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I stayed in Bitburg, Germany for almost a month. I had met Analiese Klasen in Lufkin last Christmas. Her daughter lives in Lufkin and is friends with my daughter-in-law. Analiese introduced me to her brother-in-law, Klaus Endres, by mail and telephone. Klaus started calling me in January and when the opportunity came to go on the bus trip to Romania, I decided to go early and meet Klaus.
Bitburg was once a Roman fort. There are still ruins there from the wall around the city. Bitburg had an American Army base and Spangdahlem Air Force base is nearby. The city was 80% destroyed during the war so it is a very modern city. On some houses you can see where the new walls were patched into the old walls. I spoke with several women aobut their experiences there during the war. They were all very glad when the Americans came in.
I enjoyed Bitburg very much. I walked almost daily into town or to the swimming pool. I frequented the Internet Cafe and bakeries!! And lugged home all my groceries and cooked at the apartment. It was a rewarding experience and I felt right at home. Fortunately, my German improved on a daily basis. I was most comfortable talking with the women. As usual, we talked about children, gardens, homes, and men! 
This view of Bitburg was taken from one of the walking trails that lead out of the city and into the farmland. The Centrum, or city center is on the hill and I was staying in the area off to the lower right. It was about one mile up the hill to town! |
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The apartment was almost new and very modern. The kitchen window looked out onto a pretty array of flowers. Everyone was busy gardening so I went and bought a pot and some herbs and made my garden to sit on the kitchen window sill. This is the living room area. Only drawback to the apartment was no phone and no washing machine! 
Analiese and Klaus in the kitchen of my apartment. |
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This is Herr and Frau Jakob Meyer, the onwers of the house. Frau Meyer was a wonderful landlord, giving me marmalade and making sure that there were pretty flowers by my entrance. We had many conversations about life in general. 
Klaus and Johannes after working hard at eating Aneliese's good cooking! 
I have so many scenery pictures that it's not possible to post them all. These two are from Trier on our first day trip together. The fountain is the Marien Seule and the large black building is Porta Negra. The church in this town had a list of bishops dating back to the year 250 AD. Now that is old!!!
Klaus has a travel pass that is good for two people so all we had to do was make up our mind where to go, hop on the bus or train and away we go. We visited Cologne, Bonn, Trier, Eschternauch in Luxembourg, Prum, Gerolstein, and many more. Gerolstein is probably my favorite. We also went to Schoenecken where Klaus's wife is buried. She died five years ago. The train line follows the beautiful Kyll River, which mostly looks like a creek but it is famous for fly fishing. The entire Eifel area of western Germany is just beautiful. We also took a driving trip with Tony and Gertrude into St. Vith, Belgium. Lots of farms and very German. That was a wild fun rainy day. We also stopped at a war monument to the Americans. |
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This is the Vereinwohnung, vacation house, where I stayed. The apartment was in a daylight basement with a private entrance. There was a beautiful yard and garden in the back. It was located in a subdivision type area with lots of other houses close by. 
(above) This is Analiese Klasen and her companion of 12 years, Johannes Kirsch. They are very devoted to each other and are just starting to build a new house together. This picture was taken at the "small garden" house. It's at the edge of town and used for gardening and picnics. Analiese and Johannes both live in apartments in the center of town. 
Klaus lives in Gonnersdorf, a small residential area with lots of new houses and a tavern. It's about 45 minutes from Bitburg. He rents a basement apartment from some old family friends and his best friend, Tony Schmitz, lives just down the road. It's a delightful quiet place but transportation is the pits! Only one or two buses per day, or a taxi, down to Junkerath which is on the train line. The picture above is of the house and the one below is looking out from his patio at the lower part of Gonnersdorf. 
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MY PEN PAL, MARLENE WALLERIUS PITSCH 
Another exciting part of my German visit was finding my German pen-pal from 40 years ago. Her name was Marlene Wallarius and we lost touch with each other when we married. I realized that her town was only 15 miles or so from Bitburg so a very generous English speaking lady, Frau Verkoyn, offered to take me there and see if we could find her.
We went to the courthouse with an old picture and a name. The young lady in the records bureau was at first not hopeful. But when we showed the picture her eyes lit up and she said "I know this face!!!" Sure enough, she is now Marlene Pitsch, the butcher's wife. We went to the butcher shop only to discover that she was in San Francisco! So I visited with her sister Rita and then stayed over a few extra days until she got back. We were able to spend a delightful afternoon and evening at her marvelous old home above the butcher shop. She is just a down-home lady and we fell right into conversation. She had been talking about me when she was in San Francisco. I've been invited back and she even has a spare room. Thank you so much Marlene.
The picture is her and her husband Eugene. |
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