Tag: Australia

Diary

Last week on that ‘Sunny Sunday in Sydney’ we met Angie and Roy. Yesterday they arrived in Cairns and sent us from there a photo of the two of them in front of ULURU. It’s a beautiful photo. Makes me want very much to see ULURU. Peter and I so far never yet made it to the centre of Australia. We should really go there one day.

In Cairns Angie and Roy are going on a Snorkeling Cruise. I admire them for their fitness. They’re retired in their sixties and still fit enough to go snorkeling! Peter wrote them to watch out that they wont be left behind somewhere on the Great Barrier Reef.

After six days with sunshine and no rain we are back now to some more precipitation. It’s still warm enough. Seems to me our climate becomes more and more subtropical. Our bushes and trees around the house grow spectacularly. Peter took the other day some pictures of the vegetation around our house. Doesn’t this look very lush?

On the first picture you can see the ‘jungle’ behind our fence!

On the Way to Australia 1959

ON BOARD SS STRAITHAIRD

The SS STRAITHAIRD had come from Southampton via Cuxhaven to go to Port Melbourne, Australia. The voyage took five weeks. The service on board the P & O Liner was excellent. At mealtimes we had a table-steward to look after eight people at our table.
Our steward was Irish and always quick on the move. He assumed, everyone would be eating all three courses for every meal. That meant, he usually had the dessert already waiting on his serving table before everyone had finished their second course.
One day two people refused to have dessert. Our steward looked pleadingly at me and Peter, for he knew us to be good eaters: We always emptied our plates!
“Please, would you like a second dessert? See, I am not supposed to take it back to the kitchen,” he said. My husband and I gladly accepted a second dessert. It was delicious! Since our steward could not help being a bit rash with the ordering, quite a few more second desserts came our way during the following weeks. We did not mind this at all. Actually we were rather glad to help out!

Gaby in pictures 1965 – 1971

Two of the photos were taken in November 1965 in Sydney’s Prince Henry Hospital, when Gaby was eight years old. She types with a mouthstick on an electric typewriter. During the day she is strapped in a high chair, her hands in braces.
The night she spends in an iron ‘cage’ with only her head outside it on a cushion.
Since 1961, when she was struck down by polio, she has been in Prince Henry Hospital’s Respiratory Ward. During the day she attends the hospital school class. Gaby is a quadriplegic, which means she cannot move her arms or legs.

From January 1967 till September 1974 Gaby was able to live most of the time with her family, Mum, Dad, sister Monika and brother Martin. We took her on outings to the pool and to the beach. Peter, her dad, fastened her wheelchair to the back of our VW Beetle car.

In the pool I hold Gaby (13), Monika is 12 and Martin behind us is 11. I am 36.
In the photo Peter carrying Gaby out of the car and onto the beach, Gaby is probably 11 and Martin beside the car door is 9.

As far as I renenber we took Gaby right into the water at the beach only this once when she may have been only 10. Gaby was too scared of the waves. Even to the pool she didn’t want to be taken anymore later on.

The Gypsies’ Prediction

I always thought that maybe the gypsies had
something to do with my coming to Australia.

One day Karl-Friedrich Liebach – our boss – announced: ‘Some gypsies approached me today. They offered to read the hands of all the employees. I paid them, what they asked for. That means, everyone of you can have their hands read, if you wish. And please do not pay them anything extra, because I’ve paid them enough already.’

I nearly missed the gypsies. It was lucky, that I caught them near the stairs, when they were about to leave. When I asked, could they foretell my future, one of them politely took my hand. She looked briefly at it Then she said:

‘You’re a lover of beauty. However you’re not going to stay here. In fact I can see you going to a far away country.’ With these words she and her partner hurriedly left the building.

During the years after the war, people with relatives in America were always dreaming of going to America for a better life over there. Indeed, people with relatives in America were very much envied, because it was assumed, that if you had relatives over there, you had a good chance of being accepted as a migrant.

None of my relatives lived overseas. However migrating to an overseas country was very much on my mind. Yet I assumed, that I had hardly any chance to be accepted as a migrant. In those days, I certainly never thought, that I might be able to go to Australia. However, this fortune teller had seen, that I had a desire to leave Germany.

It turned out, that some five years later I actually migrated to Australia! Did the gypsies really have anything to do with that? I wonder.

Uta’s Memories from August 2010

 

Towards the End of August 2010

 Can’t wait for Spring to arrive …..

 Yes, we already had a few warm, rather springlike days; however, at the moment it’s back to wintry conditions. So please, please let it be spring soon! I’m sick of having to switch the heaters on all the time!

Recently Peter and I spent a weekend in Goulburn to attend a conference. We were booked into a motor-lodge. The outside temperature seemed very low. However we dressed warmly so that we did not feel cold at all when we walked to the shops. And our motel was well heated anyway. All in all we had a very pleasant weekend.

 I’m still contemplating whether I would like to live in an inland town. I know it would be cold in winter and very hot in summer. What I am not sure about is, would I be able to cope with a climate like that? After all I’m constantly upset about too many cold days in our coastal suburb! Maybe if the house, I was going to live in, was built for a colder/hotter climate, I would be able to cope?

 In any case I really do not like the idea that we all live in overcrowded coastal areas with not enough infra-structure for the steady increase in population. It’s such a shame that a lack of jobs forces more and more people to move away from inland country towns to coastal areas. Even new arrivals to our country settle on the main only in coastal areas.

 I hope that broadband is going to make a difference. If broadband gets installed all over the country it may result in more jobs being created further inland. This may perhaps give those deserted inland towns a new lease of life! I can’t wait to see what kind of government we’re going to get after our recent elections. A hung parliament may be not so bad in the way they form a government. It may perhaps result in the big parties having to listen a bit more to the wishes of the people rather than just follow party politics all the time However, no matter what kind of government we are going to get, I hope something will be done about broadband in those inland country areas!

Memories from August 2010

Sunday, 1stAugust 2010

Today I had the feeling that spring was just around the corner. I walked to church and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. Soon I took off my cardigan and let the sunshine touch my bare arms. This is good for replenishing Vitamin D and for absorbing more Calcium, I told myself.

I was amazed how healthy I felt on a day like today. Last month I had persevered with several more tooth-extractions, There were some five teeth that had very old and quite large amalgam-fillings. I had made up my mind that it was time to get rid off these teeth. So now there aren’t anymore amalgam fillings left in my mouth. I wonder whether this is why I feel much healthier? Soon after all those extractions I had started a detoxing program. Kate, the naturopath at the Dental Centre, gave me four different supplements, which I keep taking as prescribed. In about six weeks I’ll go for another check-up to find out whether the detoxing of the various metals in my blood has been successful.

Most days I feel that walking for thirty minutes or so is no problem. I usually don’t get pains anymore and I hardly ever seem to run out of breath while walking. Besides, I used to wobble a bit to one side quite frequently. This seems to be better now. Come to think of it, I have been keeping quite well over the last few months. Didn’t I undertake an exhausting overseas trip from the end of May to the beginning of July this year, and didn’t I cope with the stress of travelling remarkably well? Who would have thought that I was capable of travelling for so long without a problem?

The last time I had travelled overseas had been in 1994. That year I had gone with Peter and daughter Caroline to Berlin. In 1997 and 2004 Peter travelled to Berlin by himself. So I had not been to Berlin for a long time. I felt very much like a stranger there during our recent visit in contrast to Peter who straight away felt at home again. He’s extremely familiar with this city. I think the biggest difference, compared to my previous visits, was the experience of feeling so much more elderly. I was for instance always grateful when younger people offered me their seat on the underground train or on the bus. Being elderly gave me the feeling that I could go slowly. I did not have to hurry as the younger people did. Whenever I felt a bit tired I could sit down and rest for a while.

We arrived in Berlin on the 31st of May. We had expected warm weather, but it was still very, very chilly and often extremely windy. Consequently I soon developed a terrible cold. However with adequate rest I quickly recovered from this attack of flu. When it had become a bit warmer, Peter and I enjoyed what nature had to offer, especially further up north in Mecklenburg/Vorpommern where we stayed for ten days with my brother Peter and his wife Astrid.

Mecklenburg/Vorpommern has forests and many, many lakes as well as canals connecting these lakes. The small towns in the area all cater for tourists. Very old houses have been lovingly restored. Some new developments include expensive marinas. Peter and Astrid showed us historical sites and castles where previously kings and queens liked to relax with their families, away from the hussle and bussle of Berlin.

The last few days of our stay in Germany we were back in Berlin. Day-temperatures had risen to well above thirty degrees by then. It did not cool down very much during the nights either. Daylight lasted till about ten at night. At four in the morning it was quite light again. Sometimes it seemed to be a bit light the whole night through!

Peter’s sister, who lives in Berlin, went on a lot of outings with us. Sometimes we were driven around in a car by friends or family members. However most of the time we used public transport – and very efficient transport at that. When you want to catch an underground train, you hardly ever have to wait for more than five minutes for the train to arrive!

Most people probably do not know that Berlin has many lakes, rivers and canals with hundreds of bridges. I do not know the exact number of bridges, however, I was told Berlin has more bridges than Venice! We saw quite a few of these Berlin waterways. Once we were taken on a boat- excursion that took us right through the city centre! On the boat we were served beer. frankfurts and potato salad. A few times we went on ‘book hunting’ excursions. Visiting friends and family in different parts of the city kept us busy as well.

On Friday, 2nd of July, was departure day. We left from Tegel Airport . This Airport is rather small and totally inadequate for a city like Berlin. Because of a lack of space very few big machines can fly in or out of Berlin. However, a much larger airport is to be opened in Berlin in about two years. If all goes well, Peter and I may then be able to go on a direct flight from Sydney to Berlin which would probably cut travelling time by a few hours.

This time we had a return flight from Sydney to Berlin via Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam. We travelled KLM. To our great relief our luggage could be booked through to Berlin and later back to Sydney.

I was a bit apprehensive about our return flight since the schedule included a five hour stay at Kuala Lumpur. To my surprise I rather liked this stay at Kuala Lumpur Airport. The airport is huge. Internet connections are provided without charge. There is also no charge for drinking water! In the midst of the airport is a rainforest enclosure for travellers to enjoy. And of course there are shops, shops, shops! Also facilities for showers, massages, reflexology treatments and more. In the sitting area you can find stretch-out seats for tired travellers!

We did not want to go for dinner at one of the restaurants. We rightly assumed we would get dinner on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney. However we decided to go for coffee and cake at the Airport’s Deli France. And we enjoyed this! For a little while I also made use of one of the stretch-out seats. Why doesn’t every airport have those seats for sleepy travellers?

Growing up in Australia


Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to grow up in Australia. However, all my children grew up here and are very happy to live here. I ask myself, do people always love the place they grow up in? No, I do not think that is necessarily so. I for one was not happy with the educational opportunities that were open to me in postwar Germany. I was glad to leave Germany behind in 1959. I felt I did owe Germany no loyalty. In those postwar years a lot of Germans longed to live in America, the free country! I thought the next best thing would be to live in Australia.

These days I am glad that we were given the chance to migrate to Australia rather than to America. In Australia we felt straight away freer than in Germany. Peter started in a very low paid job. That meant, we were on an extremely low budget. Still we found life in Australia easy going. It took us only a couple of years to pay off a block of land! Somehow we managed the payments for the land by strictly buying only the most basic things. We spent little on clothes. Home cooked meals were not expensive. About once a week we could even afford to buy take-away fish and chips or a yummy take-away hamburger!

After the land had been paid for, a building society gave us a loan for a small house. We could never have achieved that in Germany! Our two babies were regarded as something precious in Australia. Whereas in Germany people’s attitude was something like: We young people with hardly any prospects for the future should not have any children. The question at the top of their minds was, how on earth could we dare to have children when we had no means to adequately provide for them?!

Over the years we raised four children in Australia. We soon owned our own home. I never had to go to work. Peter always earned sufficient to provide for his family. I chose to stay home with the children. Sure, our children were not spoiled with a lot of the things that todays children take for granted. But there was always a roof over their head, someone to look after them, enough food and clothes as well as the chance for a good education. I reckon Australia was the best place for children to grow up in. University education was free in those days. Even when the parents were on a low income level their children were given good opportunities to better themselves.

We came to Australia in 1959. A lot of things have changed since then. Maybe I feel a bit nostalgic as far as the 60s and 70s are concerned. Sure, a lot of progress has been made since then. Some technical progress has been enormous; e.g. with computers, mobile phones, digital TV etc. However, I reckon the growing gap between rich and poor has not been good. To my mind the difference between poor people and rich people has been growing to an unacceptable level. How can an enormously huge gap in assets and income level be good for society? I wonder whether any reforms are possible and whether the very rich could ever accept a somewhat lower standard of living so that the gap would not be quite as enormous?

I wrote the above about a year ago and came across it today in my files. Somehow it still makes sense to me today. How on earth can the excessive widening of the gap ever be stopped? Is it right for me to worry about it? I live in one of the richest countries in the world and personally I don’t suffer any hardship. Being seventy-seven years of age my life is nearing its end. Is it right for me to worry about what comes after me? Shouldn’t  I just count my blessings? Justice for all and the abolishment of poverty: It’s just a dream, isn’t it? Or maybe, just maybe it might become true one day!