The train ride took 40 mins. We were in the company of a Germany gran who was heading for Hamburg which takes 4 hours. 3 different opinions were offered at the Gelsenkirchen station as to how we might traverse the 1.5km to our Maritim Hotel. Finally we jumped a tram gratis (they didn’t ask) and got off nearby. We were cooked after the 15 min walk in near 30degree C temperature about 1.30pm. We had a 10th floor room that looked over the Stadt gardens - green trees as far as we could see. Essen to the right, Bochum pretty much straight ahead. Everything else pretty much lost in the sea of green trees. But what was that in the air over Essen? And it came closer and closer the evening we arrived! T. Did a recci into the town centre and uncannily arrived at St Augustin church where his great grand parents Carl & Maria Alve married on 14 February 1874 (St Valentine's day) in a marriage service for about 15 couples led by Fr Schulte! Quite an emotional moment which he recognised by lighting 2 votive candles in memory and recognition of them who soon after, bravely journeyed to NZ. The church precinct recognises the pivotal roll that coal mining played in the development of the region from the mid 1800’s onwards. We dined out our first night in G. in the hotel restaurant before retiring for the night with the fan on to provide a little relief from the heat. Pfarrer Heinrich Konig is a celebrated person in Gelsenkirchen because he resisted the National Socialist party during WW2. As you see he end up in Dachau concentration camp where, I think, he was hanged on his birthday in 1942. My lasting impression from visiting Gelsenkirchen is that this is a peaceful place. This was reinforced when I went walking on the 2nd day before joining Margaret to have a closer look at the city. At the far end of the Stadt Garden is an arcing, large monument to the victims of the 8 German Concentration Camps. This edifice caught me unawares and viewing it was deeply moving. A little further on in the gardens is this water garden that I visited a second time with Margaret. While there I had a conversation with an Ukrainian man who assured me the Ukraine is not part of Russia. He knew NZ from a relative by marriage who came from NZ. He was in town for the wedding of his wife’s daughter that day in Bochum nearby. This Saturday was also notable that the local football stadium the hometown team Schalke 04 was playing Bayern Munich in the BundesLeague 1st division I think. Many people with their mid blue shirts were in town, even at the hotel. I didn’t hear the final score but I think it was a one sided affair in favour of Bayern. The State Gardens in Gelsenkirchen below our hotel Sunday had us attend the early afternoon English service in St Augustin led by a Nigerian priest. There I met a Pole with Jewish connections who lived down the road at Buer. We talked in the Church and later at the hotel bar about many things, but especially about the impending death of his close friend who lives in London. As part of his treatment for melanoma his tongue has been cut out. Life in the raw happens where ever one goes. I await to hear from Felix how it pans out for him as he progresses through the grief that is his. So our precious time in Gelsenkirchen concluded on Monday 26 August as our Russian driver collected us late morning to travel the 50-60 km to Huckeswagen where Carl Alve was born and grew up in the mid 1800's.
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AuthorMargaret & Terry Alve live in Tawa, NZ. Between them they are linked to several families from the UK and Germany who emigrated to Tasmania and Aotearoa-New Zealand between 1850 and 1925. Archives
December 2022
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