balmstead strasse where I introduced them explaining Paul had rescued me..
It was a perfect arrangement.
After some catch up Evelyn and I drove to the Zur Hoffnung pub, 5 kilometers away for some lunch.
The pub located on what was the main road heading north ,is now a lot quieter as a freeway B 4 has been constructed to take the large volume of traffic.We ordered from the menu with a small glass jug of white wine.
The interior of the pub is a large room furnished with timber tables and chairs quite sparse, but adequate,customers are families from the local area including children. The food, fish, spinach and kartoffel
was tastey and the dry white  wine delicious.
It was back to the house for a snooze,and some TV football with Paris St Germain playing Byan Munich.
Over the next few days some mundane tasks had to be attended to including washing clothes stacking firewood and weeding the vegetable garden.
One task required concentration,erecting the folding clothes line,with its dangling blue wires and silver arms its not a design I know,so it tested my ingenuity,finally sucess, the clothes are the recipient of a slight German breeze.,but with rain threatening the safest drying area is down in the cellar.
The picture through the large sliding glass windows is pure green grass with some cornfields,the next door farmer appears in his gumboots looking for one of his Schleswig-holstein dairy cows,The trees are all conifers.Not a Eucalyptus in sight.
Evelyn has an appointment in Ellerau,we set off in her VW and are there in 15 minutes,after her appointment we shop at Aldi.The trolley is removed from the rack by inserting a coin in the lock attachment.
We travel the isles selecting, wurst,wine, cheese,manderins,etc and pay at the checkout.
To night on TV is a travel documentry on the Queensland Sundowner travelling ,from Brisbane up the coast to Cairns,its all in Deutsch but the photography is terrific especially the Great Barrier Reef.
In this house the front door is always locked ,at my place the front door is often open and only locked at night,similar to my parents approach,this could be because of a difference in climate or attitude to security.?
Frietag 29th September
After standard frustuk of dark bread and cheese and tomato to sustain an hours work in the garden,pruning shrubs and harvesting zuccani a warm day is with us even 23 degrees C,Evelyn decides we should head to Kaltenkirchen for lunch.
She offers me Horst's check shirt and mulberry coloured pants,to wear, I feel honoured,and enjoy the idea.
Once again a short drive to the hotel where we meet Youhanis,the architect who designed their house.
The hotel dining room is large with white walls and large windows allowing light to flood in.
There are five groups eating lunch at long blond timber tables,Evelyn orders sole and salat,I have curry wurst and chips and needless to say a glass of dry white wine which is special, it lands on the palat with a tingle, its a very pleasant lunch.We return home for an afternoon snooze followed by coffee and cream.
The TV is showing a quiz program I am able to understand some words,and Evelyn helps me with some questions,maybe my Deutsch is improving !
Samstag is party day.
Evelyn and I drive to the blumegebchaft to buy some flowers for Annetta and Frank.The shop was once part of a farm and of old brick construction,enveloped over 50 years by a ancient Virginia Creeper turning to magnificent russett red. We return home to be collected by Anetta who was driving from her home in Rendsburg over 200 kilometers further north.
I met a solid healthy young frau,delayed by roadwork but cheerful with good english.We packed the flowers and spare shoes and set off in a new black Mercedes. Travelling through Schlegwig-Holstein country we passed dairy herds and flocks of sheep definitely not merinos ,and over the Kiel canal. I learnt that Anettas work was teaching student nurses from China, the nursing profession with a class of 31 student.
We arrived at Nubbel a cluster of houses,just a field away from the Canal,on occasions they would see a ships funnel pass behind a row of buildings.along one of the busiest waterways in Europe.
Their modern house with open plan design featured large orange coloured quarry tiles on the floorof the dining kitchen area along blond timber dining table and eight chairs.
The celebration was for Eustos's 19th birthday,where i met all members of their fmily.
We sat at the table and were served sliced meat,salat, fried potatoes,garnished with parsley and chives,of couse with a glass of dry white wine.Some of the conversation was in english but most in German,including politics, which was interesting to hear, as Frank expressed the view that Germany's reason for accepting all these refugees was because of guilt over the last world war.
Later in the afternoon cake and coffee wer served,one was an appel cake with a large dolop of cream,another was Black Forest cake made by Annetta, it was very rich and a wonderful sight on the table before being served.
Frank performed the perfect host,topping up our wine glasses and serving a small taste of snapps. Finally Annetta drove Evelyn and I back to Alveshloe after a most satisfying day.it was her forth time she had covered the route and must have begun to tire after covering over 1000 kilometers.