Tag: Opera House

Ilse came to visit us in 1999

18th of April 1999 in front of Sydney Opera House
18th of April 1999 in front of Sydney Opera House. David took this picture.

The 18th of April 1999 was the day when we travelled by Ferry Boat from Parramatta to Sydney (Circular Quay). Peter’s sister Ilse was with us She was still sad, because her husband, Klaus, had died the previous year. However, she liked to stay with us for a while. After a two months visit she went back to Berlin with the promise to visit us again.

The 18th of April 1998 happened to be the birthday of Klaus, his last one before he died. So on the Ferry on that day a year later Ilse could not help but thinking that it was the anniversary of the birthday of Klaus and how he would have loved this Ferry trip too.

Gaby and David were with us on that boat. David went straight away to the front deck after boarding and stayed outside for the whole trip. Ilse and I stayed inside with Gaby who was in her wheelchair, of course. Peter went backwards and forwards all the time taking pictures.

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The Opera House is already in sight, so Circular Quay is not far away any more.
The Opera House is already in sight, so Circular Quay is not far away any more.

In March 1999, soon after Ilse had arrived from Germany, we went with her to visit Gaby at her place in Merrylands West. This is where she met David too for the first time.

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This is probably a more recent photo when Gaby was about fifty years old.
This is probably a more recent photo when Gaby was about fifty years old.

Caroline’s Message on Facebook for Peter

Gelato de Messina
Gelato de Messina

For you and Mama. Reminds me of the day we were wandering throughout the botanical gardens with Matthew and decided “to go in search of gelato” 

“When someone is seeking it happens quite easily that she only sees the thing that she is seeking; that she is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because she is only thinking of the thing she is seeking, because she has a goal, because she is obsessed with her goal. Seeking means to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal.” Siddhartha, Herman Hesse
I, Uta, asked Peter to send me Caroline’s message. I think Caroline chose this passage from Hermann Hesse’s SIDDHARTHA very well. Thank you very much for this, Caroline. I too remember that day when we were wandering throughout the Botanic Gardens in Sydney. I actually enjoyed our walk very much. Finding a place for buying gelato? It was not to be, not in the Botanic Gardens anyway. Then we looked around near the Opera House. However the area was much too crowded for our liking. So we went on. In the end Matthew and Caroline led us to their favourite gelato shop. This made us very happy. I think we did have a great day!
I can see that it would have been very bad to be obsessed with this goal of getting gelato. I admit, I was on the lookout for it. Had we been able to find some in the Botanic Gardens, I am sure we would have enjoyed that too. None the less, I very much loved  this walk, I really did. And as it turned out, having to wait for the gelato a  bit longer, made it even more special when I finally did get some of this very delicious home made on the premises gelato.
I say, it is always worth waiting for GELATO DE MESSINA, made on the premises in Victoria Street! 🙂