In 1684, Paul Kuster, an ancestor on my maternal grandfather’s side, left that area of Germany (near the Rhine river) for the “free world.” One of thirteen families, the Kusters were part of the original emigrants to Pennsylviana, best known as Pennsylvania Dutch. Why Pennsylvania Dutch and not Pennsylvania German? Not sure. I googled it and found a site with a l o n g explanation of all the why and what-fores. All I DO know is that my grandfather fought for the United States in World War I and did not want to be associated with Germans at all!
How would he feel about his youngest granddaughter becoming enamored with the German language? No idea. He died when I was 6-months old.
My hostess during this final phase of my solo-trip found me through homeexchange.com. She wanted to visit Kauai and accessed the site through her girlfriend in Freiburg who was a member (and who btw has this lovely family you’ll see in the pix below : ).
“Krefeld?” my new friend thought, “Who wants to visit Krefeld????”
Incredulous that someone wanted to visit this tiny town near the border of the Netherlands, she contacted me anyway. One thing led to another, and in December 2011, my mother, husband, and I found ourselves in her COOL apartment in the Median district of Düsseldorf.
If you want to experience the Mother Chronicles, visit: the next couple of posts. : )))
So . . . at the end of my solo-trip, I found myself staying with and getting to know this incredible woman who I met through exchanging homes!!! A woman who shared her apartment in Düsseldorf, just minutes away from our ancestors‘ old stomping grounds, making it possible for my Mom to have an 80th birthday celebration full of dreams fulfilled. Lucky us!
Thanks Christiane for your generosity and hospitality!!!
