Since we never had any family vacations except visiting family, flying to Disney was a fabulous treat for us all. We stayed at 'Dixie Landings', a Disney hotel, and loved every inch of the parks. My favorite section was Epcot. I was drawn to the German Pavilion. That trip I bought a Cuckoo Clock Christmas ornament. It was all I could afford at the time and I loved all three inches of it with its fake weights.
The second time at Disney was in 2006 with daughter #2, Carole, her husband, Tom, and children, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Claire, and Sarah. We all piled into their big SUV, stayed one night halfway there and dropped all our luggage at 'Dalmations', another Disney hotel. The days were blistering hot, filled with Star Wars creatures, FantasyLand for the two younger girls, and swimming after dinner.
No one wanted to go to Epcot. Well, I had to re-visit the German Pavilion! One evening I told them, "I'll skip the swimming tonight and go to Epcot by myself." I took a peacefully slow boat ride between the parks to Epcot, strolled around and found the German Pavilion where there is wonderful shopping of authentic German articles. I looked at all the Cuckoo Clocks and they were too expensive. What I ended up with was a small, battery-operated fake Cuckoo Clock. Its pendulum actually swayed back and forth! It's hanging in my entryway.
The reason I love Cuckoo Clocks goes back to my childhood. My maternal ancestors are all of German extraction. My parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle all spoke German. After World War II, my dad was stationed with the U.S. Army in Bremen and Bremerhaven. Our family of mom, dad, me and my next brother, Bob, lived there for two years. Mom brought back two large, real Cuckoo Clocks, one for her and one for Grandma. I can still see them through my child eyes, large and hanging high above me, clicking the time away with the cuckoo bird appearing out of his door every half hour. After their deaths, I have no idea where the treasured clocks went. Now, I'm the oldest in our family.
From time to time I searched online for Cuckoo Clocks from Germany. There were so many, made of exquisitely carved wood, but all unaffordable, especially with extra shipping.
Last year, 2012, I had another opportunity to visit Disney in Florida. This time I went with my nurse-friend, Gail, to our national American Nephrology Nurses' Association convention at the Dolphin hotel (in Disney). The only park Gail and I wanted to go to, after meetings all day, was Epcot! Again, I admired all the Cuckoo Clocks. I found one I could afford and brought it with me, a REAL Cuckoo Clock! Cuckoo has proudly hung on the other side of my front door since then! Cuckoo has real weights that have to be pulled up every day, at least once. He has no batteries or electricity. But he sings sweetly, every half hour.
Tomorrow is my last genealogy class at the Lexington public library. Since I'm retired, I want to find out who my ancestors were beyond my great-grandparents. Grandma related, "We came from the Black Forest of Germany." I want to find out where and when.
The classes were: 1) Finding Your Roots, 2) Your Family Tree: Beyond the Basics, and 3) Genealogy Resources on the Internet. Tomorrow's class will explore what to do if the searcher runs into a seemingly 'dead end.' Our instructor, Suzanne, reports that "before around the year 2000, there were very few sources on the internet. Now it has virtually exploded and you can accomplish much online." That is what I shall do!
However, my ultimate goal is to VISIT that village in Bavaria where my ancestors originated, if it still exists, perhaps find a cemetery with some of my known ancestors interred. One of my childhood memories of Germany is that the streets were cleared but the land was piled high with the rubble of bombed buildings. I'd like to erase that with memories of the beautiful country I think must be Germany now!
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| Cuckoo, singing. |
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