Looking back on 2024: Family Reunion
In May of 2024, I was able to take a trip back to Germany for a family reunion. I wrote the following Sunday Letters about my experience reconnecting with memories, places, and people.
This past week has seemed like a month. Taking time to connect with my my siblings individually prior to our reunion has been wonderful.
Since no photos were allowed, you can read about the castle I visited near Austria, the “Bavarian Versailles”, ici and view photos of its impressive interior ici. The castle and other buildings on an island in this Bavarian lake are truly fascinating, partially because the German constitution was written there during 13 intense days post-WWII. 13 days for the occupying forces to make sense of a broken country.
The small island also was an inspiration for many artists, including Julius Exter, an important pioneer of modern art in Munich at the end of the 19th century, and member of the Secession movement.
On Monday, my brother Peter and his husband surprised me by stopping in Munich to visit my aunt and uncle, who still live in the house our grandfather built, and where our mother grew up.
That house holds much magic for me, especially its garden. You’d never know you are in the middle of Munich!
To my delight, we also stopped in the small Bavarian town where I grew up. I had the opportunity to drive by the beautiful house my father designed just before he died in 1983.
And I even got to visit my parent’s gravesite. This was an important closure for me, as I had missed my mother’s death and funeral over ten years ago.
Then our journey took me past Lake Constance and across the Rhine river to Switzerland, where I spent several delightful days with my brother and his husband. A particular highlight was attending the local natural hotsprings spa nearby (mineral baths with over 300 years history). No cellphone allowed – no photos, no stress.
They both have ‘real jobs’, but bee-keeping is a large passion!
And then we took the long and beautiful drive past waterfalls and snowy peaks, along serpentine roads on steep cliffs through the alps all the way to Northern Italy into the impressive Dolomite mountains. Our destination was the Agordo valley.
There is a town up here which bears our family name: Andrich. Yesterday we hiked steep uphill for an hour and a half to the village.
Lore has it that about 250 years ago, more than 100 carpenters left the region to seek their fortune. Although undocumented, it is believed that this could be where the origin of our paternal great-grandparents Dresden furniture factory is rooted. They produced Bauhaus furniture, by the way, before it was destroyed during WWII.
The 6 Andrich siblings, in order of birth year:
And now all assembled, including spouses, children, partners, and dogs (one dog hiding):
We’ve been walking and talking, including about religions and world views.
And of course we’ve been eating, drinking, and reminiscing.
Joyful nightly ‘After Parties’ concluded the days.
I feel truly blessed and have gained so much strength from this gathering.
Later today, I’ll head towards Munich with the 3rd of my brothers, to spend a couple of days with him and his wife before returning to Halifax and getting back to my bench.
Did I mention the ‘speed-dating’ game of questions we did, in order to get to know each other better & deeper?
And of course some amazing meals were had.
Then it was time to head back to Germany for my stint near Munich. The trip back was breathtaking.
On route, we spontaneously decided on a stop in Brixen – a most delightful and truly ancient town, which palpably carries both Italian and German heritage, as it has changed hands over the centuries. The architecture is adorable!
Time to put the low-carb lifestyle aside for a sec: last chance for Italian Gelato!
I shall omit all the photos of the most amazingly epic landscape we crossed. Just know that it was so; and that I took the opportunity to jump into an icy glacial river on-route down from the Dolomites – it was splendid!
My last stop, with the eldest of my brothers and his wife in Starnberg near Munich. lots of Bavarian history there, including the castle where Sissy grew up – it is privately owned now, but you can still sneak a peak through the bushes:
While in Starnberg, I had a visit with a former-advisor-turned-client, whose blog you might want to check out.
Thank you to P&T&B for hosting me at the end of my trip. Once again, we had deep conversations. One again I was met with so much openness, so much love. Friggin’ fortunate.
