SUNDAY MEMORIES
Judy Wills
The symbol for a bakery in Germany – the pretzel – 1982
I’ve mentioned in previous musings about the Bakery that was just around the corner from the housing area where we lived. I made many trips just to visit that bakery (Bäckerei in German). I have many fond memories of going into that store and “speaking” with the lady who owned it. I spoke a little German…she spoke a little English, and so we were able to communicate fairly well with each other. She was a delightful lady.
One thing I enjoyed the most about her was the way she treated her customers. For instance, the first year we were in Heidelberg, Fred’s parents came to visit (which they did each year we were there). Wanting to show them all the wonderful things about Heidelberg, we took them to the bakery. I introduced them to the owner. I told her that they really loved to eat raisin bread (Rosinenbrot), and she produced a loaf. We ate off that loaf for a few days. But the really fun thing is that every following year, when Fred’s parents visited, and we went to that bakery, she remembered them – greeting them with smiles and handshakes – and presenting a loaf of raisin bread. She remembered not only the couple, but what they enjoyed eating! Great lady!
I remember going in there one day in the Spring, and she had set out samples of an onion tart she had made. Onions grew abundantly in the area, and she made the best of it. It was a delicious taste – but I can’t remember whether or not I purchased an entire “pie” to take home. I probably did, because I knew Fred would enjoy it.
Another memory of the bakery – as mentioned in other posts, I had started teaching aerobic dancing while in Heidelberg. My partner and I had set up a contest among our students, to make a design that depicted our logo. We had several entries, and chose one top winner,
The winner of our logo
and one runner-up. As it happened, I went from one of my classes, still wearing my aerobic outfit, to the bakery before heading home. The owner of the bakery asked about the shirt (Heidelberg Aerobic Dancing) and I tried to tell her it was an exercise class, but made use of “dance” instead of just exercises. And so I told her it was “tance…aber….gymnastic” (dance…but…gymnastics). She seemed to get the idea. I just hoped I had said it right!
One of the best memories of the bakery, was what I did for Fred’s birthday, the last one before we left Germany. I had frequently purchased just slices of her famous cream pie (like a cream cheese pie, lemony flavor and mildly sweet), and other goodies. One day I was in there, when someone ordered a Black Forest Cake for a birthday. That gave me the idea for Fred’s birthday. I was able to order and purchase a small Black Forest Cake (about 8″ diameter), and asked her to write “Fred” on it. She didn’t understand “Fred” so I said “Frederic.” She then said “Fritz?” which is the German nickname for Frederick. I said “nein” and said “Fred.” A little disgusted with me, she handed me the paper and pen and said “here!” So I wrote “Fred” out for her, and we were both happy. Fred was more than surprised, and pleased. It was a delicious cake!!
When my BFF, Sue, came for a two-week visit, we squired her all around Heidelberg and Germany. She and I went on a bus tour to Holland – that is a memory for another post. But one of the things I did with her, was to take her to my favorite bakery! I spoke to the owner in my halting German, asking for whatever it was I wanted. After I had finished, Sue said, “Wow, Judy, I never heard anything like that.” In reply, I said, “believe me… that’s like NOTHING She’s ever heard before either!” And the lady just laughed. So she probably knew more English than she let on. But that’s okay, we got along famously with what we each knew.
One of the things I miss most about Germany, and Heidelberg in particular, is that bakery.
~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~
Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .
Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.
After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.
Old Things R New 