My Mother, who is also a beekeeper, took a trip to Germany last month with my Father. She and I talked about what they would do and see, and I mentioned it might be cool for her to visit an apiary over there. We even went so far as to pack up a very small jar of Mothers honey to offer to a beekeeper she might meet. Mom was born in East Germany in 1948. The wall was going to be built, and my Grandparents and some extended family decided to flee before things got really bad. They fled to West Germany, and from there came to the USA. Mom hadnt been back to Germany since, until now. They ventured to Schwerin, where she was born. She found an apiary, and knocked on the door to the house. A Woman answered. Luckily, Mom speaks fluent German and explained her visit. The woman was excited to show Mom her apiary. During the visit, it came to light that the Woman and Mom were close in age. Mom told our familys story of fleeing. The Woman told her story. Her family also tried to flee, but were stopped by the Russians on the road, and were ordered back to their farm. She explained that East Germany was a depressingly hard place to live, but when the wall came down, the West pumped a ton of money into the East to bring it up to speed, and things are much better for her and everyone now. Amazing how two lives were completely different because one family was able to leave. Mom gave her honey to the Woman, who was thrilled to sample it. She said it was much thinner than her honey, which Mom said resembled creamed honey. The Womans son was also a keeper, and she was excited to be able to share the story and honey with him when he returned from working. The photos are of the Woman, and her Apiary.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 23:00:40 +0000
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